A private school car park will be closed at the end of the term and demolished within a year if it doesn't get development approval.
The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard Brindabella Christian College went against the sublease conditions and zoning rules when it sealed a gravel car park adjacent to its Lyneham campus in late 2016 without development approval.
The Lyneham Community Association made an application to the ACT government for a controlled activity order, which was refused. The association then appealed the matter in the tribunal.
The association said the car park was unsafe for pedestrians, especially students walking to school, but the ACT government argued there would be safety risks if the car park was closed due to increased traffic congestion.
Lawyers for the college said the car park and drop off zone were needed to support growing enrolments in the school and early learning centre.
The college argued the car park should not be shut while it sought to make the facility compliant with regulations.
Senior Member Michael Orlov said the use of the area as a car park and as a school drop off point would cease from the last day of Term 4.
He ordered access to entrance to the car park to be blocked by a locked chain or steel bollard by the end of term and for the verge crossing to be demolished and footpath be reinstated by the beginning of the next school year.
He said the car park would need to be demolished within 12 months from the date of the order, unless the college obtained development approval for the use of the land as a car park or another use.
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