Children were reportedly rushed from the Keiraville Public School playground yesterday after strong petrol fumes were allegedly emitted from a nearby development site.
Wollongong City Council is investigating a complaint the fumes escaped during the excavation of petrol tanks from a former service station at 292-296 Gipps Rd.
A mother of two children who attends the school said students and sports equipment had to be relocated from the Covered Open Learning Area (COLA) to escape the smell.
The development site is already the subject of controversy, it being previously proposed for a $4.8 million student boarding house comprising 76 bedsitter units and ground floor commercial space.
The plans were rejected by the council in February, but have been resubmitted to the council in the past week by PRD Architects.
Business owners and residents in the precinct reported the smell occurring about 11am yesterday.
"I heard a long hissing sound. I thought they were releasing the pressure off the petrol tanks at first," one man said.
"But when I came out people were moving in all directions, trying to escape the smell."
Another business owner said the smell of petrol had been coming from the site in varying degrees for the past three days.
A resident said she was also overwhelmed by the smell. "I opened my door and thought, 'What's that stink?' "
Keiraville Public School was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Attempts to contact the developer were unsuccessful.
A Wollongong City Council spokesperson confirmed a complaint had been received and was being investigated.