President’s comment I always seem to find something to report on, regardless of the frequency of the eNews.
I have received positive feedback from a number of residents,
complimenting me on the currency and variety of the information but also
the personal touch I have been providing.
The feedback is , naturally, much appreciated.
Last eNews, I asked for someone who lives south of the M2 in the City of
Parramatta area to join the committee. I would like to welcome
two new members to the Trust Committee who have responded to the call,
namely Bill Rankine and Neil Donovan. Both are community minded and have
been involved in Neighbourhood Watch. They are prepared to assist the
Trust on matters involving the City of Parramatta.
I have been attending Hornsby Council’s general meetings, and, where
appropriate, speaking on matters pertaining to Beecroft and
Cheltenham. I have also had meetings with our Councillors. At last
Wednesday’s Council meeting the audited financial statements were
presented to the public. While Council was commended on its financial
management, the Mayor explained to those present how important it is to
sort out the council amalgamation process that was initiated by the
State Government. Hornsby Council has literally been left stranded
halfway through the process and I get a feeling the State Government
does not know how to resolve it. I hope I’m wrong, because if nothing
changes soon, indications are Hornsby Council will struggle financially
from now on. The Mayor has indicated our rates will need to be
substantially increased. I get the impression from the various
conversations, that the State Government has created this major problem
for Hornsby Council (and we as ratepayers) because they had not foreseen
the current situation where the amalgamation process has stalled
halfway. Hopefully articles like mine will generate some action to
resolve the current situation. Council is actively talking to not just
the Department of Local Government but also to our local State
Government Ministers. So it isn’t good news and hopefully something will
get sorted sooner rather than later.
As a matter of interest, the City of Parramatta does not appear to be
experiencing the same problems that Hornsby Council is having. I suppose
that is because their amalgamation process has been finalised.
Seniors Housing Development in Beecroft and Cheltenham
Beecroft and Cheltenham residents must be aware of the number of seniors
housing developments springing up across our two suburbs. This type of
development, which caters for people over 55 years and for people with
disabilities, is assessed under the State Government Planning Policy
legislation and not just Council’s planning controls. Developers
tend to like seniors housing, not only because they can build more
housing on the site, but because there appears to be a strong and
growing demand for this type of housing. Not everyone is happy of
course. The Trust is working hard to get the best outcomes for the
community but when dealing with these state planning controls, often it
is only a question of compromise. The Trust has had some
successes, using the argument that certain houses in our Heritage
Precinct should be retained and not demolished. Houses at 6 and 8
Malton Rd Beecroft and also 16 Sutherland Rd Cheltenham, come to
mind. Both development sites are currently before Council but the
Trust is optimistic that these houses will be retained and adapted for
seniors housing if the developments are approved.
The biggest headache for Council though, is in the rural zones.
Developers, including church organisations, are submitting large seniors
housing in rural zoned land that adjoins residential zoned land.
The Mayor raised this issue at last week’s Council meeting, when
he explained that there are a number of development proposals being
submitted totalling about 1500 dwellings. You may remember the
South Dural rezoning proposal that did not proceed last year due to a
lack of infrastructure only proposed something like 2900 dwellings.
Council is talking to the State Government to see if there is a
way to limit this scale of residential development prior to improved
infrastructure being constructed.
Hazlewood Rose Park – New name for a Public Reserve in Plympton Road The
Geographical Names Register of New South Wales proposes to register the
public reserve located adjacent to Plympton Road, Avonlea Drive and
Casben Close in the locality of Carlingford, as Hazlewood Rose Park. The
proposal can be viewed and submissions lodged on the Geographical Names
Board website at www.gnb.nsw.gov.au from Wednesday 25 October to Saturday 25 November 2017. The following link should take you to the page. http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/place_naming/current_proposals/naming_proposal?id=126167
The contact officer at City of Parramatta who is managing the process
is Troy Holbrook, Open Space & Natural Area Planner,
phone 9806 8272.
Hornsby Council advertising for community representatives for their SNPP and IHAP respectively The
planning legislation has recently changed with a Sydney North Planning
Panel (SNPP) created to replace the current Joint Regional Planning
Panel (JRPP) for assessing very large developments and an Independent
Hearing Assessment Panel (IHAP) to assess medium sized
developments. Small developments will be assessed by the Council’s
planning staff. Councillors, including the Mayor, will be
prohibited from determining developments. There has been some
debate over the merits of the new changes. However, for Hornsby Council,
this new development assessment process will commence in March
2018. Both panels will have community representatives. Hornsby
Council is seeking expressions of interest from the community to fill
the community representative positions. Details can be found at the
following link. http://www.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/property/development-applications/community-member-positions-on-planning-panels-expressions-of-interest
Note that City of Parramatta Council already has its assessment panels
in place. Details can be found at the following link. https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/business-development/planning/ihap
Boarding houses in the Hornsby Council area Boarding
houses are a permissible use within certain zonings across the Hornsby
area. However, for various reasons such as fire ratings, they do
require development consent from Council. The Trust believes it is
important that residents are aware of this type of land use as it fairly
common development across the Shire. There has been a recent
determination for a house operating as a boarding house in Beecroft that
ended up in the Land and Environment Court. If interested use
this link. https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/59e7eee1e4b074a7c6e19844 . The City of Parramatta will have similar planning controls and determinations.
Community display windows at Beecroft Place Shopping Centre The
Trust has been asked to inform community groups and clubs that, as part
of the shopping centre’s development consent, the two glass display
windows facing the Hannah St entrances are for community use only – not
for commercial advertising. Currently Beecroft Public School and Bag
Free Beecroft have displays. The manager of the shopping complex,
Wayne Davey, would like to see the community use the windows on a
regular basis so the displays are fresh. If your community group is
interested, Wayne can be contacted on 0410 598 686.
Spring Walk – Refuge Rock at Cherrybrook
On Sunday, 29th
October 2017, Sheila Woods kindly led a group of 18 members of our
community on a wonderful walk to Refuge Rock at Cherrybrook. We had a
great mix of people including Councillor Browne, (seen here in the
Orange Shirt) Rod Best from the Heritage Committee, BCCT Committee
members and a variety of friendly, happy walkers. Despite
the hot weather, a very enjoyable time was had by all. The rock
formations were amazing including a natural rock bridge and cave. The
walk was followed by a delicious afternoon tea.
Thank you very much Sheila (seen here on the right with committee member
Brian Shirley, Nina Mital and Trish Brown) for sharing your amazing
knowledge of the bush and this particular track with us all.
Draft Amendments to Hornsby Development Control Plan 2013 - Tree and Vegetation Preservation Last
eNews we informed residents that City of Parramatta Council is
exhibiting draft amendments to Hornsby Development Control Plan (DCP)
2013 to increase the level of protection of trees and vegetation.
However the Trust received resident feedback that the link provided by
Council did not work. The correct link is shown here. https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/on-exhibition
The draft DCP amendments apply solely to land within the City of
Parramatta Local Government Area (LGA), which was formerly part of the
Hornsby LGA. Trees play an important role in the ‘greening’ of our city.
They make our surroundings pleasant, provide relief from summer heat
and reduce glare from the pavement. They also increase the value of real
estate, reduce runoff and improve the quality of the air we breathe.
The draft DCP amendments will replace the existing controls in Section
1B..6.1 – Tree Preservation and Section 1B.6.2 – Vegetation Preservation
of Hornsby DCP 2013 with a new section applying specifically to land
within the City of Parramatta LGA. The draft DCP amendments:
Expand the tree species protected to match those listed in Parramatta DCP 2011.
Maintain the current level of protection of vegetation and land with biodiversity value provided by Hornsby DCP 2013.
Update the controls so they are consistent with the new Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and State Environmental Planning Policy (Vegetation in Non-Rural Areas) 2017 (Vegetation SEPP), which commenced on 25 August 2017.
The
Vegetation SEPP replaces the tree and vegetation protection clauses
(Clause 5.9 and Clause 5.9AA) within both Parramatta and Hornsby Local
Environmental Plans with new provisions relating to the clearing of
vegetation.
The draft amendments to Hornsby DCP 2013, will be on public exhibition until Friday, 17 November 2017 and
written comments should be sent to City of Parramatta Council
by 4:30pm on Friday, 17 November 2017. Address them to
the Chief Executive Officer, City of Parramatta Council, PO Box 32,
Parramatta NSW 2124, Attention: Brooke Levingston – Project Officer
Land Use Planning. No doubt Council will accept late
submissions.
Come Along and Learn About Our Trees and Bushland As
we have reported in previous eNews editions, in August this year, new
laws came into effect for clearing trees and bushland in NSW, including
the Greater Sydney area. The Total Environment Centre wil be
holding a public meeting where we can learn what these new laws mean for
trees and bushland in Sydney's North and what you can do to help
protect our special natural heritage.
The meeting will be at the Cheltenham Recreation Club, 60-74 The Crescent Cheltenham, 6pm for 6.30 start , on the 30th November.
REGISTER HERE – Bookings essential. http://www.tec.org.au/new_clearing_laws_sydneynorth
Entry is by donation at the door.
Speakers:- Emily Ryan, Outreach Director Professional Programs,
Environmental Defender's Office NSW, Jeff Angel, Executive Director
Total Environment Centre. CONTACT:- Corinne Fisher cfisher@tec.org.au 02-9211 5022.
Public Meeting this Saturday to Save the IBM Forest Following
on from previous articles, another community meeting is to be held
about the proposed redevelopment of the former IBM site adjoining the
Cumberland State Forest. If interested in the future of this forest off
Coonara Rd West Pennant Hills, the meeting will be at the Cherrybrook
Community Centre (31 Shepherds Lane) on Saturday 18th November from
3.00 - 5.00pm . A local community group called Forest in Danger has arranged the meeting.
All welcome. Booking preferred but not essential. Come and listen to the well informed speakers. More information at https://www.forestindanger.org.au/
A message from the Bag Free Beecroft team Beecroft Handmade Bags – you can buy one to support the Borrow bags.
As you are aware, there has been great interest in the lovely handmade
bags being made for our Community to “Borrow and Bring Back”. Sadly, not
many are being brought back. The bags with this logo have been made for
the Community and they belong to the Community so please tell everyone,
we would love to see them come back for others to use when they forget
their bags.
However, as there has been so much interest in the bags, the ladies have
decided to sell some to raise funds to pay for the cost of the Borrow
and Bring Back bags. These will be labelled “Bought to Support”.
These will be for sale for $10 each at Beecroft Place, on the 18th November from 9am till 1pm. Numbers are limited so make sure you don’t miss out!
Trust Membership Subscriptions and eNews...
Keep our two suburbs strong and informed by being a member!
To support or join the Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust, please visit our website. CLICK HERE
The
eNews has become our main method for disseminating information to the
community. Currently we have over 1040 email addresses, up from 900 two
months ago. We encourage residents who receive the eNews to tell
their neighbours and friends. The eNews letter is available to all
who subscribe. Trust Membership is not a requirement.
The eNews archives are available HERE. To subscribe to the eNews: CLICK HERE.
At this stage, the Trust will continue to distribute the printed bulletin as not everyone uses the internet. We
are continuing to looking for volunteers who like walking and who may
be able to distribute approximately 100 Bulletins a couple of times per
year, as this is all done by kind members of our community. If you are
able to help out, even as an occasional fill in person, please contact trish@bcct2119.com.au.
The Trust has always had an unwritten policy to assist any resident regardless of their membership status.
Despite
the hot weather, a very enjoyable time was had by all. The rock
formations were amazing including a natural rock bridge and cave. The
walk was followed by a delicious afternoon tea.
