President’s comment. On Wednesday 11th
October 2017, Hornsby Council held its first General Meeting with all
our newly elected Councillors in attendance. What a breath of fresh
air! The atmosphere was light and in a way jovial with our new
Mayor Philip Ruddock struggling with some of the formalities of a
Council meeting. However he made up for any shortfall using his
extensive experience as a former Federal Minister maintaining a firm
control over the proceedings.To
quote one resident who attended the meeting: A very collegial
atmosphere indeed with Mr. Ruddock providing guidance and leadership in a
non-partisan manner .
I sensed at the meeting that a change in culture was already underway
with the unanimous appointment of our only Independent Councillor, Vince
del Gallego as Deputy Mayor. Vince has been a Cherrybrook
resident for many years and was motivated to stand as a true independent
Councillor after fighting against the South Dural rezoning proposal.
Vince is a C Ward Councillor so he represents residents in Beecroft and
Cheltenham.
The other night I again saw the Mayor and our B and C Ward Councillors
at the Pennant Hills Civic Trust AGM. So I’m getting an insight in
how they are fitting into their roles as our Councillors. What
impressed me was their stated conviction to put us first, the community,
before politics. The open forum at the Pennant Hills AGM saw our
representatives more relaxed and open in the informal atmosphere and
they spoke as one that they want to work with community groups like the
Trust. So I am looking forward to the next three years being less
stressful, with less confrontation and more co-operation.
As for Parramatta Council news, I have some articles below.
Council Amalgamations. Last
year’s drawn out amalgamation process is not over yet. Residents
should be aware of the continuing financial dispute between Hornsby and
Parramatta Council, where Hornsby Council is refusing to hand over to
Parramatta Council the rating details and associated funds related to
the properties that were transferred over to Parramatta Council. It all
sounds so simple. The Trust understands that the actual amount of funds
that has to be transferred to Parramatta Council is unclear and Hornsby
Council has sought direction from the State Government. That direction,
we understand, has yet to be provided. Hence the delay and
dispute. But how does this dispute affect the residents of Beecroft and
Cheltenham?
While the State Government proceeded with the transfer of the southern
section of Hornsby Council this was only the first stage of the
amalgamation process, with the second stage being the amalgamation of
Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai Councils. So while Ku-ring-gai Council is
unchanged by the amalgamation process, and Parramatta Council has
completed its amalgamation, Hornsby Council has been stalled halfway
through the total process with a smaller area and left financially
disadvantaged.
As mentioned in earlier editions this amalgamation process hasn’t helped
the Trust itself, because it means we must divide our limited resources
between two Councils. One can easily argue we are taking a
selfish view, especially with regards to the comments from a number
residents south of the M2 who are very happy with Parramatta
Council. Regardless, we still believe this process must be
resolved sooner rather than later. Mayor Philip Ruddock has
publicly stated that, unless this situation is resolved by the State
Government, Hornsby Council rates may need to be increased by the order
of 15%.
Refer to Item 9 - CS38/17 Alteration of Boundaries Proposals - Hornsby Shire Council and City of Parramatta Council.
New member on the Civic Trust Committee. Last
month the Trust asked for volunteers from the southern section of
Beecroft that is now within the City of Parramatta Council to join the
Trust Committee. Now that the Trust has to deal with two councils,
we need resident representation on the committee from residents south
of the M2 Motorway. Bill Rankine has joined the committee and he brings a
wealth of community involvement with him. Bill has been active in
the local Neighbourhood Watch program and knows many of the local
residents. He also indicated that he is prepared to liaise with
our Parramatta Councillors. Below is an article from Bill on the
proposed redesign of the Plympton Rd carpark.
Proposed improvements to the Carlingford North car park. City
of Parramatta Council is proposing to upgrade the Plympton Road / North
Rocks Road shopping car park. For those interested, details are
shown in the photograph of the exhibition sign displayed outside the
shops.
Beecroft Place Car Park. Trust
members have informed us that drivers should be careful while exiting
the Beecroft Place car park. Besides the obvious conflict with looking
out for pedestrians on the footpath, last week one member scraped his
car wheel against one of the kerbs inside the underground car park
whilst exiting. After the scrape he investigated the offending corner
and noticed he wasn’t the first to have a scrape. The picture below
shows the black tyre marks on the raised kerbing. The matter has
been brought to the construction company's attention, who intend to fix
the problem. So please be careful as you exit the car park.
Beecroft & District Garden Club.
Beecroft & District Garden Club Inc will hold its Monthly Meeting
for November at the Beecroft Club, 128 Copeland Road, Beecroft on
Friday, 3 November, 2017 commencing at 7.30 pm for an 8 pm
start.
Guest speaker will be Elizabeth Swane - and her topic: ‘Hydrangeas
and their care and maintenance’. Visitors welcome.
Cuttings and potted plants for sale (please bring reusable bags).
Supper provided.
Hornsby Arts Festival. For
those interested in the arts, Hornsby Council is currently running
their annual arts festival. Click here for details. http://fota.com..au/
One of the young artists is Hugh Van Schaick. Visitors to Beecroft
may know him. Hugh worked at the Long Shot Café for five years
and his mural can be seen on the cafe's wall. We also understand
his grandfather was a previous Member for Berowra. Some local
artists are investigating the possibility of having his work displayed
at Beecroft Place in one of the community window pods.
Public Exhibition of Draft Amendments to Hornsby Development Control Plan 2013 - Tree and Vegetation Preservation.
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. 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.
Exhibition
The draft amendments to Hornsby DCP 2013, will be on public exhibition from Wednesday, 18 October 2017 to Friday, 17 November 2017 and can be viewed in the following ways:
City of Parramatta Council Administration Building: Ground Floor, 126 Church Street, Parramatta: Monday – Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm.
Epping Branch Library: Chambers Court, Epping: Monday – Friday 10:00am to 9:00pm; Saturday 9:30am to 12:00pm; Sunday 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
Submissions
Written comments should be sent to City of Parramatta Council by 4:30pm on Friday, 17 November 2017.
Submissions can be sent to:
Chief Executive Officer
City of Parramatta Council
PO Box 32, Parramatta NSW 2124
Attention: Brooke Levingston – Project Officer Land Use Planning
Subject: Draft Amendments to Hornsby DCP – Tree and Vegetation Preservation (F2017/02319)
Council will also accept e-mailed submissions sent to: council@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au , quoting ‘Draft Amendments to Hornsby DCP – Tree and Vegetation Preservation (F2017/02319)’ in the subject line.
All submissions received by Council will be considered before a final
decision on the draft amendment is made. Any submission received may be
made publicly available and may include the name(s), address, signature
and contact details provided.
If you have any questions regarding the draft amendment, please contact
Brooke Levingston from Council’s Land Use Planning Team on (02) 9806
5399.
Current Status of the Proposed Seniors Development at 6-8 Malton Road Beecroft. The
applicant has recently lodged an appeal with the Land and Environment
Court (LEC) against Hornsby Council. Talking to council staff it
would appear that the applicant is keeping his options open. He
has a limited time frame if he wants to lodge an appeal, and once that
time frame is up, then the LEC is not available to him. So, since the
assessment by Council is taking longer than usual, the applicant wants
to make sure he has the option to appeal any refusal by Hornsby Council.
The Trust understands that the delay is due to the applicant still
trying to satisfy Council’s queries on disabled access to public
transport and storm-water drainage to Malton road.
Beecroft Forum Dinner 2nd November The Beecroft Forum Dinner will be held on Thursday 2nd
November 2017 at the usual time of 7.00pm and at the usual place,
Pennant Hills Golf Club, Copeland Road, Beecroft. A donation of
$50 per adult would be appreciated. The guest speaker is
Mark Scott AO, Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, with
oversight for 2,200 schools with 49,000 teachers and 800,000
students. The title of Mark’s talk is “Education for an uncertain world”. Bookings are essential. Please book early. Please advise bookings to Janet Hayes (Ph 9980 9917) or email beecroftforum@bigpond.com
Beecroft Presbyterian Church Fete
8am-2pm - Saturday, 4th November, 2017. Lots
of fun for all the family with a jumping castle, children's games, face
painting, huge white elephant, Arts and Crafts, collectables stall,
secondhand toy stall, plant stalls, cakes and jam stall, international
food stall, delicious fresh warm scones and tea as well as our famous
sausage sizzle!
Donations of good quality furniture and household goods are most welcome
before the fete. Please contact Pam, our White Elephant
coordinator, Ph. 96342670 for collection of goods. No books
please.
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 1020 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 look 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.
