In this edition: Beecroft Village Gardens, Council
Elections, Picnic for Trees, Pollution In Our Local Waterways, Northwest
Rapid Transit (NRT), Bag Free Beecroft.
President’s comment. There
is sufficient information coming through to the Trust to justify an
eNews at least once a month. Below is a mixture of past and future items
that I hope will catch your attention.
Like many other residents I have been patiently waiting for the anticipated Land and Environment case for the clearing of 79-87
Malton Rd. It was initially booked for the end of June but has now been
deferred until later this week. One of our C Ward Councillors was
contacted a few days ago and advised “that Class 5
proceedings should be lodged within the Land and Environment Court this
week. Unfortunately, I don’t have a more specific time frame at
this time. Further advice will be provided upon lodgement”. The
same Councillor also assured us that council is taking this matter
seriously and that Council has sufficient evidence without the need to
contact the local residents who witnessed the illegal clearing.
Next Wednesday night 12th July, Hornsby
Council will be meeting to determine Development Application No
1159/2016 for the proposed childcare centre in the former Congregational
church at 179 Beecroft Rd. It is listed as Item 3 with a recommendation
from the planning staff for approval. See link:- http://businesspapers.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/Open/2017/07/GM_12072017_AGN.PDF
. Council meetings are open to the public, so you are welcome to
attend. If inclined, you will be given an opportunity to speak on
the matter.
Also listed for discussion at item 5 is Council’s submission to the
State Government Department of Planning and Environment on the NSW
Biodiversity Reforms. Council has raised concerns with the
implementation of the draft Land Management and Biodiversity
Conservation Reforms and will be requesting that commencement be delayed
to allow for further detail to be provided and additional consultation
to take place on these matters. These State Government reforms
have the potential to permanently change the green, leafy character of
Beecroft and Cheltenham.
The Beecroft Place shopping complex is appearing from behind the
scaffolding. No doubt, speaking on behalf of the majority of
locals, I am looking forward to its completion, the sooner the better.
I’m sick of the constant disruption to pedestrians and traffic, not to
mention the rubbish dropped in our surrounding streets. What is it with
tradesmen?
I ask you to look at the photograph taken of the Marketplace with the
Garden Clinic tucked in foreground. You will notice the metal tower on
the roofline, protruding well above the statutory height limit of 8.5
metres. This is the new telecommunications tower, approved under
separate State planning legislation, towering directly above the
heritage listed Garden Clinic building. In full view of the
street, the tower, positioned on the highest corner of the shopping and
residential complex, makes an intrusive statement in our heritage listed suburb and tends to make a mockery of our planning laws.
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Beecroft Village Gardens - Review of Environmental Factors The
draft plan for the village gardens from the children’s playground to
Copeland Rd has just gone on public exhibition for two weeks. The draft
plans and commentary can be viewed
by clicking here.
The draft plans are being assessed as an activity under Part 5 of the
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, hence the REF instead of
a DA. Council has decided to seek tenders for the construction at
the same time, so the tenderers will also be commenting on the draft
plans. The REF also includes a proposed car park for the Community Hall.
Residents are encouraged to provide feedback to
Council.
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Council Elections on 9 September 2017 Just a reminder that on the 9th
September all residents in the reduced Hornsby Council area will need
to vote. For details on ward boundaries and how to be a candidate, click here
The Trust will be holding a "Meet the Candidates" night before the elections.
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Picnic for Trees The Trust is supporting the annual Picnic for Trees gathering at the Beecroft Village Green on Sunday 30th
July between 11.30 and 1.30 pm. After the guest speakers there
will be a White Mahogany tree planting ceremony, the planting of 27
Lillypilly Cascades along Beecroft Road (courtesy of Hornsby Council), a
BBQ, and children’s activities centred around wildlife issues. Other
local groups participating include Byles Creek Valley Union, the
Beecroft Garden Club and the Beecroft History Group. Everyone is
welcome to drop in and meet your fellow residents.
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Pollution In Our Local Waterways. by Georgia Cameron. Photos Michael Bianchino
On Friday 16th June,
Cheltenham locals, Michael Bianchino and Georgia Cameron, reported water
pollution along Devlins Creek, particularly Duckies Waterhole in the
Lane Cove National Park – as per photos which demonstrate normal water
quality in September 2016 and water quality post this event.
Duckies September 2016
Duckies June 2017
Despite the good work of the Environment Protection Authority, National
Parks & Wildlife Service, Hornsby Shire Council, Parramatta City
Council and Sydney Water – the source of the pollution (which is
suspected to have come from the Epping canal earlier in the week) could
not be located.
This is the fifth water pollution incident reported to authorities by
2119 residents since February 29 2016, which resulted in three fines
totalling $56,000. However, these fines appear inadequate to change
behaviour on construction sites, so we call on our elected
representatives to lobby for an increase in penalties, enforcement of
stop works, and a name and shame register for repeat offenders.
Epping Canal June 2017 (photo by S. McAlister) Devlin's Creek June 2017
If you have information about this incident or come across a new water
pollution incident, please contact the EPA on 131 555, Hornsby Council
on 9847 6666 and/or Parramatta City Council on 9806 5050. If safe to do
so, it is also helpful to take a photo or video to email, or a water
sample (kept refrigerated) to provide later.
Thanks for helping to keep our waterways clean and protect our local
flora, fauna and environment, particularly Mikey’s vulnerable Powerful
Owl family and Gabby’s endangered Gang-Gang Cockatoo family.
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Northwest Rapid Transit (NRT) Concrete
structural works on the foundation level of the Cheltenham Services
Facility have now been completed. The services facility team is
continuing with the construction of perimeter walls and internal walls
of the facility building. Works on the suspended slabs will start in the
next month.
Construction activities have also commenced at the cricket practice nets
area, directly adjacent to the M2 Motorway, for the establishment of
temporary site facilities. The facilities will include a compound office
to house extra staff needed for construction. It will be in use
until late 2017. This space is enclosed by temporary fencing and all
trees in the area will be protected.
Within the tunnels, fit-out works are taking place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The track team is continuing with laying rail sleepers and pulling rail
strings. Rail sleepers are an important component underneath the
tracks to hold the rail in place.
Should you wish to make a complaint or obtain more information, please
phone 1800 019 989 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), email trains@metronorthwest.com.au or visit www.sydneymetro.info.
Track laying in the tunnel
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Talk: Hawkesbury River: A social and natural history
Date: Tuesday 11th July
Time: refreshments 6.30 pm, talk 7 to 8.30 pm Venue: Hornsby Central Library, 28–44 George Street, Hornsby, NSW 2077
Professor Paul Boon has just finished writing a book on the Hawkesbury – no one has done this before! It will be published in July 2017.
Paul's
talk, based on the book, will give an overview of the ecology and
environmental history of the Hawkesbury including the geology of the
Sydney basin, creation of the Hawkesbury estuary, human history of the
use of the river for transport and agriculture and its ecology.
Paul
spent his childhood living in Mt Ku-ring-gai, exploring the National
Parks that surround the Hawkesbury. He is a professor of aquatic ecology
at Victoria University and has worked for CSIRO Land and Water on the
ecology and management of rivers in the Murray Darling Basin. He
completed his PhD on the biogeochemistry of seagrass beds in Moreton
Bay, Queensland.
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Bag Free Beecroft launch The
Bag Free Beecroft campaign has generated a lot of publicity. The
campaign has been broadcast on national television as well as in the
local newspapers and on electronic media. It has been great to see the
ladies getting together making countless ‘boomerang’ bags that shoppers
can borrow and then return. Sewing bees have been formed with many
of the older ladies remembering a similar campaign the suburb had about
25 years ago.
Deirdre
Mowatt,
Emma
Heyde,
Clarissa Luxford.
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Borrow and Bring Back Bags A personal note from Beecroft resident Trish Brown: "
Thank you to all of the lovely ladies who have made bags for Beecroft
customers to borrow when they are shopping and have forgotten to bring a
bag. Thank you also to those who bring back the bags so that others can
use them too, as this is how it works. There will always be a bag
available when you get caught out if people are good enough to bring
them back.
We have had wonderful people donating fabric and we had a very successful sewing bee in June with another planned for the 19th July at St John’s Church on the corner of Beecroft Rd. and Chapman Ave.
If
you would like to come along and join us at 10am, you would be more than
welcome. Thank you to St John’s for allowing us to come along to use
their hall with their kind and very friendly sewing group. If you would
like to sew bags at home, please email the Trust who will pass the
information on to the ladies involved.”
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BeardsOn for Conservation 90 day Challenge.
Local lad, Beecroft born and bred James
Stanton-Cooke, is a co-founder of BeardsOn for Conservation. He’d like
you to grow something great this winter (i.e. a beard) as part of the BeardsOn 90 day Challenge from 1st June to 31st August
2017. So far, BeardsOn has raised over $38,000 and planted 19,000 trees
(every $2 donated plants a tree) and they have ambitious plans to plant
40 million trees by 2040! Last month, Jimmy was interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald (page 3), Linda Ross on Talking Lifestyles 2UE and The Half Hour Hoot on Triple H 100.1FM about
the #HALFCUT for climate change at the end of the Challenge on 31
August. 48 per cent of the world's forests have already been destroyed,
so if you’d like to do your bit for future generations, you can sign up
or support an existing team or individual – like “Cloudy the Kangaroo @
Waratah Park” sponsored by another 2119 local, Georgia Cameron. Also,
look out for BeardsOn collection boxes at selected Beecroft Village
shops where your spare change can make a difference to the environment. www.beardson.org https://halfcut.raisely.com/
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Trust Membership Subscriptions and eNews...
Keep our two suburbs strong and informed by being a member in 2017!.
To renew your
membership for 2017, please send a cheque with your phone and
email details to PO Box 31, Beecroft 2119, OR credit our bank account directly:
BSB 062-113 10068238, using your name as a reference. Please also send an email to treasurer@2119.org.au advising that you have updated your membership for 2017. Donations are also gratefully accepted.
Just a reminder that membership is due in April each year. For those who
have already paid, many thanks. Household Membership: only $20 per
year; Pensioner/Single Resident: $10 per year.
The eNews is becoming 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.
At this stage, the Trust will continue to distribute the printed bulletin as not everyone uses the internet.
The Trust has always had an unwritten policy to assist any resident regardless of their membership status.
