FOOTY, FANS AND FOOTLIGHTS
On Saturday 14th August we are bringing NIDA to Avoca with a special advance preview of the soccer inspired (I know I should be calling it football) play by Joanna Weinberg, “Every Single Saturday”.
Remember all those Saturdays driving the length and breadth of the Central Coast for soccer matches - and netball, and league, and cricket, and swimming. No matter the code, it was every, single Saturday - and we loved it, didn't we?
Either way, international star of stage and screen, Joanna Weinberg captures the highs, the lows, the joys and the disappointments of her life as a soccer mum - and that is just on the sideline.
The actors are fabulous, the play is a joy, you'll cringe as you recognise a little piece of yourself and I bet you'll wake up on Sunday morning singing the theme. Local Mariners personalities will be there and funds raised will be used to promote local clubs & girls football participation. Don't miss it - we're a lot closer than NIDA!
Two shows only Saturday 14th August at 4.00pm (tickets $28.00) and 8.00pm (tickets $35.00). Book now 43821677
ADVICE RECEIVED FROM GOSFORD COUNCIL
The following advice was received from Gosford Council.
To Hardys Bay Residents Group
I would just like to advise your association of the upcoming upgrade works to the Sewer System in Araluen Drive Hardy's Bay.
Gosford City Council will carry out essential upgrade works to the sewer system from the beginning of June to end of July 2010.
During this period, the dirt road section of Araluen drive - located between the chained vehicle restrictions at Hardy's Bay and Pretty Beach - will be cordoned off as a construction site and unavailable for public access. Signage will be erected at the site to alert community about the closure. There will be an increased level of noise, dust and construction traffic during this period.
Council will endeavour to minimise any disruptions to the community during these works and appreciates your patience and cooperation while this important upgrade is completed.
Could you please use this information where relevant, either as email to your members or for inclusion on your websites or newsletters or your next residents group meeting. Letters will also be delivered to neighbouring residences, and the school has been contacted and information to be included in their school newsletter for any students that may use this as an access to and from school.
Should you have any questions, please contact Brian Hackett on 4325 8491 or brian.hackett@gosford.nsw.gov.au
Kind Regards
Kim Radford Coordinator Parks, Playgrounds & Foreshores | Open Space & Leisure Services Gosford City Council
Phone: (02) 4304 4322 Fax: (02) 4365 4031 kim.radford@gosford.nsw.gov.au
DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL REJECTED
The Land and Environment Court has dismissed a proposed mixed-use development at Hardys Bay. The appeal by the developer to the Court involving a property known as “58 to 62 Araluen Drive, Hardys Bay”, was dismissed by Commissioner Brown on Monday afternoon, March 8.
The final verdict followed two earlier unsuccessful proposals to establish the complex consisting of a “commercial component, in this case, retail properties, as well as a residential building to the west.” Four new commercial properties were planned and nine terraced apartments were to step up the slope behind the retail premises. Underground parking for 34 vehicles was to be provided.
Gosford law firm, P. J. Donnellan and Co. were instructed by the Council to act on its behalf. Both parties, the Council and the Developer, were to subsequently provide a solid base of professional support throughout the ongoing processes.
From the outset, an enormous amount of community concern was aroused and after Gosford Council received over 600 objections to the original proposal, the developer made a number of amendments – later described as being “merely cosmetic” - to the plan. As a consequence, the number of listed objections received by Council from the community increased to 731. Clearly, the minor adaptations provided were not adequate to convince the local community that the size and style of the development was in the best interests of the area.
In the week leading up to the hearing in Sydney on March 8, almost 200 members of the community converged on the proposed Hardys Bay development location to attend a site meeting including the Commissioner and members of the various legal teams. Speakers representing the Hardys Bay Residents Group, the Wagstaffe to Killcare Community Association and the Killcare/ Wagstaffe Trust teamed up to provide well-balanced addresses when outlining compelling reasons for disallowing the project to go ahead.
Additionally, two neighbours, whose homes flanked the proposed development site lots, offered their respective properties for inspection purposes.
Fittingly, as a climax to the proceedings, the ferry “Saratoga” was commissioned by the Hardys Bay Residents Group to provide a viewing facility for a group of 20, enabling the Commissioner, legal teams, and other parties vital to the decision-making process, to step aboard and traverse the bay in evaluating the visual impact of the planned development from the water.
In dismissing the appeal in the Land and Environment Court, Commissioner Brown outlined a number of relevant features several of which included:
FRUSTRATION OVER ESTUARY CLEANUP PLANS
Graeme Smith, our highly-respected Community Representative on Gosford Council's Coastal and Estuary Management Committee, is relieved that the long and complex procedure of formulating a revised Plan of Management for the Brisbane Water Estuary nears completion but has expressed 'utter frustration' with a perceived lack of interest displayed by the Department of Fisheries during this process.
Problems arising from sedimentation of the estuary form the vast majority of the 252 issues to be addressed in the draft of the new Brisbane Water Plan of Management which has recently been on public display and in the near future will be adopted by Gosford Council as a replacement for the 1995 Plan.
Graeme sees the most difficult task ahead will be to convince Fisheries – an arm of the Department of Primary Industries – that maintenance dredging is not optional, but essential, for the estuary to remain intact and healthy for future generations.
"Fisheries actively prevent any action that may inflict damage to existing mangroves, seagrass beds, salt marshes, etc, to the extent that even if we had the necessary equipment to dredge sediment from the estuary,where could we start?" asks Graeme.
"Much of the sediment build up is covered with mangroves or seagrass and both attract sediment with mangroves particularly active in reclaiming estuarine waterway.
"Examples of this loss in the lower estuary are numerous ... for example, Mudflat Creek and delta, Killcare Marina, RSL Creek and delta, the shoreline opposite Pretty Beach Public School and just south of the Pretty Beach baths, and the outlet at Turo Creek.
"Fisheries policies", asserts Graeme, "limit future degrading of the estuary to the extent that I have lost hope our once pristine Brisbane Water Estuary will ever be rehabilitated, wasting the efforts of all those dedicated people involved in formulating the revised Brisbane Water Plan of Management as well as the money spent on the high cost of engaging consultants during this process.
"Our residents should be aware that the Coastal and Estuary Management Committee responsible for this revised plan is made up of representatives from the community, such as myself, plus others from numerous Government bodies, including Fisheries.
"At our committee meetings, representation from Fisheries was rare, if ever. Consequently, this plan has been formulated without any substantial advisory input from the government body that has the final say on any estuary rehabilitation work, and there's no assurance that we can ever start the process of sediment removal sorely needed in many zones within the Brisbane Water Estuary.
"Sadly, Gosford's priceless natural asset is slowly, but ever so surely, shrinking."It's extremely disappointing".
FORESHORE UPDATE
Gosford Council has advised that it recently met with the Department of Lands and agreed that that the renewal of the Hardys Bay Foreshore should be separated into two parts as it moves forward.
The proposed works that form part of of the recent public consultation process are to be undertaken as follows:
MOSQUITOES.....
The mosquito issue continues to undergo public scrutiny, with the saltmarsh species, which is known to cause diseases such as Ross River fever and the Barmah Forest virus, generally acknowledged by experts as the major health concern.
Operating from breeding grounds in the Empire Bay swamplands and several other local areas, the potentially serious consequences of the saltmarsh menace have long been recognised by the authorities and constant steps have been taken to fully acquaint the public of the extent of the dangers it presents.
In response to a request by the Hardys Bay Residents Group, a wide-ranging field study has recently been established under the supervision of the highly-respected Dr.Vaughan Monamy, who has commissioned Leroy Gonsalves, a Phd candidate at the School of Arts and Sciences at ACU National, in North Sydney, to provide the group with a summary of the research he has subsequently been conducting.
The comprehensive investigation currently being undertaken by Mr. Gonsalves has, reportedly, already revealed a broad range of significant findings at this early stage and the HBRG will continue to monitor this particular issue of public interest and advise accordingly.
OUR FORESHORE ... SAFETY FIRST
Safety, open space, a minimalist approach, maintaining the ambience of our bay, and, above all, common sense.
These were the conclusions which were emphatically drawn when a Gosford Council-convened meeting was held at the Hardys Bay Community Church Hall, to assess the merits of an issue which has created an unprecedented wave of community debate.
The draft plan submitted by council officers, Peter Dunn, Sharen Ryan, Brett Eddy and Kim Radford, included a range of options which addressed all safety concerns previously raised by the Hardys Bay Residents Group in July, 2006.
These covered remedial " fixes " embracing the installation of crossings at Killcare Road, a bus stop, well-defined edges, road-widening for clearly-identified parallel parking ( which would, in contrast to angle parking, maximise the foreshore's green, open space and promote safety ), turning areas to the east and west of shops capable of safely handling future traffic flows, and the enforcement of speed restrictions.
The Hardys Bay Residents Group's president, Adrian Williams, and his colleague, Bill Egan, the vice president, agreed it was clearly apparent the foreshore topic had created huge interest in the community. Safety concerns and pleas for the retention of the area's unspoilt charms were features commonly proposed by those in attendance at the packed meeting.
At a meeting in late 2006, it was mutually agreed by all parties concerned that a "minimalist " approach should be sensibly applied in developing the foreshore. This was strongly endorsed by the HBRG when focusing on the importance of maintaining as much open space as possible, restricting the heights of trees to preserve residents' views, minimising signage, ensuring an absence of wide, concrete paths, and being mindful of the needless provision for a third playground, since the local area already provides two safe amenities, one near Stanley Street, east of the Killcare shops, and the other at Turo Park, Pretty Beach.