A development application has been lodged with Gosford Council for the property at 58, 60 and 62 Araluen Drive. This building would replace the Fish & Chip shop, the Yum Yum Eatery building and the residential building to the west.
Four new commercial properties are proposed, including a possible medical centre and surgery. Nine terraced apartments would step up the slope behind the retail premises. Underground parking for 34 cars would be provided.
However, a large, seven level building covering three blocks of land and requiring the removal of 126 large trees could well be regarded as out of context with the character of Hardys Bay and not in keeping with the minimalist approach to foreshore development that has been advocated by local groups.
The owners of the property are keen to receive feedback from the local community and have provided an outline of the proposal that you can read and respond to by clicking here. They have also produced photo montages showing the development superimposed over pictures of Hardys Bay, which you can see by clicking here.
The official start of the Bush Fire Danger Period began on Wednesday 1st October and the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) urges residents and holiday makers on the Central Coast not to be complacent as we head into the warmer months. Local RFS brigades have been preparing for the Bush Fire Danger Period and recommends the community does the same.
From October 1 any person wishing to light a fire in the open will require a fire safety permit. During a Total Fire Ban however, no fires of any kind may be lit even if you hold a permit.
Commencement of the Bush Fire Danger Period does not prohibit landholders from burning. In fact, we continue to encourage landowners and managers to prepare their properties, which may include controlled hazard reduction burning. It does mean however, that permits will be required for lighting fires, said Inspector Rolf Poole, Community Safety Officer Gosford District.
RFS Firefighters will continue to assist land management agencies by conducting hazard reduction burns during the Bush Fire Danger Period as weather conditions permit. The burns are coordinated as part of the District’s Fuel Management Plan and will greatly assist to protect the community. Local Resident should also be using this time to prepare and maintain their properties.
Fire permits are free and can be obtained from your local fire station or fire control centre.
As temperatures get warmer we also ask people to remain vigilant. Those that choose to holiday on the Central Coast should be aware of the current fire restrictions and Fire Danger Rating.
The Fire Danger Rating is measured daily and displayed on roadside fire danger signs. Residents and holiday makers can also log on to the RFS web site rfs.nsw.gov.au for updates. Local information can be obtained at gosford.rfs.nsw.gov.au, ,” said Inspector Poole.
For further enquiries contact - Gosford District (02) 4340 2911 - Wyong District (02) 4350 5480
Promptly responding to a request from the Hardys Bay Residents Group, which was submitted on behalf of our community, Senior Constable Corina Hassett, the Crime Prevention Officer at the Brisbane Water Local Area Command, has kindly provided important advice relating to home security.
Emphasising the vital issue, the NSW Police Service needs the public's help to combat home break-ins and lists a number of tips from its brochure Burglary - Reducing the Risks, which is freely available from the local police command.
"Most intruders hope to avoid confrontations, " the brochure reports, " so, whenever you leave your home, lock all doors and windows but maintain a " lived in " appearance by using timer devices to turn lights and radios on/off at different times. Keep your garage doors closed and locked, even if you'll only be away for a short time."
Under the heading " Security Checklist " , the brochure outlines the following points in the event the homeowner will be away for more than a couple of days:
Pay essential bills in advance: electricity, gas, water, telephone, etc, so that your supply continues while you're away.
"To ensure we continue to provide a professional service to the community, " Senior Constable Hassett stresses, " it is important that all criminal activity is reported to the police.
"Call 000 in the case of an emergency or when reporting a crime in progress, call 4323 5599 for Gosford Police Station, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 with information about criminal activity and call the Police Assistance Line (PAL) to report non-urgent incidents and minor crimes that do not require follow-up, such as malicious damage or break -and- enters where the offender is not known."
When Hardys Bay Residents Group members, Kay and Terry Feltham, ventured into the serenity of Maitland Bay during a recent Tuesday morning walking excursion to the isolated inlet, they could have been excused for thinking they were watching a re-enactment of a scene from the movie " Castaways ".
They were confronted by a boat, obviously stranded on the beach, with a person vigorously digging sand away from the keel of the stricken vessel in a bid to free it from its predicament. In a nearby clearing was a modest lean-to which had obviously provided shelter during the yacht's enforced beaching.
It later transpired that the boat's owner, David Keats, and his partner, Kellie, had set out from Newcastle on the Friday morning aboard the 13-metre steel-hulled yacht, ' Emily ', and headed for a favourite retreat, Maitland Bay, for a scheduled overnight stopover before heading back north the next morning.
Conditions approaching the bay's entrance were far from placid as a fierce storm struck with little warning and forced the vessel onto the beach. The unceremonious arrival was hardly the manner in which the couple were accustomed to experiencing.
Throughout the previous three days marooned on the beach prior to the Felthams' arrival, David and Kellie had endeavoured to enlist outside towing aid - including securing the services of SEATOW - but their mobile calls proved fruitless due due to the dense area's unsympathetic location. In fact, Bill Egan, another HBRG member, who visited the site, reported that Waterways found the existing adverse conditions made any rescue mission virtually impossible.
Terry Feltham returned to his Hardys Bay home to collect more shovels and hurried back to the beach with packed food provisions which Kay had prepared. He then assisted David and another helper with the arduous sand-clearing operations.
In the meantime, David had made contact with a salvage tug in Sydney which arrived at Maitland Bay later on the Tuesday afternoon. Eventually, after many hours of relentless digging around the yacht's keel, the boat was successfully towed back into the bay. The tug then escorted 'Emily ' to Barrenjoey where it spent the evening.
At first light the next morning, the yacht left Barrenjoey for Hardys Bay but further drama awaited. Whilst endeavouring to negotiate the notoriously narrow channel off Lobster Beach, the subject of intense safety issue argument which has placed the section's dredging hopes in jeopardy, ' Emily's' rudder was broken - and this occurred whilst it was being navigated during the high tide period.
The ferry service between Palm Beach and Ettalong could close by Christmas unless vital dredging is carried out on the narrow entrance to Brisbane Water. To read more about this in our latest newsletter, click here.
Progress on the Killcare Surf Life Saving Clubhouse development has delighted local community members with club president Jim Macfadyen describing the rapidly-emerging new look facility as " one which will provide a great boost to lifesaving in the area".
"Already, " he says, " there is a special vibrancy surrounding this project. Expectations are high and, consequently, it is extremely important that we continue to present a club that everybody can be proud of ".
Speaking at a recent meeting of the Hardys Bay Residents Group, Mr. Macfadyen occupied centre stage with surf club registrar, Jeremy Linton-Mann, and Building Committee supervisor, Karen Burke, in outlining details of the structure's pleasing progress.
Demolition of the old headquarters proceeded throughout April and May. It represented the end of an era, the demise of a warm and friendly clubhouse which had served its members and visitors so well during a period which embraced the two-stage openings in 1971 and 1981.
Ground floor features of the new construction will be a gymnasium, first aid room, a vastly upgraded gear and storage area - which will be three times larger than the original - , kiosk, cool room, showers and toilets, and a training room, while the upper level will house a restaurant, bar area, kitchen, members' meeting room and an auditorium catering for 150 to 200 people, with a dance floor, and a generous 5-metre outside deck.
A special lift will provide access for the disabled to all clubhouse precincts. Additionally, solar power and solar hot water will be incorporated. Gosford Council will install 100,000-litre rainwater storage tanks for various purposes including boat and equipment washing, and these will be located behind the building.
The club will be responsible for ongoing maintenance costs and pay an annual leasing fee. Consequently, due to the self-funding process, the club will be reliant on income from restaurant patronage, kiosk rental, weddings and other functions.
Throughout the course of the rebuilding operations, four fenced-off container sheds situated at the southern end of the beach's car park are being used to contain surf club equipment. Toilets have been provided for public use.
Credit for what has been freely described as an " exciting concept in surf clubhouse design " is attributed to the award-winning Killcare architect and club member, Karen Burke, who worked in close co-operation with council officers, ensuring, at the same time, that the plan fulfilled the vital requirements of the surf club.
"With an overall emphasis on beach safety, the club is justifiably proud of its excellent patrolling record throughout the decades of its existence and is ever-mindful of its obligations to the public, " said Mr. Linton-Mann. " A major aim has always been to promote healthy and enjoyable activities for all, particularly the youngsters, and, as a consequence, we have benefited from a strong influx of junior members in recent times.
MARINA PROJECT "NOT PERMISSIBLE"
Following discussions with the NSW Department of Planning, we have been advised that they cannot support an application by the Killcare Marina to have its proposed development assessed under Part 3A of the Environmental and Planning Act.
According to the department, a marina and the other proposed uses are not permissible because the majority of the proposed site is zoned 6(a) Open Space (Recreation).
Legal advice indicates that the marina owners would not be able to rely on either the heritage conservation incentives in the Gosford Planning Scheme, or on 'continuing use rights', if applicable, as mechanisms to enable permissibility.
Although the proposal could be reformulated to exclude the 6(a) zoned land, it is doubtful that this could be achieved given that access to the site inherently will require use of land zoned 6(a).
The department also raised concerns with the size and scale of the current proposal in the Hardys Bay context.
The Hardys Bay Residents Group committee would like to thank all those members and friends who wrote letters of concern and other local community groups for their support.
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.
COUNCIL TO REVIEW SEDIMENTATION CONCERNS
News that Gosford Council plans to meet with NSW Maritime and other government stakeholders to review the sedimentation issue in Brisbane Water has been greeted with elation by many in the local community, in particular, Hardys Bay Residents Group member and highly-respected authority on the controversial matter, Graeme Smith.
The council's decision to proceed with the discussions, in which it is anticipated that funding to undertake any necessary works will be sought, has been described in many quarters as a " significant breakthrough " . The talks are expected to take place shortly.
The recent turnaround in events is an acknowledgment of the genuine commitment Graeme Smith has placed in endeavouring to create an eventual solution to the grave concerns aroused over the dramatic increase in silt and other substances which are threatening to choke the scenic waterways and produce an alarming deterioration. The Hardys Bay-Pretty Beach zones of the Brisbane Water network have been commonly identified as problem areas.
Throughout their constant campaigning, Graeme and his colleagues have nominated a number of major concerns: These include :
In reviewing the situation's troubled history, Graeme paid tribute to the support provided in 2003 by Councillor Jim Macfadyen who, he said, was instrumental in presenting the case to Council in which core sample tests, designed to gauge the amounts of sediment that had built up in Brisbane Water, would be introduced. The estimated costs of these tests was $25,000 and, at the time, were deemed " an unnecessary expenditure " by Council. "Jim and I were both disappointed", Graeme recalled. " Had the core sampling gone ahead, we would have had an accurate data base on how much sediment should be removed and how much should be left. Without this vital information, we had no basis when submitting a case on sediment removal"
Commenting on the recent developments involving the council and government bodies, he added : " Now, at last, there is a realisation in official quarters that the sediment issue poses a real problem. We sincerely hope that an upcoming Estuary Processes Study will shed some light on the degree of sedimentation that confronts us.However,we doubt that, without these core sampling tests, the actual amount can be accurately gauged. The processes study does not allow for a request for sediment core samples to gauge the relevant buildup."
" Still", he concluded, " the fact that these discussions are to be held must strongly indicate that steps are being taken to investigate, and, hopefully, successfully address the issue"
OYSTER LEASE CLEANUP CAMPAIGN COMPLETED
It signalled the end of an era when the final remnants of the adandoned oyster lease debris were removed from the bay's foreshore and re-located for the purposes of providing valuable backfill for roadworks along the expanse of Hardys Bay Parade between the Extension Wharf and the private wharf to its northern end.
The volunteers' gumboots, aprons and gloves were finally placed to rest following an arduous 11-month campaign in which over 400 tons of piles of the unsightly material, including concrete slabs, roofing tiles and various waste materials, were transferred ashore.
The bay's " facelift ", which was envisaged at the time by State MP, Marie Andrews, as one which would " offer protection for seagrass beds and provide habitat för small marine life ", was made possible by courtesy of a generous $15,000 grant to the Hardys Bay Residents Group from the NSW Environmental Trust, as part of a State Government package, which significantly assisted with the bay's foreshore restoration and rehabilitation, enabling the HBRG to complete the project in a safe and timely manner.
"All of this would not have been possible without the Environmental Trust's enthusiastic support of the community who welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the cleaning up process, "said Terry Feltham who, with his wife, Kay, had initiated the Stage One operations and pursued early negotiations in obtaining official removal permits for the crusade.
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