In this edition:
In this issue: Picnic for Trees, Beecroft shops, Beecroft gardens,
Council Elections, Council amalgamation, a new child care centre
for Cheltenham and the Spring Walk.
President’s comment. Taking on the President’s role has kept me
busy with plenty of day to day matters that are worth reporting
on. I had a productive meeting with our State Member Damien
Tudehope last week. I requested that he contacts Transport NSW to make
sure there is communication between the State Rail designers and Hornsby
Council’s landscape architects regarding the siting of the Beecroft
Station lift and ramps. I’ll be meeting with our Federal MP Julian
Leeser in September.
Bag free Beecroft has developed its own momentum. Fingers crossed,
I sincerely hope it will continue. Who remembers growing up when
plastic did not exist? I have been involved in Clean Up Australia
for many years and I am amazed how much non-biodegradable material is
circulating in our environment. Every wrapper seems to be lined with
some amount of plastic or aluminium foil and while we tend to pick up
the more visible cans and bottles there is an increasing percentage of
small pieces that get missed. Wouldn’t it be nice if ALL
politicians were more visionary and encouraged technology to address
this issue? Perhaps we haven’t reached the point when the proverb
‘necessity is the mother of invention’ applies, but bear in mind we are
only custodians of our environment for a relatively short time compared
to the time frame required for our footprints to disappear.
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Reminder, Picnic for Trees to celebrate National Tree Day. This coming Sunday July 30th the Trust, in conjunction with other community groups, will be holding Picnic for Trees in the Beecroft Village Green.
The activities will start about 11.30 am and finish about 1.30pm.
Besides a tree planting ceremony of another White Mahogany similar to
last year, there will be a sausage BBQ plus a number of children’s
activities with a wildlife focus. Hornsby Council will be providing 27
Lilly Pilly Cascades for planting. The formalities will be minimal, with
the emphasis instead on families bringing a picnic lunch and meeting up
with the local community. All welcome of course.
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Beecroft shopping centre update.
The new Beecroft Place is nearing completion with the crane removed this
past weekend. Hannah Street had to be closed off so a huge crane could
be positioned on the street to slowly lower dismantled sections of the
crane from the roof of the shopping centre. The opening date for
Woolies, the anchor tenant, is likely to be on September 19th.
We have all heard the announcement that Woolworths and Coles propose to
ban plastic bags from mid next year. This is great news and the
Trust thinks the residents of Beecroft with the Bag free Beecroft
campaign, should take some credit in influencing their decision.
We thank all those who have contacted Woolworths and applied pressure,
including Damien Tudehope our local MP.
The manufacture of reusable shopping bags has taken off. It’s
great to see so many of the local ladies getting together in the local
church hall and having a sewing bee. This social engagement has
become just as wonderful as the plastic bag
campaign.
Photographs by Michael Bianchino.
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Beecroft Gardens and Community Hall Carpark Design. Just a reminder that the exhibition period for the planned design has been extended a week till 28th
July. The garden design incorporates a ping pong table and has been
amended to incorporate more grassed areas with the use of sandstone
rather than coloured concrete. The carpark design is still
controversial.
To view the plans and documentation and to make a submission if desired, click here
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Hornsby Council elections on Saturday 9th September. Another reminder that you have to vote on September 9th
if you are north of the M2 and are still part of Hornsby Council.
Beecroft residents now in Cumberland Council do not have to vote
even though other wards of Cumberland Council will be voting.
Refer to http://www.votensw.info/is_my_council_holding_an_election
The Trust will be holding a Meet the Candidates evening and has booked the Beecroft Bowling Club for Tuesday night 29th August starting 7.30 pm.
Remember you will need to vote for 3 councillors for our redefined C
Ward and for a Mayor. If you wish to register as a candidate or
want to know the new boundaries of C Ward , click here
Residents
are reminded that with the changes to the ward boundaries, Cherrybrook
is now part of C Ward. On Saturday 22nd July, a
public meeting was held at the Cherrybrook Community Centre to promote
"People before Politics". Many local residents expressed their
frustration with the present consultation processes. They feel the
concerns of the community are not being heard and that this is a
problem at all levels of government. Many of those present were also
most unhappy with the continued push for increased density in
residential and urban areas, with little or scant plans to increase
infrastructure to support the resultant growth. The organisers called
for more residents to stand as independent Councillors as they feel
politics presently dictates many Council decisions. This year's upcoming
Council elections will indeed be interesting and will impact on voting
patterns in C Ward!
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Seniors Development at 6-8 Malton Rd. DA/1257/2016/.
The
Trust wants to thank everyone for lodging objections to the Seniors
Housing Development proposed at 6-8 Malton Rd Beecroft. The DA
proposed to demolish the 2 existing houses that contribute to the
Beecroft Heritage Precinct and are worthy of retention. Council has
rejected that proposal. However an amended DA has now been
submitted for consideration that proposes to retain the two houses,
convert them to seniors housing and build an additional residential
complex in the rear. It is still a seniors housing application so the DA
has to be assessed under the state planning legislation and not just
Council’s LEP. The Trust will assess this new proposal over the coming
week. Click here for details of the new application.
You can compare the early design with the new one as all documents are listed in chronological order.
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Latest on the Council Amalgamation. The
Trust is still none the wiser as to what, if anything, is likely to
happen regarding amalgamation, after raising the matter with Hornsby
Council and the member for Epping, Damien Tudehope. Being left
unresolved, the resultant situation is helping no one. As a result
Council has resolved to formally write to the Minister for Local
Government. See extract from minutes of July 12th. RESOLVED ON THE MOTION OF COUNCILLOR RUSSELL, seconded by COUNCILLOR TILBURY, THAT:
1.
The Acting General Manager be delegated authority to finalise a
proposal under Section 218E of the Local Government Act in line with the
information contained in Deputy General Manager’s Report No. CS23/17
and to submit such a proposal to the Minister for Local Government.
2.
The Acting General Manager be delegated authority to prepare and submit
an additional proposal under Section 218E of the Local Government Act
for the transfer of the current City of Parramatta Council area bounded
by the M2 Motorway, Midson Road, Terry Road, Epping Avenue, Wingate
Avenue, Ball Avenue, Blaxland Road and Terrys Creek to Hornsby Shire
Council. 3. Council write to the Minister for Local Government and the
State Members for Hornsby and Epping seeking a meeting to discuss the
financial impact of the stalled amalgamation process on Hornsby Shire to
date.
This
was all extremely confusing to those residents present at the meeting
as Point 2 above was a last minute inclusion to the motion on the
night. A resident from Beecroft asked whether ALL of Beecroft was
included in the areas requested to be returned and the Mayor answered
"Yes it does, it does". However, Point 2 means not all of Beecroft south
of the M2 was requested to be returned in this motion. The
Trust is disappointed that this amended motion was passed because it
tends to smack of hypocrisy. Background papers attached to the
item argued financial as well as historic community ties being the
reason for the transfer back. But the amended motion ignores the strong
community ties associated with Beecroft and appears to focus on
financial needs only. We hope this amended motion is ignored by
the Minister.
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Former Congregational Church at 179 Beecroft Rd. Cheltenham is to Become a Child Care Centre. The Hornsby Council meeting held Wednesday night 12th
July, approved the development application for a childcare centre at
179 Beecroft Rd. The former Congregational church which was sold
by Council in 2015, is heritage listed and will be sympathetically
adapted for its new use. Whilst the removal of several large trees
was seen as a sad loss, the most controversial issue on the night
centred around the existing traffic problems in the Promenade. As a
consequence Council resolved on the night to meet with representatives
from the high school, the two child care centres and the Civic Trust to
work out a better way of managing traffic in the future.
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Coming Events in August September and October.......
Rotary and Council are working together to repair the damaged sun dial that is located in the Village Green.
The unveiling by Mayor Steve Russell, is programmed for Sunday 24th August.
Lock in Sunday 29th October for the Trust’s
annual Spring Walk. Traditionally held between 2pm and 5pm, we try
to lead a walk that is both topical and different, with afternoon tea
provided. More details next month.
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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.
