1stMarch 2018 Edition One. In this edition:
Presidents Message, AGM March 27,
Clean Up Australia, DA process HSC,
Amendments to Tree & Vegetation Control Plan,
New Electronic Message Board,
LEC proceedings for Malton Rd, Armistice Grants,
Mikey the Powerful Owlet,
Steven Head named as HSC new General Manager.
Message from the President In
this edition, I have tried to maintain a variety of items, ranging from
what has happened at Hornsby Council to upcoming events. We will be
delivering a short bulletin to all 2119 households soon, promoting the
AGM on 27th March 2018. You would have noticed that
over the past year we have limited our printed bulletins to events that
warrant a full coverage of all households, and relying on our eNews for
day to day news items. So I encourage you to get your neighbours
to subscribe to our eNews. We currently have over 1000 subscribers,
including a number from outside our two suburbs. I also appreciate the
positive feedback many of you are giving the Trust, often by email but
also just chatting in the street.
Reminder - Annual General Meeting The Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust AGM will be held on Tuesday 27th
March 2018 at the Beecroft Bowling Club, 128 Copeland Rd commencing
7.30 pm sharp . Some of the current committee members are unable to
re-nominate for various reasons so the Trust is seeking new committee
members. It is important to maintain a continuous injection of new
people on the committee. After all, the Trust is only as good as
the community it serves. Nomination form can be downloaded from the
Trust website bcct2119.com.au. CLICK HERE.
Please pay your 2018 subscription prior to coming, as it will minimise delays in entering the venue. CLICK HERE for EFT details.
There will not be a guest speaker, however there will be a Question and
Answer session with our elected representatives. Supper will be served
after the AGM. Expect a bulletin in your letterbox advertising the AGM
soon.
Reminder - Clean Up Australia – this Sunday 4th March 2018 The
Trust has registered the Beecroft Village Green again and we will be
setting up at the picnic tables from 9am. All welcome to come down
and lend a hand. Children are welcome also but must be
accompanied by an adult. There will be plenty of bags, both white
for rubbish and yellow for recycling, and limited number of
gloves. If you are coming along, it is preferable for you to bring
your own gloves.
The window display shown below was organised by Trish Brown with
enthusiastic input from Mrs Pretorius’s class 1P at Beecroft Public
school. The two community windows at Beecroft Place are available for
community displays. Contact Wayne Davey. the manager, on 0410 598 686 if
your group is interested in using one of the windows. He is only
too happy to assist.
Development Approval Processes at Hornsby Council commencing March 1st 2018 As
reported in our previous eNews, the State Government gazetted new
planning legislation prohibiting Councillors from determining
development applications. For Hornsby Council, because of the delay in
the amalgamation process, the date of commencement of this new approval
process is the 1st March 2018. There will be three
levels of approval. Put simply, the three levels are based on the
estimated cost of the development; under $5million, under $30 million
and over $30million.
The lowest level under $5million, which will cover the majority of house
related developments, will be determined by Council’s staff. The second
level for development over $5 million will be determined by an
Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel (IHAP). Expect large
residential developments, like Seniors Housing, to be captured in this
level. The third and highest level will be the Sydney North
Planning Panel (SNPP), which replaces the former Joint Regional Planning
Panel (JRPP). The SNPP will determine development above $30million in a
number of northern suburb Councils.
On Wednesday night 21st February, Hornsby Council held an
extraordinary meeting to approve the panels for the IHAP and SNPP.
The minutes can be viewed here: CLICK HERE.
Amendments to the Hornsby Development Control Plan 2013 - Tree and Vegetation Preservation On Wednesday night 14th
February the amendments to the Hornsby Development Control Plan 2013 -
Tree and Vegetation Preservation were approved . Details can be viewed
in the confirmed minutes at the end under item 13. CLICK HERE Note the Parramatta Council has done likewise and also strengthened the planning controls in Beecroft south of the M2.
In order to appreciate the significance of amendment to Hornsby
Council’s Development Control Plan, the Mayor of Hornsby Philip Ruddock
had a lengthy interview on Sunday morning 18th February with
Graham Ross of the Garden Clinic on Radio 2GB. To listen to
the interview use the audio link on our website. CLICK HERE
Many thanks to Macquarie Media Ltd giving permission to use it.
Electronic Message Sign on Beecroft Road, north of Albert Road For those wondering why there is a new sign on Beecroft Road, details can be found on the NorthConnex website, http://northconnex.com.au/ Type in ‘VMS’ in the search panel on the top right of the screen. To quote from the material provided, this
sign is designed to allow the efficient operation of the road network
by providing road users with advance notice of planned and unplanned
incidents impacting the NorthConnex tunnel and road network. The sign
will provide live up to date information about changes to road
conditions.
Land and Environment Court proceedings – 6-8 Malton Road, Beecroft Residents
who objected to the proposed seniors housing development would have
received a message last week from Marsdens Law Group. Only those
who objected may get an opportunity to speak on the day.
Residents may recall that the development application sought
consent for “infill self care housing” comprising 10 independent living
units pursuant to the provisions of State Environmental Planning Policy
(Housing for Seniors or People with a Disability) 2004, including the
conversion of two existing dwellings into four units and the
construction of a two storey residential flat building containing six
units and a basement car park on the land at 6 and 8 Malton Road,
Beecroft. The development application was originally notified by
Hornsby Council on 2nd November 2016 with amendments made on 13th July 2017. On 4th
October 2017, the Applicant commenced proceedings in Class 1 of the
Land and Environment Court’s jurisdiction appealing against the
Council’s deemed refusal of the development application. The Trust
will keep readers informed.
Armistice Grants Programme Our
Federal Member Julian Leeser recently approached local community
organisations seeking interest in applying for a financial grant for a
project related to the end of the 1st World War. The
Beecroft Cheltenham History Group has applied for a grant to publish the
letters of James Blackwood who fought and died as a young man on the
Western Front. His death had a marked impact on his family and the
district. About 100 of his letters survive as does Blackwood Reserve,
house and street. The family business continues as part of the Wesfarmer
group. The impact of the war can be seen in a number of ways, including
women taking a lead in community organisations, families like the
Blackwoods withdrawing from public life and the building of memorials
that remind us of the tragedy of war rather than victory. We will
let you know of the outcome of the application.
Mikey the Powerful Owlet & Friends: Saving Byles Creek Valley & Beyond Local
shoppers at Beecroft would remember the book launch last November and
subsequent window display at Beecroft place over the Christmas holidays,
on Mikey the Powerful Owl. This is a follow up report from
Georgia Cameron.
“Team Mikey” flew to The Children’s Bookshop Beecroft for the
presentation of a big Bendigo Bank promotional cheque for $2,510 to
Sydney Wildlife on Monday 22nd January 2018. The donation
represents $5 from each of the 500 limited-edition “Mikey the Powerful
Owlet & Friends: Saving Byles Creek Valley & Beyond” photo
books, written by Georgia Cameron, photographed by Michael Bianchino
and published by local community group The Byles Creek Valley Union Inc,
plus a private donation.
The book includes a foreword by gardening legend Mr Graham Ross VMM (The
Garden Clinic 2GB 873 and Better Homes & Gardens Channel 7) and
afterword by Dr Mehreen Faruqi (NSW Greens MLC), who have both supported
the campaign to save the vulnerable Powerful Owl and his habitat in
Byles Creek Valley and beyond.
Donating all the profits from Mikey’s second book to Sydney Wildlife was
in recognition of the amazing work the organisation does in the
community, according to co-authors Georgia and Michael, who also present
The Half Hour Hoot on local Hornsby/Ku-ring-gai community radio station
Triple H 100.1FM.
A registered charity licensed by NSW National Parks & Wildlife
Service, Sydney Wildlife’s 24/7 rescue and advice service is operated
entirely by volunteers who rehabilitate and release sick, injured and
orphaned wildlife.
Local Sydney Wildlife carer Deb Fleet said that all the work Sydney
Wildlife does is done by volunteers, so funding is really important.
Robin Grindrod, Secretary of Sydney Wildlife said donations like this allow the organisation to do more.
Books are still available at The Children’s Bookshop, 6 Hannah Street Beecroft (02) 9481 8811 or online at www.mikeythepowerfulowlet.com. Photo: Michael Bianchino 2018.
Low flying helicopter training - Sydney, Orange, Canberra during February and March On Tuesday night this week, 27th
February, many residents would have experienced a constant flow of army
helicopters flying in formation, from about 6pm to 10.30pm. The
Trust contacted our Federal Member Mr. Julian Leeser MP who quickly
provided an explanation and a link to the training exercises being
conducted by our Defence Forces. https://www.army.gov.au/media-room/noise-and-training-notices/low-flying-helicopter-training-sydney-orange-canberra-during The Trust appreciates that we have such excellent access to our Federal Member.
Steven Head named as Hornsby Shire’s new general manager Below is the recent media release from Hornsby Council. Posted: Wednesday 21 February, 2018
Hornsby Shire Council has named Steven Head as its new general manager,
the first permanent appointment to the position in more than two years.
Mr Head comes to the position with 20 years of experience in local
government, including time at Ku-ring-gai, Parramatta and Willoughby
councils. His most recent position was a senior role with Roads and
Maritime Services. “This is one of the most important decisions a
council can make, one that will set our course for years to come, and we
made it very carefully,” Hornsby Shire Mayor Philip Ruddock said.
“Steven stood out from a field of more than 80 candidates as a
person with deep experience and tremendous leadership skills, somebody
who will deliver great results for our organisation and for the Shire as
a whole.”
Mr Head said he was both humbled and excited to be offered the position.
“It’s an absolute honour to be chosen and I can’t wait to start,” Mr
Head said. “There are a number of major projects in the Shire that I’m
especially keen to be involved in, such as the transformation of Hornsby
Quarry. “I was also drawn to this position because Hornsby Shire
clearly has a council that is committed to doing the right thing by its
community.”
The position has been vacant since Scott Phillips left in August 2015,
with acting general managers filling the role since then because of the
uncertainty of the local government reforms. “However, that is all
behind us now and with our new general manager at the helm we are moving
forward into the future,” Mayor Ruddock said.
Mr Head said his top priorities were to ensure a solid financial future
for Council, while continuing to deliver quality facilities and services
for the community. “The purpose of my role is to work closely with
Council, the community and staff to ensure we have identified the
priorities for our community and then deliver those.”
Mr Head will begin as general manager on March 26.
Annual Memberships for 2018 are now Due... CLICK HERE
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 1040 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 looking 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.
