Closure of the bridge since the fire in July has caused Eastwood shoppers much inconvenience and commerce has suffered. We hope the bridge’s reopening will mark a new age of prosperity and happiness for the Eastwood community and local businesses.
Posted by: Admin | November 6, 2011
Eastwood Centre car ramp reopens
Posted in Public facilities
Posted by: Admin | November 1, 2011
Ryde residents treated with contempt
The rescission I had submitted to overturn Council’s earlier decision to build two 24 storey towers at the Civic Centre precinct was unfortunately defeated tonight after Council split 6 vs 6 and the Mayor used his casting vote against the motion. But not before I had the chance to again voice the overwhelming opposition of the people on the Council floor:
Tonight we heard from Mrs Lyn Slatter who lives with her family on Colston Street, Ryde. Like so many people we keep telling ourselves we are representing, the Slatter family will be directly affected by the construction of two 24 story towers on the site.
It will be their backyard that will be overshadowed by these massive towers. Their cars will be the ones stuck in traffic jams each day on Blaxland Road and Lane Cove Road. Their friends and neighbours are the ones who will find it impossible in the future to find street parking in their own streets if this development goes ahead.
What is distressing is that the Slatter family is not alone in this. Thousands of our residents living around Civic Centre site will be similarly impacted. I think we as councillors need to ask ourselves if we are not representing people like the Slatter family- then what really are we doing on Council?
We are told that Council faces financial ruin if the development does not go ahead. I don’t believe that. But in any case, that can never justify ruining the daily lives of so many of our residents living in City of Ryde. I may not be a central ward councillor but such is the height of this development, people living as far as Eastwood and Denistone and West Ryde in the West ward would all be able to see these towers from a distance. We also heard form Julie Worsley tonight, a school teacher at my old primary school about how the development will affect people living as far away as North Ryde.
During my time on this Council, it is true that sometimes the voting result is split six all. But those are the rare occasions where public opinion in the community is evenly divided. I’ve never seen a situation like the one we have right now where it is so clear that an overwhelming majority of people are against the development and yet half the councillors still go ahead and vote for it. Over 120 objections can never be dismissed as trivial or unimportant.
I urge the 6 councillors, especially the 3 central ward councillors who voted for the development to carefully reconsider their position. It only takes one of them to change their votes tonight. They have the power to stop this dreadful development and their constituents will thank them for it. I ask those councillors to have courage, be independent and not vote as a party bloc. Your loyalty should be to the people of Ryde alone.
Posted in Development
Posted by: Admin | October 20, 2011
Ryde Civic Centre Redevelopment- not so fast !
On 18 October, I spoke out against rushing through the Ryde Civic Centre Redevelopment project in the absence of a referendum at the next local council elections. Unfortunately to the disappointment of almost 100 residents sitting in the gallery, plans for 24 storey towers were rammed through by a narrow vote of 5 v 6.
The people of Ryde are no fools. They know that once this Council endorses the changes to the height and floorspace controls, there is no turning back on the development itself.
We have a lot of developments already going on across the street from the Civic Centre. The full impacts of those developments are still yet to be felt as the new residents have not moved in there yet. Until those residents move in, it is impossible for us or any planning consultants to be able to accurately assess the full impacts to traffic, transport and amenities in the area. It would be premature to squeeze in even more people in Top Ryde until those effects can be assessed.
But there is a more fundamental objection- the current 12 councillors simply do not have a mandate from the people of Ryde to move ahead with this project. I say this because none of the existing councillors campaigned at the last local government election on a platform to put in 24 story buildings in Top Ryde.
I think it is totally inappropriate for the current Council to make a decision of such wide ramifications less than a year away from the next local council elections. The right thing to do is to put this issue squarely to the people of Ryde for a decision at the next election.
It is unfortunate that even before the results of the public consultation were made known, some councillors were already talking about redevelopment and saying “Bring it on”. Whereas a majority of Ryde residents (some 65%) are saying “Not so fast!”.
Posted in Development
Posted by: Admin | July 29, 2011
Statement on Eastwood fire
I am saddened by the fire at the Eastwood town centre last Wednesday night and the discovery of the remains of the local fruit shop owner at the site. My thoughts and prayers are with the dead man’s friends and family.
In addition to this tragedy, the fire has caused big disruptions to the Eastwood community in the past few days.
When I first heard about the fire in the news, I was greatly distressed personally. My first thoughts were for all the shop owners I have become friends with over the years, including the ones I buy bread, coffee and newspapers from, and the supermarkets and restaurants I visit each week.
The 100 fire crew did manage to contain the fire spreading to the whole shopping district. So as a resident of Eastwood myself and ward councillor, I firstly wish to thank our emergency personnel for their brave efforts in fighting the fire.
I have visited the area several times in the last few days and have spoken with affected shop keepers.
Unfortunately, the inconvenience will continue to be felt by our community in the near future.
Parts of some Rowe Street remain closed off as the Police is continuing with their investigations on the cause of the fire. I understand that the destroyed fruit shop and furniture store will now be demolished.
It also appears the drive ramp which provides the main entrance point to Eastwood Shopping Centre could be damaged by the fire. On Tuesday night’s Council meeting, I will be asking Council to urgently work with the RTA to plan for alternative redirection of traffic assuming the ramp cannot be reopened in the near future.
On a more positive note, the vast majority of shops in Eastwood remain open for business and I am confident our community will recover from this setback. The Council car parking lot on Glen St is also open.
I ask that everyone keeps the Eastwood community in its thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.
Posted in Community News
Posted by: Admin | June 15, 2011
Tidy Suburbs in Ryde
When I go around the community, one of the most common complaints I hear about is people not fulfilling their basic responsibilities as residents. That is often the root cause of a lot of community conflicts and disharmony.
On last Tuesday night’s Council meeting, I proposed Council adopt a ”Tidy Suburbs” campaign to encourage and reinforce acceptable standards on maintenance of front yards, nature strips, and public areas. This was unanimously endorsed by councillors and I thank them for their support.
Examples where civic responsibilities have fallen below acceptable standards include the throwing out of furniture and rubbish by the side of the street outside of designated collection times, unkempt front lawns, shopping trolleys left by the road side, and spitting and littering in public areas.
Council staff will now investigate ways to educate all members of the community and reinforce acceptable standards.
While stricter standards will no doubt be unpopular with some people, I believe it is absolutely necessary if we are to maintain a community’s image and respectability. This local community has come up with acceptable norms and standards which have worked well for many years and these need to be reinforced.
Posted in Environment
