Cremorne Point Kiosk

Mrs SKINNER (North Shore) [5.15 p.m.]: Cremorne Point is a place of stylish modern townhouses and gracious old apartments, for walks with the dog, for strolling with friends and family, for picnics with visitors or just plain quiet thinking times; and for sitting on a park bench overlooking the water. I described that scene in my first speech to this Parliament. I pointed out then that high among local concerns were fears of overdevelopment, shortage of car parking space and increasing traffic.

Those fears prompted locals of Cremorne Point to organise a public meeting at the ferry wharf last Saturday. The topic of the discussion was a proposal to build a 44-seat restaurant with a roofed
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deck cantilevered out into the harbour, with a new landing and steps for water taxis and private water craft. The plan involves the renovation of the kiosk, built around 1910, to form part of the buildings which originally served as the ferry wharf. To attend the public meeting I caught the ferry across from Circular Quay.

On that trip I had the good fortune to bump into two locals who were reminiscing about the commercial activity associated with the kiosk about 30 years ago. They remembered the old wooden wharf ramp with a newsagency located conveniently between the two. There was also a pharmacist, a bootmaker, a drycleaner, a milk bar and a post office - all commercial activities that served the needs of the local community and commuters who caught the ferry to and from work in the city.

Sadly, some years ago now, all but one of the structures burnt down and the kiosk is now a plain, timber, rectangular structure built to the edge of the seawall. It is approximately 72 square metres in size. The kiosk has been crying out for renovation for years. It is shabby, with mean windows, a sagging roof, and its second skin of asbestos cement weatherboard cladding - applied as what one can only imagine was a poor attempt at preservation some years ago - is painted a dirty pink. The kiosk was owned by the State Government until recently, when it sold the building to private interests for a figure reputed to be more than $1 million.

The matter that now concerns local residents is what is proposed for the kiosk and its impact on their neighbourhood. A development application lodged with North Sydney Council indicates that additions will encroach on harbour space and will add half again to the size of the kiosk envelope, in other words, an additional 41 square metres. As the development application notes, the closest available street parking is 120 metres up the hill. What it does not point out is that the fight for these spaces is frantic. Many of the older Federation and Victorian apartment buildings on the point have no off-street parking.

The area is well served by reserves, parks and playground. Its natural beauty and the nearby saltwater swimming pool make it a popular picnic spot for visitors as well as locals. The extra burden of coping with parking for a 44-seat restaurant, particularly in summer and especially at weekends, when parking is most in demand, disturbs locals. As this is a quiet residential point, especially at night, they are also worried about the impact of noise and congestion associated with services needed to run a restaurant, such as deliveries and rubbish collection. When the State Government put the kiosk up for sale, agents advised would-be purchasers:

Due to the limitations on car parking and the already congested nature of the roadway, a traffic generating development is unlikely to be approved . . . an activity that attracts private transport usage would be unlikely to receive council support.

The advice continued:

Due to the lack of car parking a commuters' coffee shop rather than a restaurant that detracts private vehicle users would be appropriate.

That is certainly what residents who attended the public meeting want. They voted unanimously to oppose a restaurant of the type proposed. They told me that they would support a commercial development that serves the local community, perhaps a coffee shop, with park benches where commuters or daytrippers can sit and admire the view, but not a sophisticated restaurant that adds to the traffic, which is already a constant nightmare throughout the electorate. Although this development application lies in the hands of North Sydney Council, because the kiosk is totally within its boundaries, there was some suggestion by councillors at the meeting that a harbour encroachment would require State Government approval.

It is unconscionable that a government that claims to have an environmental approach to harbour foreshore should allow a 72-square metre building with a heritage order and limited capacity to earn income to be sold for more than $1 million. Whatever the authority for approvals, my request on behalf of residents who braved the cold last Saturday to express their views is to seek an assurance from all parties that any redevelopment of the kiosk is in keeping with the heritage nature of the building and the ambience of this quiet and beautiful residential area, and that nothing will be built that will add to the traffic and parking problems experienced by the local community.