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- 10 May 2007
Charlestown Community Facilities
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Page: 265
Mr MATTHEW MORRIS (Charlestown) [4.40 p.m.]: I bring the House up to date on the current status of the proposed expansion of Charlestown Square and the status of public lands as part of the proposal. Since I last spoke on this issue the centre owner, General Property Trust [GPT], has lodged its development application for the expansion of the shopping centre and the relocation of Charlestown Bowling Club and various other elements of its proposal. Currently one key issue of concern is the proposal to rezone Ferris Oval, which Lake Macquarie City Council is coordinating with the rezoning and reclassification process. The public hearing for the rezoning of Ferris Oval is scheduled for 22 May and is expected to attract significant public interest, and I would expect significant public opposition.
The Charlestown community faces a proposal to double the shopping centre's size, but that is not a primary concern. However, it is proposed that the local sportsground—the public parkland known as Ferris Oval—is to be sold to GPT to facilitate the relocation of the local bowling club, which would allow the expansion of the shopping centre. Ferris Oval has serviced the Charlestown community for more than 100 years and has played an important public role, a role that has been publicly recognised through various planning instruments, the last being the council's local environment plan of March 2004. Although cynics would say that Ferris Oval is not overly used, and it is not in top condition, the fundamental purpose of that land is to provide an opportunity for various types of recreation, to be part of the green open space servicing the Charlestown community.
The reality is that important green space could be upgraded to service the community in a more significant way if the minds are willing and the custodian of the land, Lake Macquarie Council, desires it. Clearly the Charlestown community is undersupplied with usable, quality, green open space. Any professional recreation planner, on assessing the land, would have to agree that, given the forecast increase of 3,000 residents, Charlestown is currently disadvantaged and certainly will be in the long term. The council signed an agreement to sell the land even prior to a development application being lodged and has also committed the ratepayers to fund the purchase of several private properties across the road to offset the loss of Ferris Oval.
As a good corporate citizen GPT should, at the very least, foot the bill for those acquisitions. I ask the council: Why is that not the case? The story gets worse as it has now come to light that GPT wants to remove another public land parcel, Rotary Park, for upgrades of intersections with the Pacific Highway. This will result in the removal of the Miners' Memorial, located in that park. The story goes further: the council now wants an additional 10 metres of Charlestown Oval, which adjoins Ferris Oval, to increase the width of council's proposed Carl Close road construction. Finally, Attunga Park, which is adjacent to Charlestown Public School, is under consideration for the relocation of Charlestown tennis courts. This will have a massive detrimental impact on the school students who regularly utilise that park.
Interestingly, the council is not prepared to give the school a lease on Attunga Park for any longer than a month at a time, just in case the tennis courts go there. The overall project for Charlestown has the potential to offer significant public benefit with a large increase in economic growth and jobs. However, the cost to the community in public lands and trade-offs is of great concern. It appears that the proposal by GPT is simply about commercial return rather than a sensible, balanced outcome respecting the public interest in Charlestown community's public assets. Even the handling of the proposal to date is questionable, given the secret meetings, the binding agreements signed between the council and GPT, the commencement of rezonings, road closures, the purchase of a private home by council, and the spending of significant council funds, all before a development application was lodged.
The question is: How can the council, given its extensive expenditure to date and agreements being signed off, now make an independent assessment of the various development applications that have only recently been lodged? I will oppose the rezoning, simply on the basis that Ferris Oval is an important part of the open space and energy of Charlestown and has never been earmarked for anything other than a public park and sportsground. [Time expired.]
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