We would like to congratulate Woolworths on taking the first tentative baby steps toward discouraging shopping trolleys from being abandoned in Ashfied’s streets.  A lone coin operated trolley was recently spotted in Woolworths trolley park outside their Ashfield Mall supermarket.

The Greens have long campaigned for coin operated trolleys as a way to stop abandoned shopping trolleys from littering Ashfield’s streets.

While pleased with this event, we are scratching our heads a bit as to how this will work in practice.  Are highly conscientious shoppers expected to queue to use to use the lone trolley?  With no other trolleys to lock your trolley to we are at a bit of a loss to know how to get our coin back - perhaps we are expected to use an honour system?  Despite these setbacks we can know one supermarket has taken the most minuscule of steps in the right direction.

A new website for the NO LEWISHAM TOWERS campaign has been launched: www.nolewishamtowers.org

We will post all news relating to this development to keep you up-to-date, and will put up notices of any campaign events.

This website has details about the plans for this massive overdevelopment.

It has the draft resolution from the public meeting of the 20 May.

The Your Say section allows you to share your thoughts, letters, submissions with the community.

We are also looking for official supporters for the campaign.  If your business, or community group, or even yourself as an individual, would like to become an official supporter of the NO LEWISHAM TOWERS campaign send an email to campaign@nolewishamtowers.org and include any associated logo.

Thank you for your support so far.  Together as a community we can stop this development if we all do our bit.

If you have any content or ideas about this website, please let us know.

Regards,

Max Phillips & Patrick Kelso
NO LEWISHAM TOWERS
www.nolewishamtowers.org

campaign@nolewishamtowers.org

Ms SYLVIA HALE [7.20 p.m.]: I speak on the continuing abuses inflicted by part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, and in particular about an application by Demian Developments for a site at Old Canterbury Road and Longport Street, Lewisham which has been called in by the Minister for Planning. This application is yet another disturbing example of how business seems to be done in New South Wales. Showing its familiarity with the process, Demian Developments has donated more than $20,000 to the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party since 2002. But it has not stopped there. Accessing the Labor old mates network, Demian has engaged the former Minister for many things, Carl Scully, to argue its case to his former colleagues.

What are the justifications for the Minister calling in this development? What is so significant about the proposal that it requires the intervention of the State Government? Actually, there is nothing that sets this development apart from many other development applications other than it overrides the draft subregional strategy process that Marrickville Council is currently undertaking at the behest of the New South Wales Department of Planning, and it will be a huge overdevelopment. Demian proposes a massive five-tower development, including two towers of 14 storeys and one of 12 storeys, 524 residential units and retail floor space of 9,000 square metres, incorporating a major supermarket, a liquor store and 15 speciality stores. In bypassing the council, the developer is seeking the Minister’s connivance in overturning the Government’s own planning processes and the views and wellbeing of the local community.

(more…)

Would you like to live next door to fourteen storey tower blocks?  A huge overdevelopment has been proposed for Lewisham, at the corner of Old Canterbury Rd and Longport St.  See map.

The development includes 14, 12 and 6 storey towers and a large supermarket mall with basement car parking.  The developer has bypassed council and the local community and gone straight to the state government for approval under the controversial Part 3A law.

• Overdevelopment
• Traffic congestion and pollution
• Community disruption
• New precedents for building size for the Inner West
• Local shopping strips hurt - Petersham, Dulwich Hill, Summer Hill
• Interferes with the Cooks River to Iron Cove Greenway project

The Greens are campaigning to stop such a massive overdevelopment.  You can view our webpage on this issue: http://marrickvillegreens.wordpress.com/issue/lewisham-part-3a-development/

A public meeting has been called for 7pm, Wednesday 20 May at Summer Hill Community Centre, 131 Smith Street, Summer Hill.   See map to venue.  Come along to see the developers plans, express your opinion, and show your opposition to this overdevelopment. 

Please contact  Max Phillips if you want more information.

Greens Councillor Max Phillips
0419 444 916
phillips.max@gmail.com

I encourage you to attend this public meeting to find out more about what is planned.  Sylvia Hale, Greens MLC will be a key speaker.  PLEASE CIRCULATE TO YOUR NEIGHBOURS AND FRIENDS.

Notice of Motion to Ashfield Council.

Councillors Rerceretnam, Kennedy and Kelso

Preamble:

The Ashfield municipality, like many intermediate areas, act as transit routes for mainly east-west and to a lesser extent north-south, small and large vehicle traffic in Sydney.
It is therefore imperative that Council look at ways to discourage, impede and circumvent the use and exacerbation of neighbourhood streets as traffic ‘rat runs’. The increase of such traffic into such streets make it much more dangerous for local residents, pedestrians, the elderly and children.
This motion proposes that Council update its review of traffic trends in the municipality. We believe the last one was done in the early 1990s.
(more…)

Notice of Motion to Ashfield Council
Cr Dr Marc Rerceretnam, Cr Lyall Kennedy, Cr Patrick Kelso

Preamble:

The Global Economic Crisis has affected all sectors of the economy. From small to large business enterprises, the loss of confidence in the financial system and the ramifications from poor policy decisions in some leading economic regions has had an affect on all.

In the Ashfield Council area, business confidence has plunged with many proprietors claiming a significant drop in profitability. In Summer Hill alone it is conservatively estimated at least 3 to 4 businesses are up for sale - one assumes because of economic hardship.

(more…)

Notice of Motion to Ashfield Council.

Cr Dr Marc Rerceretnam, Cr Monica Wangmann, Cr Lyall Kennedy and Cr Patrick Kelso

Over the last 30 years the different town centres of the Ashfield municipality have developed in a haphazard manner. The Haberfield town centre has had the benefit of a long established post-war association with the Australian-Italian community and its wonderful culinary traditions. The success of this area to a large extent has worked in tandem with the growth of the nearby Leichhardt restaurant areas.

Summer Hill has had the benefit of its small village aesthetic and atmosphere and a vigilant, close-knit community intent on guarding against inappropriate overdevelopment - as seen in their fight against a proposed multi-storeyed carpark in the late 1980s.

(more…)

While it has been fun to casually mention you are going to SHAG tonight, and you get to do so once a month, the time has come to forgo inane humour in the interests of professionalism.  After several months of contemplation the decision was made to change the name of ‘Summer Hill - Ashfield Greens’ to just ‘Ashfield Greens’.  After much consideration it has been decided the new name better reflects the geographic focus of the group - namely Ashfield Municipal Council, and the Federal and State electorates that intersect the municipality.

Notice of Motion to Ashfield Council.

Councillors Rerceretnam, Kennedy and Kelso.

Preamble:
Many local residents have expressed concern about indiscriminate pruning of street trees in the municipality. Many of these trees, some in excess of 90 years old have been pruned, in the opinion of many residents, excessively.

Public utilities such as Energy Australia hire sub-contractors to make sure street trees are at least 2.5 to 3 metres from their power lines. While residents are not questioning the importance of safeguarding the integrity of power lines, it should not be at the expense of local trees.

(more…)

The Report on Community Gardens by Gerard Howard is being discussed at the Community Services Committee meeting on Tuesday 17 February. The meeting starts @ 6.30pm but the Community Gardens item may not be on until later in the evening.

People who are interested in moving beyond words and reports and taking some concrete action to establish a community garden in Ashfield should attend the meeting.

If you would like to join the Community Garden Task Group please email Anthony Lupi. We will be convening the first meeting of this task group after we see what happens at the Council meeting on 17 February. 

Anthony Lupi
Community Garden Task Group