Campaign Updates - MP for Balmain and Council continue support

May 2009 - Verity Firth MP, Member for Balmain meets with forestlodgetrees

forestlodgetrees campaigners provided Verity Firth MP with an update on current issues concerning the Crown land at a meeting in her electorate office. Issues discussed included the most recent letter from Lord Mayor Clover Moore affirming Council's continuing commitment to the land on Alfred Road being used as public open space (see Campaign Update – November 2008).

March 2009 - City of Sydney Councillor Chris Harris meets with forestlodgetrees

Councillor Chris Harris viewed the Crown land with one of our forestlodgetrees campaigners.

Campaign Update - November 2008

Lord Mayor continues support
In response to a request from one of our forestlodgetrees campaigners, the Lord Mayor sent the following reply 14 November 2008:

“I continue to share your concern for this land to remain in public ownership. The State Government has not yet accepted our offer to maintain the land on its behalf or to have it transferred to the City for use as public open space.

“I have asked Monica Barone, the City’s Chief Executive Officer, to again make the offer to the State Government and seek its commitment that the site will remain in public ownership. …”


forestlodgetrees at Forest Lodge Public School Community Day
On Sunday 9 November 2008 Forest Lodge Public School held a Community Day to commemorate the occasion of the School’s 125th Birthday.

forestlodgetrees had an information display at the event which attracted much interest.


forestlodgetrees meets with new City of Sydney Councillor Dr Meredith Burgmann
At the Forest Lodge Public School Community Day our forestlodgetrees representatives had the welcome opportunity to meet with Dr Meredith Burgmann, our new City of Sydney Councillor, and delivered our Information leaflet and Invitation to visit the land.

Campaign Update - March 2008

On the State Government front…Verity Firth MP continues her support
February / March 2008
Representatives of the forestlodgetrees community group met with Verity Firth (recently appointed Minister for Climate Change and Environment) at her mobile Office at Annandale and Glebe (29 Feb & 1 March). Verity agreed to help us investigate all options to save the Crown land at 9 Alfred Road from development.

December 2007
At the invitation of Verity Firth MP, representatives of the forestlodgetrees community group met again with representatives of the Department of Lands and a representative of the Minister for Lands. Our representatives again vigorously argued the case to retain the Crown land at 9 Alfred Road in public ownership for public open space.

On the Council front … follow-up on Sydney City Council North West Community Forum
As reported in our Nov 07 update, at the forum the Lord Mayor’s representative and Councillor Kemmis acknowledged the impasse in negotiations with the Department of Lands and indicated that they would investigate the current state of negotiations and get back to us. Neither have done so.

As far as we are able to determine Council officers have taken no action to implement Council's unanimously adopted resolution to actively pursue negotiations with the State Government consistent with item no. 23 of the LAPocal Action Plan – North West on 19 February 2007 which states:
“Council will continue to negotiate with the State Government to preserve public ownership of the Crown Land at 9 Alfred Road, Forest Lodge.”

Campaign Update November 2007

Representatives of the forestlodgetrees community group attended the Sydney City Council North West Community Forum on 5 November and put their concerns about the impasse in negotiations about the land at 9 Alfred Road to both the Lord Mayor’s representative and to Councillor Robyn Kemmis.

The concerns are that, although both the Council and State Government agree in principle that the land could be acquired by Council for public open space, Council appears to be unwilling to pay to acquire land that is already publicly owned and the State Government appears to be unwilling to transfer the land to Council free of charge. As a result, the land remains at risk of sale for residential development with the inevitable loss of the grove of mature eucalypts standing on the land.

The Lord Mayor has urged the forestlodgetrees community group on a number of occasions to pursue the matter with the State Government. The group is doing this, however the point was made to both the Lord Mayor’s representative and to Councillor Kemmis that the group’s efforts would be more effective if, at the same time, Council actively pursued negotiations with the State Government consistent with the Local Action Plan – North West, adopted by Council in February 2007, which states at item no. 23:

“Council will continue to negotiate with the State Government to preserve public ownership of the Crown Land at 9 Alfred Road, Forest Lodge.”

Both the Lord Mayor’s representative and Councillor Kemmis indicated that they would investigate the current state of the negotiations.

Campaign Update August 2007 – Council asked to provide an update on negotiations with the State Government.

Prompted by a request from forestlodgetrees community group, Verity Firth, Councillor for the City of Sydney, asked a question on notice at Council’s meeting on 27 August 2007.

The question by Councillor Firth was as follows:

“Could I get an update from the CEO regarding negotiations the City has undertaken with the State Government to secure the Crown land at 9 Alfred Road Forest Lodge in public ownership for public open space, in particular:
(i) any negotiations since representatives of the forestlodgetrees community group met with the CEO on 23 November 2006; and
(ii) any negotiations since the Local Action Plan North West was unanimously adopted on 19 February 2007, which included at item 23 that ‘…Council will continue to negotiate with the State government to preserve public ownership of the Crown land at 9 Alfred Road Forest Lodge’.”

The Lord Mayor answered the question as follows:

“The community’s concern about the Crown land at 9 Alfred Street [sic] is that the State Government proposes to sell the site.

The State Government should respond directly to the local community’s campaign to preserve this site in public hands under the current arrangements. However, the City has offered to maintain this site on behalf of the Government or to have it transferred to the City at a peppercorn rate for use as publicly accessible open space. The State Government has not accepted the City’s offer of assistance.

I urge Minister Firth to work with her own Government to ensure that the site is retained in public ownership.”

Note:
We note by way of clarification that the campaign of the forestlodgetrees community group is not aimed at preserving the land in public hands under the current arrangements. Under current arrangements the Owners’ Corporation at 77 Hereford Street has a permissive occupancy of the land for which it pays rent to the Department of Lands. The Owners’ Corporation supports the Crown land becoming public open space and wrote to Council early in 2006 requesting that it acquire the land for this purpose. The Owners’ Corporation continues to manage the land under the current arrangements on an interim basis whilst negotiations between the State Government and Council resolve the long-term future of the land.(See blog Archive July 2006 and September 2006 “AGM of the Owners’ Corporation at 77 Hereford Street confirms intention to pursue campaign for public open space”).

Next Steps:
forestlodgetrees community group has requested a meeting with Councillor Firth to discuss the way forward with our campaign.

Campaign Update

forestlodgetrees meets with new Member for Balmain

On 15 June 2007, representatives of the forestlodgetrees community group and the Owners' Corporation at 77 Hereford Street met with the Hon. Verity Firth MP, new state member for Balmain, to discuss the current status of the issues concerning the land at 9 Alfred Road. Ms Firth is also a Councillor for the City of Sydney and State Minister Assisting (Climate Change, Environment and Water).

Ms Firth agreed to try to progress negotiations between the State Government and City of Sydney with a view to preservation of the Crown land in public ownership for public open space.

Ms Firth also agreed to look into this issue in the context of the Department of Environment and Climate Change's City and Country Environment Restoration Program in view of correspondence between one of our forestlodgetrees campaigner's and the then Minister for the Environment, Bob Debus, in May 2006.
(See blog entry: Campaign Diary: May-June 2006 in the June 2006 blog archive.)

Lord Mayor still on board but throws the ball back into the Pollies' court

Following representations at the recent Community Forum, forestlodgetrees campaigners received confirmation of our discussions and this advice from Clover Moore:

Thank you for the copies of your correspondence to Steve O'Brien and Monica Barone at the City of Sydney, and your letter and petition to the Hon.Tony Kelly, Minister of Lands, asking him to keep the Crown Land on Hereford Street in public ownerhsip.

... it is crucial that the local community continue to raise this issue with the new Minister of Balmain and the Minister. I will continue to support retention of this land in public ownership.

(letter dated 24/4/07)