LORD MAYOR'S OFFICE AND SANDRA NORI WRITE TO TONY KELLY

In a surge of support for our cause this week, the Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Deputy Lord Mayor Verity Firth have written to Tony Kelly, Minister for Lands, asking that sale of the land be deferred and that the land be retained for public use. MP Sandra Nori has also made representations on our behalf.

CLOVER MOORE wrote:
"I am concerned that the Department of Lands' decision to dispose of this site may not adequately respond to the Principles of Crown Land Management set out in Secion 11 of the Crown Lands Act 1989. These principles require the protection and conservation of the environment and the encouragement of public use and enjoyment of public land. They also call for Crown land to be used and managed so that both the land and its resources are sustained in perpetuity. Any occupation, sale, lease or other use of Crown land should be consistent with those principles.

I share local residents' concern about sale of the site and believe that publicly owned open space in densely populated areas should not be sold for development where it can be used to continued public benefit. This site is planted with approximately 12 mature eucalypts that are 12 to 15 metres in height and around 25-30 years old. The trees wil be lost if the land is sold for development.

This land could be retained in public ownership if you were to consider vesting it in Council under seciton 76 of the Act, with the Council undertaking the long-term care and management as a local park for the benefit of the community.

I ask you to defer the pending auction to enable a meeting of senior officers to discuss a strategy to retain this land in Crown ownership. Please.....arrange a suitable time to meet."

(copy of this letter was received by us on 19/4/06)

RED ALERT!

The Department of Lands has informed us that they intend to proceed with their planned schedule ie they intend putting the land at 77 Hereford Street on the market in the 2nd/3rd week of April – which is NOW!

We do not know whether the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore has yet written to Lands asking them to defer sale until her officers have evaluated the land for public use (a commitment made at the council meeting on 10/4/06).

A projected meeting between The Department of Lands, Clover Moore’s office and representatives from 77 Hereford Street will probably not take place until AFTER ANZAC DAY.

We are close to losing this green space forever!

WE MUST ACT NOW TO KEEP THE FOREST IN FOREST LODGE!

EMAIL CLOVER MOORE - AGAIN! - ask her to
- note that Lands intends to proceed with its time frame for sale
- urgently ask Lands to defer sale
- expedite her officers’ evaluation of the land for public space
- expedite the meeting with Lands and our representatives
- extend Council’s Greening of Sydney policy to Forest Lodge.

The Greening of Sydney policy is evident elsewhere in Glebe, but NOT in the high density area of Forest Lodge. Remind Clover Moore that there has been NO new parkland in the Forest Lodge area in recent years. Remind her that our petition contained over 300 signatures!

EMAIL TONY KELLY – AGAIN!
Ask him to defer sale till Clover Moore’s officers have evaluated the land. Remind him that The Lord Mayor made a commitment to do this at the Council meeting on 10/4/06. Remind him that our petition contained over 300 signatures!

Copy your letters to Verity Firth

SPREAD THE WORD
- ask your neighbours to email
- ask anyone you know in Sydney City Council or the NSW Gov for help.

Scroll down for email and postal addresses.

forestlodgetrees campaign at City of Sydney Council meeting 10/4/06

Despite a stormy night in the City of Sydney Council meeting last night, the issue of the Crown land at 77 Hereford Street did get some attention.

Our petition of over 300 signatures was tabled and we received the Lord Mayor's written reply to the questions on notice asked by Councillor Firth (see blog post for 4/4/06).

Answer by the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore (following a background note related to the history of permissive occupancy of the land):

"In response to the concerns raised by residents, I have asked the City staff to evaluate the site in terms of its value as open space to the broader community. I will ask the Minister for Lands to defer sale of the site until that assessment is complete and I will provide a copy of the staff report to all Councillors when it is available".

While this response is cause for some optimism, we need to keep in mind the Department of Land's stated time frame for selling the land - until we hear otherwise. We also need to maintain our campaign to convince the Lord Mayor and her officers that Forest Lodge needs this open space, not further development of an already congested area.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

INFORMAL PUBLIC MEETING SAT 8TH APRIL, 4 PM
An update on developments prior to Sydney City Council meeting on Monday 10th April.

Petition
Our petition may be presented to Council on Monday. Petition forms can be signed at the Ross Street pharmacy, the grocery shop on the corner of Ross Street and Bridge Road, at 77 Hereford Street on Sat 8th April.

Please continue to send emails, letters or faxes asking that the policy of greening the City of Sydney be honored.

"As air pollution and vehicle travel continues to expand, green parkland is not only an attractive resource, it is a necessity". (Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Sydney Morning Herald, 27/3/06).

Campaign reaches Sydney City Council

Verity Firth, Deputy Lord Mayor of the Sydney City Council has informed us that she intends to raise the issue of the land at the Council's next meeting on 10 April.

Part of her Question on Notice will be:

Can the Lord Mayor please inform the Council what action has been taken regarding the request for the City to investigate the Crown Land behind 77 Hereford Street, Glebe?

Can the Lord Mayor please assure the Councillors that any delegated decision not to purchase this land will be brought before a full Council meeting for consideration by all Councillors?

Campaign Update

CAMPAIGN UPDATE
Report on Public Meeting

Residents of Forest Lodge gathered on Saturday 1st April for urgent discussion of the proposed sale of the Crown land behind 77 Hereford Street.

A representative of the Owners’ Corporation gave a presentation outlining the history of the small triangle of land and an update on the campaign to preserve the land as public open space in the form of a park.

Following a discussion of key issues, Councillor Kemmis who attended the meeting reviewed Sydney City Council’s actions to date, recognised the value of the green space and stressed the importance of the community making its feelings known to the Council and the Minister for Lands. A representative of the environmental group FRROGS also spoke, as well as other residents.

To date, over 150 signatures have been collected on a petition soon to be presented to Council, and this will continue.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Please continue to send emails, faxes, letters, to the Lord Mayor of Sydney and the Minister for Lands.

If you share our concerns about the loss forever of this green open space, and about yet more dense residential development in our neighbourhood with associated environmental impact, please:

Write, fax, email or phone:

Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney,
Sydney Town Hall, 483 George Street, Sydney 2000.
email: cmoore@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9265 9229 Fax: 9265 9328
Ask her to consult with the local community about this issue and to acquire the land for public open space.

Tony Kelly, Minister for Lands,
Level 34, Governor Macquarie Tower,
1 Farrer Place, Sydney 2000
email: tony.kelly@lands.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9228 3999 fax: 9228 3988
Ask him not to sell the land for development.

Please cc correspondence to:

Verity Firth, Deputy Lord Mayor, Sydney Town Hall,

483 George Street, Sydney 2000.
email:vfirth@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9265 9427 fax: 9265 9003

Sandra Nori MP,
225 Parramatta Road Broadway 2007
email:sandra.nori@parliament.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9660 7586 fax: 9660 6112

Robyn Kemmis, Councillor,
Sydney Town Hall, 483 George Street, Sydney 2000
email:rkemmis@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
tel: 9265 9706 fax: 9265 9416

The Secretary
The Owners Corporation
77-85 Hereford Street, Forest Lodge 2037
email:forestlodgetrees@yahoo.com.au
(The Owners Corporation has organised the public meeting)

Public Meeting Saturday 1 April 2006

A representative of the Owners' Corporation of 77 Hereford Street chaired the meeting and responded to questions and comments from interested members of the public.

A large amount of interest was shown by members of the public.

Members of the public had the opportunity to inspect the site, which provided a backdrop for the gathering.

Cr Kemmis addressed the gathering.

The children's views were clear.