Update on Crown Land in Forest Lodge

The campaign to save the 675m2 of land at the rear of 77 Hereford Street (now known as 9 Alfred Road) has reached a confusing state. This is due to apparently contradictory responses recently received from the Lord Mayor of Sydney and the Department of Lands.

From the Department of Lands
The Department, on behalf of the Minister for Lands, wrote with the welcome news that it had withdrawn the land from current sale while it further investigates options for ongoing protection of “the tree covered landscape that dominates this site”. The Department advised that

• it had also had further discussions with Sydney City Council to explore opportunities that may enable Council to gain management of the site
• it understood that Council is currently considering these matters
• in the interim, the management of the land would remain with the Owners’ Corporation under its current licence arrangement.

From Sydney City Council the Lord Mayor wrote that

• the acting CEO of Sydney City Council had met with the Department of Lands, but that the Department had not accepted Council’s proposal. Editor's note - The letter did not specify exactly what Council had proposed to Lands.
• Council understood that the Department is negotiating a new licence arrangement with the Owners of 77 Hereford Street. Editor's note - This seems to be a misunderstanding as the continuation of the current licence arrangement between the Department of Lands and the Owners’ Corporation is an interim arrangement only. The Owners’ Corporation at 77 Hereford Street is pursuing a long term solution for preservation of the land for public open space. The Department’s letter confirmed this.

The current situation is that the forestlodgetrees community group is currently working to clarify these matters and is encouraging both parties to get together in order to reach a solution to save the land as public open space in perpetuity.