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.
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.
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10:18 PM
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