Willougby Council has now considered submission in relation to the installation
of five (5) floodlights at Mowbray Public School Oval. The Council Officer’s recommendation is to approve the installation.

The application was notified to owners and residential occupiers of neighbouring properties and submissions invited between 5 July and 27 July 2017. Ten (10) written submissions, an on-line survey with 35 comments and two (2) petitions containing 84 names and 46 signatures (representing 20 properties).

Following notification and preliminary assessment of the application the applicant amended the proposal and submitted amended plans to address issues raised in the submissions.

The amendments propose the planting of 31 trees along the northern boundary and replacement of parts of the northern boundary fence.

The Council Officer argued:

“The application has been amended to address concerns about the potential impact on theresidents of the properties in Ulm Street, immediately to the north. The rear boundaries often properties adjoin the school oval. The proposed light towers are designed to direct thelight onto the playing surface and to avoid light spillage. Nevertheless the lighted area couldbe visible from the adjoining properties. To reduce this potential it is intended to plant treesat 3 metre intervals along the boundary. Twelve (12) of the trees will grow to a height of 15metres with the remaining nineteen (19) growing to a height of 8 metres. In conjunction withthe existing trees this will provide a vegetated screen that will be a visual screen and reducethe potential for errant footballs to enter adjacent properties. To reduce the potential for noise intrusion the applicant intends to facilitate the replacement of two sections of timber fencing that do not provide an adequate acoustic barrier. Together these measures should eliminate unreasonable impacts on the residents of neighbouring properties“.

.

Clr Saville has given notice to Council seeking support for public transport

MOTION
That, in support of public transport:

a) Willoughby City Council states that strongly supports affordable, safe, adequately
resourced and funded public transport systems as essential for a sustainable city.

b) that on behalf of WCC, the Mayor, and GM approach the NSW Premier (in writing and
meeting with), to urge that the government continues to support, resource and fund
public transport systems in Sydney. Copies of WCC correspondence sent to the
Premier be forwarded to Minister for Transport, Leader of the Opposition, Shooters,
Fishers and farmers, Christian Democrats and the Greens.

c) that WCC urges the government to support and adopt the recommendations by State
Transit to improve the performances of bus services

4. BACKGROUND
The Berejiklian government has been embroiled in an industrial dispute with Rail, Tram and Bus Union since May when plans were announced to privatise bus routes in Sydney’s inner west, one of four regions operated by State Transit. North shore bus services also risk privatisation. Safe, affordable public transport, including buses and properly resourced and funded public transport systems are essential for a sustainable cities

In many instances buses scheduled running times no longer reflect actual running times.
This has resulted in frustrating customer experiences and misleading reports that State
Transit is able to control and therefore improve service reliability (SMH 31.8.3027)

The NSW government should support and fund Sydney buses to improve their on-time
running (On Time Running Service Reviews 2016-2017)

Many residents across Willoughby rely on public transport systems for work, shopping, sport, social activities etc and expect the government to continue supporting these essential services.

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS
Point (a) is addressed below in regards to Council’s strategy and actions relating to public
transport. When necessary these matters are brought to the attention of the Premier and/or relevant Ministers (as requested in point (b) of the Notice of Motion).
Willoughby City Council’s support of public transport is clearly expressed in the Willoughby City Strategy 2013 – 2029, where the goal under the heading “Transport and Mobility” states:

“To manage the transport needs of the Community in a sustainable manner by reducing car dependence and promoting public transport use, walking and cycling.”
In promoting increased use of public transport, section 4.2.1 provides details of actions that Council supports. These being (inter alia):

a Promote active and public transport
b Improve integration between transport modes
c Improve local accessibility and transport options between suburbs
d Work with Government and the private sector for improved local and regional public
transport

In addition to providing the Willoughby Community transport options, the above actions are also aimed at reducing Greenhouse Emissions.
Initiatives to encourage proper resourcing of safe, affordable, improved and convenient
public transport is supported as it will further enhance the effectiveness of Council’s resolve to properly manage parking within the Willoughby Local Government Area under Council’s Street Parking Strategy.

Council staff are in regular contact with the State Government’s traffic and transport
agencies through the Local Traffic Committee, which is a forum where public transport
initiatives are discussed with the Roads and Maritime Services, Sydney Buses.
More recently, Willoughby Council has been playing a positive role in working with State
Government Agencies in the implementation of the Sydney Metro Project, given its
significance in the enhancement of Sydney’s public transport network.
In regard to point (c), the recommendations by State Transit to improve the performance of bus services have not been released publicly although a copy of the report has been
obtained. The report obtained by Council appears to focus on the performance of four subregions only, being the Northern Beaches, Inner West, the Eastern Suburbs and Sydney Suburbs none of which directly impact the Willoughby Local Government Area.

The report identifies that the northern Sydney depots actually demonstrated strong performance in regards to on-time running. The recommendations are primarily focussed on timetable service reviews in those four sub-regions. Council’s influence in these areas and the timetable specifically would be limited.

On behalf of the Chatswood West Ward Progress Association the Committee has lodged a submission regarding Willoughby Council raising the rates to fund the  upgrade of the car park at the Northbridge Plaza.

It was unclear from the limited information provided by Council as to who exactly would be paying for this upgrade that primarily benefits the owners of the Northbridge Plaza and local residents.

Given that Chatswood West ward west of the Pacific Highway has virtually no shops (unlike most other suburbs) and certainly no Council funded parking near shops we wanted Council to understand that the Association would resist any attempt to have West Warders paying for such an upgrade at Northbridge.

In the process of a making a submission, we brought to Councils attention our concerns with the process they are using to determining this matter.

A copy of our submission follows:

In responses to longstanding requests from West Ward residents, the Association has called on Willoughby Council to petition the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) for some specific critical infrastructure. This includes:

• a substantially upgraded transport interchange at Chatswood
• additional open space across the city in response to growing population targets
• a more efficient interchange (by direct tunnel connections rather than the current plan that requires drivers to proceed via Pennant Hills Rd) to/from the M1 tunnel to the M2 motorway.
• an addition public high school within Willoughby City, perhaps on the Metro South ‘dive site’ when the site is vacated.
• upgrade of the Pacific Highway through Willoughby including resolution of the various Category ‘F’ intersections such as at Fullers Road and Mowbray Roads.

The GSC recently published a series of strategic plans covering the planned growth  of northern Sydney and Willoughby going forward. If you have suggestions for other pieces of critical infrastructure, please let us know at cwwpa.org@gmail.com

Posting regular updates on this website has proven to be problematic. Accordingly, you can obtain your own copy of updates by registering with kylie.brosnan@sydneymetro2.com.au

CWWPA Report on Chatswood CBD

North District Plan Review

Public Open Space in Chatswood CBD Discussion Paper

We encourage people to respond to the issues and ideas embodied in the CBD Public Open Space Discussion Paper.

Utility Investigation Mowbray Rd October 2017

November 2017 Monthly Update

The Great Sydney Commission (GSC) has released is planning framework for Sydney through to 2056. This is a massive report, so we will only be able to consider a portion of its components. In their wisdom the GSC has not released a searchable plan – making it difficult to review the plan appropriately.Like many plans, it is long on rhetoric, short on detail.

Sydney will continue to grow from its current 4.7 million people to nearly double to a staggering  8 million in 2056 thus creating a minimum of 725,000 new dwellings
and an extra 817,000 jobs

In past state government plans for housing Sydney’s burgeoning population the mantra was ‘Urban Consolidation’. This mandated that the majority of population growth should be accommodated with the inner and middle ring suburbs (of which Willoughby and Chatswood is one). The aim or urban consolidation was to limit the expansion of Sydney on its periphery on the incorrect assumption that development would be cheaper than building new infrastructure. In fact, urban consolidation went a long way to irreparably damaging community assets such as schools, open space and transport.

The first iteration of the GSC plan for Sydney established six districts. Willoughby was grouped with Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Northern Beaches, Mosman, North Sydney and Ryde local government areas. This was a welcome move to the opportunity to plan on a regional level but did not go far enough. The latest plan divides Sydney into three:

• Eastern harbour city (Sydney)
• Central river city (Parramatta)
• Western parkland city (2nd airport)

There are two major benefits to the GSC approach. Firstly, the bigger the scale the better it is to form a strategic view of an area. Secondly, it may allow an easier tracking of political largess in attempt to assure an equitable distribution of resources.

Population

The predictions above show that finally Willoughby will get some relief from Sydney’s population increases.

Dwellings

Finally, established Sydney will receive some relief from continued growth with the proportion of new dwellings dropping in favour of growth on the perimeter of the City.

Like in previous plans, the GSC have establised housing target (this time at district level.

It is unclear how a district target will be spread across the district. Most likely, current development patterns will be emulated with the exception of any renewal areas that may emerge.

Jobs

One of the key elements of the plan is to provide transport infrastructure to reduce travel to work distance. This has a flow on environmental benefit effects as well as positive lifestyle benefits.

Transport

There are a number of aspects of the Three Cities transport plan that are confusing and disappointing,

• there is no efficient link between the extension of the M1 and its intersection with the M2 for traffic heading into the city. The layout favours linkages to the M7. The impact of this deficiency is an unlikely reduction in traffic volumes on the Pacific Highway.
• there is no commitment to a public transport link between Parramatta and Epping/Chatswood. The link being investigated is for a Mass Transit option. If this were to be light rail (rather than a Metro) it would require a transfer at Epping
• on a positive front, the government is investigating an extension of the M1 starting west of Epping and heading to Sydney Airport via Sydney Olympic Park. Potentially, this could reduce traffic on the Pacific Highway, M2 and Lane Cove Tunnel and the harbour crossings.

Commercial, Educational and Health Precincts

In this new plan, Chatswood maintains its status as a Strategic Centre (predominately based around retail and commercial activities). However, Chatswood is triangulated by surrounding Health and Education nodes at Macquarie Park, French’s Forest and St Leonards. This has the potential to see significant cross-centre traffic via Chatswood which would require an upgrade of local road infrastructure (particulalrly the Pacific Highway). No such upgrades are mentioned.

Economic Corridor

After robust advocacy by the Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils, the concept of a ‘Golden Arc’ from Sydney Airport via North Sydney and to Macquarie has been acknowledged.

The ‘Golden Arc’ is a powerhouse of wealth generation and underpins Sydney’s role as an international city. It is deserving of far more infrastructure and government investment than in past decades.

Culturally rich and diverse communities

The GSC are predicting that over 30%of the population will speak an Asian language at home. Based on previous trends, this will likely be higher within Willoughby.

Environmental Considerations

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the GSCs environmental initiatives is termed the green web.  In a densely populated city such as Sydney (particularly in inner and middle ring suburbs, it is difficult to generate new open space. Instead, the pragmatic approach adopted by the GSC is to make the best of what is available by ‘connecting the dots’ establishing conections between existing spaces.

Other aspects

There are many other aspects to the plan. In particular, the sections on affordable housing and industrial lands are worth a read.

READ THE FULL PLAN

At the RMS Traffic Committee this Wednesday there are a number of matters related to West Ward:

• Pickup/Set down changes outside Chatswood Public School: Due to ongoing congestion it is proposed to make changes to parking on both side of Centennial Avenue between the Highway and Edgar St.
• Truck access to Chatswood Public School: A waste pick up truck was observed backing across the highway in the school. Roads and Maritime Services advised that this issue does not seem to be a road condition problem but a driver problem. It is suggested that contact be made with the garbage truck company to inform them of the appropriate movement of vehicles when picking up waste. Also this should be part of a management plan that the school has in place with regards to this service.
• Footpaths within Chatswood, Lane Cove North Estate and Lane Cove North: There are a number of aspects listed with suggestions for improvements that can be reviewed in the full report. It was interesting to note the Officer’s comment that the footpaths in Lane Cove North Estate are a responsibility of the management committee for this private development.
• Eddy Road parking restrictions: There is a recommendation to approve 2P 9.30am-2.30pm SCHOOL DAYS and No Stopping 8am-9.30am and 2.30pm-
  4.00pm SCHOOL DAYS parking restrictions in Eddy Road, south side of road, between Lone Pine Avenue and De Villiers Avenue, Chatswood.

Full details of the problems and recommendation:

RMS Traffic Committee October 2017

Willoughby Council is again seeking your feedback before Monday 6 November 2017 for the next stage of the works proposed for the playground at Lowanna Park, Chatswood.

Stage 1 involved community consultation around the installation of a playground fence and gaining an understanding of what the local community would like to see in regards to playground improvements for the site. The fencing works to separate the playground and BBQ facilities from the off leash dog activities were completed in 2016.

Stage 2 involves furthering the upgrade of the playground. Based on community feedback, Willoughby City Council has now produced a Draft Playground Improvements Plan for the upgrade works which are scheduled for early 2018.

We welcome your feedback on the Draft Plan and invite you to comment by the 6th November 2017.

For further information, please contact Council’s Open Space Projects Officer, Holly Cowdery on 9777 7837 or email Holly.Cowdery@Willoughby.nsw.gov.au