Next steps

 Installation of demountable units will continue at the High School on the basketball courts and to the south of the oval during Term 1.
 Temporary fencing around demountable work areas will be removed as work is completed.
 Construction of Building R will start.
 The project team will finalise the construction management plans in preparation for construction of the main State Significant Development (SSD) works, following the approval of the SSD application in November 2020.

629-639 Pacific Highway, Chatswood was the first of the Planning Proposals under the new 90m Draft CBD height limit – Council recommended to Gateway in Feb 2018 – so long ago!

The Proposal is now real and under assessment at NSW Planning Gateway Approvals – https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/ppr/under-assessment/planning-proposal-629-639-pacific-highway-chatswood

From Sunday 24 January, changes will be made to some bus routes and timetables  across Willoughby, Ryde and some parts of Parramatta to improve the frequency of services on key routes, with improved connections for customers travelling to the city or within the local area and more than 700 extra weekly services added to the network.

Transport for NSW has worked closely with our bus operator, State Transit (STA), to determine the changes, and they are based on Opal data, and feedback from customers and stakeholders, so we can deliver services where and when they are needed.

There will be some adjustments to existing local and city services to support new all-day frequent services on two key routes, which will operate every 10 minutes, seven days a week, and to allow for better connections to other modes of public transport such as ferries. These new frequent routes will be:

·       Route 500X – West Ryde to City

·       Route 120 – Chatswood to City

To reduce duplication on the network, some routes will be replaced by new routes or extra services on other routes, while some current routes will be shortened but retain their current route numbers.

·       The M52 and 520 will be replaced by the new frequent route 500X between West Ryde and Hyde Park, and by route 501 between Parramatta and Pitt Street at Central Station. All customers between Parramatta and Top Ryde will have the same or better frequency on the new 501 than currently on the M52. Route 501, which currently terminates at West Ryde, will be extended to Parramatta, maintaining direct access for customers travelling along Victoria Road to and from Parramatta.

·       Existing overnight services on route 520 will operate under a new route number – Route 500N – between Parramatta and the city.

·       In the Willoughby area, existing routes 272, 340 and 343 will be replaced by new routes 115 and 120.

·       The new all-day frequent route 120 will replace existing routes 272 and 340. This will serve both Wynyard and the QVB in the city.

·       Customers travelling between the Willoughby area and North Sydney can use new route 115, which will replace existing route 343 services. Route 343 will continue to operate between Kingsford and the city with the same service frequency and hours of operation.

·       To support the withdrawal of route 340, there will also be some minor changes to routes 200 and 333, with route 200 changing to operate between Artarmon (Campbell Street) and Bondi Junction, and additional services added to route 333 in the Darlinghurst and Paddington area.

To inform customers of the upcoming changes, signs will be installed at bus stops. Details of the bus service improvements and updated timetables are now available online and you are encouraged to plan ahead https://transportnsw.info/trip to make the most of the extra services that will be introduced from 24 January.

Kind regards,

Transport for NSW

TransportfNSW has proposed digital advertising signs on both sides of the Albert Ave rail bridge.

Consistent with the previous directions of members, the CWWPA Committeee approved that we lodge an objection as follows:

Digital signage Albert Ave, Chatswood rail bridge.
The Chatswood West Ward Progress Association (CWWPA) objects to the proposed installation on two primary grounds:

1. SAFETY. There is a heavily used pedestrian crossing immediately to the west of the bridge. The road dips beneath the bridge. This means that motorists travelling east on Albert Avenue would likely be distracted by the proposed signage, averting their gaze away from the pedestrian area. This will result in an increased possibility of a pedestrian/vehicle conflict.

2.HERITAGE VALUES: Immediately adjoining the proposed signage on the eastern side, The Garden of Remembrance is a heritage listed shrine. At the time of construction of the bridge the Dept. of Transport/RailNSW spent a lot of time and money in providing a sympathetic development.. The proposed signage affronts these principles.

The CWWPA is a community-based organisation . Our area of interest is the entire West Ward of Willoughby Council. The proposed sign is within this rea. The Association actively engages over 18,000 people within the Ward view delivered newsletter,monthly updates and current web-site postings plus social media.  The Association is not against the installation of signage within the Chatswood CBD but it must be to an agreed standard, safe and non-confrontational.

PUBLIC MEETING

If you wish to participate you need to register by 1 February.

Go to haveyoursaywilloughby.com.au for more information and to register.

According to the North Shore Times:

The Chatswood CBD is set to continue its spread into surrounding streets with plans released for a 27 storey tower almost 800m south of the town centre.

A planning proposal has been lodged for an 81-unit building that would stand up to 90m tall at 629-639 Pacific Hwy – 70m above the existing 20m height limit.

Concept designs for the planning proposal show the “preferred” design option would have two storeys of shops and commercial offices below 25 storeys of apartments.

The tower would be 800m south of the CBD.

The proposal, lodged by Develotek Property Group, would be built on the existing site of PayLess Tyre and Breaks site opposite Nissan Chatswood and would surround low and medium density buildings.

Plans state the proposal is in line with Willoughby Council’s Chatswood CBD Planning and Urban Design Strategy which encourages increased building heights in several areas outside the existing CBD boundary including along the Pacific Hwy.

“The proposed building form will visually mark the southern extension to the Chatswood CBD,” the plans stated.

“(It) would also allow viable redevelopment of the land – attractive to both investors and owner occupiers, particular those households seeking to downsize.”

A concept plan of the development

In early feedback, Willoughby Council said consideration of overshadowing and privacy may occur during public consultation, expected later this year.

Source: North Shore Times

Ban new development in Sydney’s Wildlife Corridors – stop massive tree loss.

Wildlife Corridors were created to allow Fauna to move freely between Habitats.

The proposed 106 Apartment Seniors Development at Chatswood Golf Club will have a significant impact on the local wildlife habitat in the wildlife corridors linking four native bushland reserves – Mowbray Park Reserve, Coolaroo Reserve, Ferndale Park Reserve and Lane Cove National Park.

To obtain a Site Compatibility Certificate (SCC) the developer documented that 28 trees would need to be removed for construction. However the Development Application (DA) that was lodged on 22 May 2020 now proposes a catastrophic loss of 255 trees. This unacceptable proposal would remove remnant bushland and sandstone outcrops identified in the Willoughby City Council Natural Heritage Register. It also contravenes the aims and objectives of SEPP No. 19 Bushland in Urban Areas.

Many Threatened and Endangered Native species owe their survival to these Wildlife Corridors and need this habitat for feeding and protection.

Please stop any further inappropriate development in these Wildlife Corridors, particularly the one in West Chatswood & across Sydney. 

The owners of Chatswood Chase have been ordered to replace unsafe cladding.

There have been calls for a review of Council CEOs pay packets after it was revealed that a number of Sydney Council CEOs are paid more than the Premier or the prime Minister.

The NSW Premier is paid $408,000. The Prime Minister is paid $549,000.

Willoughby CEO Debra Just is paid over $390,000.

FULL STORY