Media Releases
September 3rd, 2008
SAVE OUR SUBURBS TEAM CONCERNED ABOUT DIGGERS’ PROPOSAL
Save our Suburbs candidates have expressed their significant concern about the proposal by the Harbord Diggers Club Management to construct 31 dwellings adjacent to the Digger’s site on the headland above Freshwater Beach.
“We became aware of this proposal only today” said SOS candidate Chris Thomas.
“This is a major development on a prominent and sensitive piece of land, and yet not a word has been said to local residents about the impact of the proposal”, Mr Thomas said.
“Developments such as these are precisely why the SOS group was formed in Warringah” he said.
“It is completely inappropriate for a major development like this to be proposed with no consultation with the community”
Mr Thomas said that SOS is disturbed by the fact that the development was not consistent with the Local Environment Plan covering the area.
“The LEP advises that any DA on the Harbord Diggers site must have regard to an "approved and detailed masterplan”, Mr Thomas said.
“No such plan has been submitted”
“It is not to developers to decide what is permissible or not, it is to the local Council acting on behalf of the residents”, he said
“The regulations in place for this site appear to have been ignored” Mr Thomas said
The matter was brought to the attention of SOS by local, Anthony Mellowes.
Mr Mellowes said that he had significant concerns about the impact on local householders of increased traffic and the behaviour of patrons leaving the club late at night.
“Traffic volumes are already high in this area, particularly in summer” Mr Mellowes said.
“It is clear from the proposal that there will be a significant and potentially unacceptable impact on traffic in the area. These are matters that should be discussed with the community”
“The impact on local of people leaving the club late at night also needs to be closely examined he said.
Mr Mellowes and Mr Thomas both expressed their disappointment about the Club owner’s approach.
“There have been other developments proposed by the Diggers in the past that have been discussed with the community”, Mr Mellowes said.
“Since Mounties took over there had been no consultation at all with neighbours”, he said.
Mr Thomas noted that the headlands and beaches of Warringah are iconic.
“Great care is needed in planning anything new in such a sensitive and visible location”
“This is a major building proposal, yet Mounties are behaving like they’re seeking approval for a granny flat”, Mr Thomas concluded.
The Save our Suburbs team which is standing for B Ward in the Warringah Council area has come together because of its concern over inappropriate development of our suburbs and because members fear that developers will once again have undue influence with Council. The SOS team is not opposed to development and recognises that Sydney’s expanding population must be accommodated, but the development that does occur must be appropriate, sustainable and in line with community aspirations.
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Further information:
Deb Moffat (SOS Warringah Campaign Coordinator) 0421 997 728
Manly Daily: Saturday, 28th August, 2008
Media Release August 25, 2008
Candidates seek peninsula-wide solution to netball problem
Save Our Suburbs Warringah (SOS) announces consensus is developing over the ongoing issue of netball in
Chris Thomas, Save Our Suburbs B-Ward candidate in the upcoming Warringah Council election, has fostered discussions with various other candidates from all over the peninsula to find a genuine solution to the problem that has beleaguered Curl Curl residents and Warringah Council for decades.
"The solution put forward by the Warringah Administrator is not a solution at all," said Mr Thomas, whose candidacy for the Council's B-Ward arose initially from his years of campaigning for a better outcome for all stakeholders in
"The idea of a Community Agreement that didn't include the community because they weren't likely to agree is ridiculous. It's time for a solution that satisfies everyone – residents, those who want passive recreation spaces, environmentalists and all the sporting groups who use JFP. Independent and fresh new faces on Council will bring a fresh approach to solving this perennial problem.”
Community members believe that previous assessments on the future of netball on the Northern Beaches have been too narrow in their scope – and it is time for other options, like decentralisation, to be given their due consideration.
“Centralised netball causes severe traffic and parking problems for local residents, with several thousand players and supporters descending on Curl Curl and North Curl Curl each Saturday during the season because Manly Warringah Netball Association has insisted that all their games must be played at the same time and at the same venue.” Mr Thomas said.
Mr Thomas said that the Manly Warringah Netball Association had made this demand despite information from netball's peak NSW organisation that it would be better if the impact were spread over several locations and times.
"We know from talking to players that many of them, particularly the ones from the more distant parts of Pittwater and Warringah, would welcome some games being played closer to their homes rather than having to drive all the way to Curl Curl every Saturday.
“We also believe that, as netball players come from all over the peninsula, so too the financial burden should be shared. Currently Warringah Council alone provides the total cost of building and maintaining the facilities for the Manly Warringah Netball Association. It is unreasonable to expect Warringah ratepayers to absorb all of this high cost.”
Save Our Suburbs Warringah has held discussions with candidates from across the peninsula.
Dr Peter Macdonald, the mayor of Manly, said “A solution is long overdue and, frankly, de-centralisation is the way forward. I would propose a joint approach by each of the Northern Beaches councils following the elections to find suitable locations.”
Dr. Christina Kirsch, the Greens Candidate in Warringah’s B Ward, said: “Dick Persson’s decision in regards to the netball courts at
“Decentralization will allow us to find more suitable, flexible, and sustainable solutions. Considering increasing oil prizes, an over-stretched road system and the need to cut our carbon emissions, we need to reduce the distances that parents need to travel to drop their kids off to weekend sports.
“Decentralization will reduce travel distances and the impact on local residents. It works for other netball clubs. It will also allow better growth opportunities for Manly-Warringah Netball that aren’t possible in
Paul Jaffe, We Love Warringah Mayoral candidate said that he supports a continued investigation of better alternatives for facilities for Netball on the Northern Beaches.
These candidates agree that
“A solution that crosses Council boundaries is essential,” said Mr Thomas.
"On this issue as well as all the others of great concern to Warringah residents, Save Our Suburbs will always put knowledge before politics, genuinely listening to all stakeholders and finding a solution that is not simply based on political expediency or convenience."
Media Release August 8, 2008
Save Our Suburbs Enters Warringah Campaign
“We need a fresh approach with a fresh team”, said group spokesperson and SOS candidate Chris Thomas. “After 5 years, it is essential that the restoration of democracy in Warringah not be sullied by a return to the infighting and stagnation of the past.”
“Save Our Suburbs candidates are all deeply involved in the local community. None of us has party affiliations or connections with anyone who has served on the Council in the past.”
The SOS candidates are:
- Chris Thomas, a practicing architect with a deep knowledge of NSW planning
law. He already has experience of working with Council through his
involvement with both the John Fisher Park Advisory Committee and the
Sportsfield Rectification Committee. Chris has been a resident of Warringah
for 12 years, involving himself in a host of community and sporting activities.
He lives in Curl Curl with his wife and young son.
- Andrew Speers, an environmental and water management expert, who has
previously been a member of the Harbord Community Bank Board and an
owner of The Childcare Group which until recently operated childcare
centres at Freshwater and Manly Vale. Andrew is married with 3 children and
lives in Freshwater. He has lived in Warringah for 22 years.
- Paula Cowan, an educator with a long history of involvement in the grassroots
democracy group GetUp! Paula is an educator and is passionately concerned with issues affecting Warringah’s youth. Paula is married and lives in Curl Curl where she has resided for the past 5 years.
Chris Thomas said that the SOS team would be focussed on local issues of concern to local people. “Councils affect our lives daily. The maintenance of open space, good planning to protect our built and natural environments, the promotion of good, sustainable design, rational planning, local transport and initiatives for young people are all things we’d expect our Council to deal with in consultation with the residents.
“Sadly, in Warringah, that has seldom been the case”
The priorities of the SOS team are:
• To put knowledge before politics
• To ensure that Council engages with the community, bringing real democracy to Warringah
• To focus on local issues, issues Council has responsibility for or can influence,
issues that impact on residents lives daily
• To establish Warringah as a model of sustainable development
• To encourage innovative, sustainable urban planning and design
• To encourage businesses to Warringah that provide high-quality, creative
employment opportunities for our highly-skilled workforce
• To facilitate appropriate urban growth including location of new houses in areas with employment opportunities, transport and social services and providing affordable housing
• To promote integrated transport and improve local transport opportunities
• To consult with young people to develop programmes and opportunities that
are youth oriented and youth initiated.
The B Ward SOS Candidates are true independents with no vested interests, Mr Thomas said. “None of us has run for political office previously. We have no higher political ambitions than to deliver sustainable community-focussed
outcomes for local people”, he concluded.