Hearing date given for sale of Brisbane Ave reserve

The potential reclassification and sale of the public reserve on Brisbane Ave in Umina has been listed for public hearing on Wednesday, July 6.

The reclassification was proposed as part of the Land Sale Strategy launched by the former Gosford Council that is continuing under the new Central Coast Council.

Ms Amie Raz, whose home backs on to the reserve, said she would not have known about the public hearing if it had not been posted on facebook by Save Central Coast Reserves organiser, Ms Sue Chidgey.

She said it had been advertised on page 63 of the Central Coast Express Advocate in small and faint type.

Ms Raz said she, or her husband Dan, hoped to have the opportunity to speak at the public hearing in favour of retaining the Brisbane Ave reserve as community land and open, green space.

"Residents in this area are upset about the fact the reserve could be built on," Ms Raz said.

"A lot of people moved here because of that reserve," she said.

The reserve, according to Ms Raz, included established native trees and was home to a variety of birds, possums and lizards.

When the couple purchased their home in Bathurst St 12 years ago they were told by a representative of Gosford Council that the reserve would never be sold or built on because it had been bequeathed to the council by a previous owner to remain as green space.

"Other people have been told the same story but we didn't get anything in writing and can't trace any evidence for those statements," she said.

The three Raz children and their neighbourhood friends all use the reserve as a play area and neighbours walk their dogs through the two blocks that make up the reserve.

"It extends the back yards for the neighbourhood kids and gives them an old-fashioned childhood where they can explore and stay off their computers," she said.

"We would like to see it remain as it is, as green space for the community," she said.

Save Central Coast Reserves has been campaigning against the former Gosford Council's land sale strategy since September.

Organiser Ms Sue Chidgey said she discovered "by accident" that the Central Coast Council had set the date for the first public hearings for the planned reclassification and sell-off of community reserves and parks.

According to Ms Chidgey, although many groups have been actively engaging with the former Gosford Council about their concerns on this matter, "there appears to have been no effort to advise those groups of the upcoming public hearings".

"It was only because I was dealing with council on another matter that I became aware that the date has been set for the public hearing," Ms Chidgey said.

"Although we are sure that council has met their requirements in terms of notification about the public meetings, it is disappointing that there was no communication with those groups that have been actively trying to engage with council on this matter," she said.

"Council has not been transparent throughout the whole Land Sale Strategy process.

"It took nearly nine months to get the council to list the sites on their website.

"In addition, council refused to provide the terms of reference for the independent consultant engaged to assess each parcel of land that was listed for reclassification and potential sale," she said.

It is understood the consultant will report to the new Central Coast Council on which parcels of land should proceed to reclassification and sale.

The first public hearing will be held on July 6 with two time slots available: 12pm to 2pm and 4pm to 6pm, and will deal with 10 of the 25 sites being considered for reclassification.

Brisbane Ave Umina is the only Peninsula site included in the first batch of 10 reserves.

"We understand that no time is going to suit everybody.

"However, council seems to want to make this process as difficult as possible for the community to have a voice.

"With many commuters and families with young children on the Central Coast, both these timeslots are difficult for many people to attend.

"We are calling on the council to schedule the public hearing to allow one daytime meeting and one meeting in the evening when more people are likely to be able to participate," Ms Chidgey said.

Ms Jane Smith, from the Community Environment Network (CEN) said she was concerned that many communities still did not know that their urban reserve, park or green space was threatened with reclassification and sell-off.

"Many of these reserves and areas of open space are important for environmental and social reasons," Ms Smith said.

"It's important that local neighbourhoods know now what council is intending to do so that they can provide input into how these spaces are valued by local communities," she said.

"We are disappointed that council has not been more proactive in talking to local neighbourhoods and stakeholders directly.

"Gosford Council was unwilling to provide any details of what assessment has been undertaken to date in identifying the lots that they wanted to sell.

"It almost appears as if they just looked at a map and decided which parcels might bring in the most money, without adequate consideration of the local community's needs or the environmental values.

"They have also been unwilling to disclose the history of how these lots came into public ownership.

"We are hopeful that the public hearings will at least fill in some of these gaps in information and put on the table what process the council has followed so far," Ms Smith said.

The Brisbane Ave reserve is located at 83 Brisbane Ave, lot 195 DP 9894 Umina and 85 Brisbane Ave, lot 196 DP 9894 Umina.

The public hearings will be held in the Erina Room, Erina Centre (adjacent to the Erina Library).

Submissions can also be written and will be accepted by Central Coast Council for 14 days from the date of the hearing.

The following Peninsula sites will be listed for public hearings at a future date: reserve at 40 and 42 Albion St, Umina; reserve at 40, 42 and 46 Pozieres Ave, Umina; reserve at 9 to 11 MacKenzie Ave, Woy Woy; and reserve at 10 and 12 Jumbuck Close, Woy Woy.

Interview, 8 Jun 2016

Amie Raz, Umina

Media release, 2 Jun 2016

Sue Chidgey, Save Central Coast Reserves

Reporter: Jackie Pearson