15 DECEMBER 2021
ISSUE 269
REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS
Still recovering
News
Residents of Chittaway Bay are campaigning for the installation of public bathroom amenities at Lions Park, the home to a piratethemed playground. See page 3
Out&About
Each year staff at Hakea Grove’s compete to have the most festive wing at the centre and this year the competition has been fierce. See page 14
Health
Two years after the Black Summer bushfires threatened the Central Coast, two local volunteer emergency service organisations have been given a share of over $400,000 for projects that will assist in their recovery and strengthen their emergency response capabilities. See page 13
ORRA urges Hart to ‘read before voting’ A group of residents from Ourimbah were facing a last-ditch attempt to hold off a masterplan for Ourimbah that Central Coast Council was due to adopt on December 14. Ourimbah Region Residents’ Association (ORRA) were hoping to convince Administrator Rik Hart to send the plan back to the town planners for further work. “Mr Hart is voting on what is actually contained in the plan, not what staff are advising him is in the plan,” ORRA member Brian Davies said. “I recommend that he read
and understand it and do a site visit to understand the issues that the community are raising about steep hills and fire and flood threats that make the proposed plans dangerous and unworkable.” ORRA wants a masterplan which has a coherent vision for the future of Ourimbah; that reflects the community values of the residents of Ourimbah and provides certainty for any Local Environment Plan and Development Control Plan changes. ORRA says the masterplan does not reflect the extensive community consultation held after the Councillors’
2019 decision. “Ourimbah Region Residents’ Association (ORRA) ran a survey across the whole Ourimbah region to be sure we were presenting a consensus community view,” ORRA said. “We liaised with Council staff and elected Councillors over a period of months and believed we had achieved a result that would suit all parties. “None of this consultation is mentioned in the plan and most of the community feedback has been ignored.” Member for The Entrance David Mehan shares ORRA’s concerns.
“On 27 April 2020, the then elected Councillors unanimously resolved to support the concerns of the Ourimbah Region Residents Association about the Masterplan by limiting building heights and protecting the heritage of the area,” he said. “Surprisingly, the April resolution was not referred to in the six page report prepared by Council staff for tonight’s meeting. “Ourimbah residents are rightly concerned that Council staff are seeking to ignore a legal resolution and direction made by the elected Council about the Masterplan.
“The Administrator should not adopt the staff recommendation without referencing the April resolution and confirming its continuing application.” Speaking in State Parliament in May this year, Mehan said the Ourimbah masterplan had benefited from Councillor input to staff recommendations. He made the remarks during debate on whether the Coast should have a judicial inquiry into the Council which had been put under administration and the Councillors suspended.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) welcomes the provisional approval of the Pfizer vaccine for Australian children. See page 25
Sport
It was an exceptional return to football at Central Coast Stadium for the Mariners, defeating rivals Sydney FC, 2-0, on Sunday for the first home game win of the new season. Page 32
Continued page 4
Puzzles page 19
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