Weekly 6 August 2015

Letter of the Week

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LOCAL NEWS

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Thursday August 6, 2015

3 month CBD road closure worries business An internal view of the storm drain under Murwillumbah’s Main Street

commerce said they are working with Tweed Shire Council to minimise the impact of three months of roadworks in Murwillumbah’s CBD on local businesses.

Council will begin work in early September on an upgrade to the ageing drainage and water reticulation system along Murwillumbah Street between Queen Street and Brisbane Street, a project which will cause major disruption in the area over a three month period leading up to Christmas.

Murwillumbah District Business Chamber President Toni Zuschke said their focus has been on ensuring a high level of communication and consultation with local businesses after criticism following the first stage of the project along Wharf Street in 2009.

“Our first concern was the timing of the project as this is a busy time of the year but because they are fixing stormwater drains it is important to complete it at a time when the weather is normally dry,” said Ms Zuschke.

“Taking a step back we recognise that this project needs to be completed and that it is in the long term best interests of the town, we just want to ensure as much as possible is done to minimise the impact it will have.

“There is no doubt some businesses will do it tough and we would call on people to support each other during what will be a difficult time.”

While Council has ruled out direct compensation Ms Zuschke said they have shown enthusiasm for ideas such as promoting take away menus from local cafes and restaurants to Council staff and making parking available for free in the multi-tiered car park.

“One of the things we will be doing is to help businesses find new ways to operate and maintain the connection with their customers, whether that be by increasing takeaway and delivery options or turning them around and allowing access through the rear of their premises,” said Ms Zuschke.

“We are also talking with Council about holding some sort of community celebration in the street once the project is completed to provide a boost and get the message out that things are back to normal.”

The Proprietor of the Court House Hotel, Andrew Scrivenor, said like many other business owners along the street they are trying to look at the bigger picture.

“We certainly understand that the work needs to happen but it will have a huge impact with the noise and dust,” said Mr Scrivenor.

“Unfortunately as well this impact will hit us and some of the local cafes hardest as we offer a comfortable place to sit, relax and enjoy a meal as a part of our business.

“If you’re just popping in to buy a newspaper or a microwave the noise isn’t so much of a concern.

“We also have residents staying upstairs at the hotel and would be concerned about how they would be affected by the 6am starts which have been talked about so far.”

Tweed Shire Council Communications Officer Brenda Hannigan said the work is necessary as the current stormwater drainage system is inefficient, prone to blockage, at times creates an odour due to stagnant water and has some infrastructure located on private property.

“The worksite will occupy the northern side of the street and progressively move west as work progresses but the worksite footprint will be as small as is practical,” said Ms Hannigan.

“The worksite will be isolated by two metre-high solid perimeter fencing to prevent unauthorised access while both vehicular and pedestrian traffic around the worksite will be managed by traffic control flagmen.”

Workers will be installing new and larger water main and stormwater drainage systems with an 80-100 year life expectancy, while also addressing odour issues and providing easier access for future maintenance and mapping underground obstructions and obsolete infrastructure.

Rugby League Stars Congratulations to our Rugby League Under Twelve team who have competed with dedication, passion and commitment. The boys, who range from 9 to 12 years old, played in the Classic Shield State Knockout competition and made it through to Round 4 which is the Semi-Final stage of the North Coast draw.

Over the past few weeks, the enthusiastic team has defeated several teams from around the district. They recently also took out the Tweed Heads Seven’s competition. This is open to Catholic, Independant and Public schools. It is the third consecutive year that Murwillumbah has won this Knock Out. They have been training under the guidance of teacher and coach, Mr Tim Gamble whose experience has been instrumental in the team’s success.

As well as his role as classroom teacher, Mr Gamble, is the North Coast regional coach and NSW State Trainer. This year, he has attended development camps in Sydney and Lennox Head. One of our students was fortunate and talented enough to attend the camp at Lennox Head with Mr Gamble. He has also attended the State carnival recently in Cronulla. Next week, Mr Gamble will coach the NSW state team at the National Rugby League Carnival in Darwin.

Well done to our Rugby League team and thank you to the dedication of Mr Gamble.

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THE HEAD of the local chamber of

Prince Street, Murwillumbah Phone 6672 1467 Principal: Les Daley

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www.murwillumb-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

LOCAL NEWS

Thursday August 6, 2015

9

Developer seeks sale of school site THE OWNER of a site set aside for

a future Pottsville high school has approached Tweed Shire Council for permission to subdivide the block for housing.

Chris Cherry points out the school site on Seabreeze advertising from the year 2000 and (inset) the map detail.

“The Department of Education made their area, but said there are other options previous assessment in 2012 and I would available.

“What we need to remember is that this think it’s time to take another look at the site was identified by Metricon and put situation.

“They should be purchasing a site locally on their sales maps without consultation with the Department of Education, there and holding on to it until it is needed.”

State Member for Tweed Geoff Provest has never been a commitment from the said he agrees with the need to start government to this site,” said Mr Provest. planning for a high school in the Pottsville “There is the option of another site beside

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Seabreeze Estate developers Metricon have approached Council for permission to establish a 65 lot subdivision on the site, following written advice from the NSW Department of Education in 2012 that the land is not required for departmental education purposes.

However Tweed Shire Councillors and the local residents association have previously expressed an interest in retaining the site until a decision for a new high school in the area is made and a standing Council Resolution prevents any review of the status quo until 2018 at the earliest.

Councillor Carolyn Byrne, who proposed the resolution to hold off on any decision at the February 2013 meeting, said she sees no reason to change now.

“Obviously there will be a need to address the issue of a high school in the area sometime in the near future and when that happens the Department needs to have the best possible options available,” said Cr Byrne.

Her fellow Councillor Barry Longland said he has some sympathy for Metricon’s position but believes preserving the site is the best idea.

“I do have some sympathy because in a way Council is standing in the way of the developers who wish to take advantage of market conditions,” said Cr Longland.

“Technically speaking though we shouldn’t even be looking at this application at all unless a rescission notice of the standing resolution is passed first.

“It would still be my position in any case that the site be preserved for a potential high school, the demand is legitimate as there are a lot of young families in the area.

the primary school and others which have been identified at Dunloe Park and in the employment lands area.

“I have arranged for senior demographers and other officials from the Department to visit the area in the coming weeks to meet parents and principals and do another evaluation of the local situation.

“I believe a new school will definitely be needed but it is important to time it right so that existing school programs are not affected.

“Kingscliff for example benefits from having a high enrolment as it is able to employ specialised teachers in a number of areas which wouldn’t be supported in a school with fewer students.

“I do think the idea of holding to the current resolution and giving the whole situation more time is a healthy one.”

Also hoping Council sticks to their guns is Pottsville Residents’ Association President Chris Cherry who says the Seabreeze site is the preferred option of the community.

“While the Department acknowledged in writing that they didn’t want to buy the site in 2012 they did ask for 3ha of the site to be retained,” said Ms Cherry.

“The area beside the primary school would have been great if it hadn’t already been cut in half by the entry road to Koala Beach.

“Most importantly though was that the future high school was part of the marketing for Seabreeze and people bought into the development thinking they would be close by, which in our minds means Metricon has an obligation to retain the site until a final decision is made.

“This is a general and growing problem in Pottsville as the rate at which the area has grown means much of the promised infrastructure has gone by the wayside and this would be losing another potential community asset.”

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