FORWARD-THINKING PENRITH WINS NATIONAL AWARD Penrith’s community earned praise for an “inspirational” vision of our future, winning a Planning Institute Australia 2012 Australia Award for Urban Design on 26 June. The prestigious award recognised the groundbreaking collaborative project ‘The Future of Penrith/Penrith of the Future’. This involved local residents working with the French-Australian art and urban design collective Campement Urbain, including artist Sylvie Blocher and architects Tim Williams and François Daune. Council worked with organisations Landcom, Panthers’ Group, the Penrith Performing & Visual Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art and C3West on the project. The Penrith of the Future project told us architecture is important, but our community is also interested in
GRANTS BOOST HERITAGE Council helps owners of heritage properties to restore, repair and maintain them through our Heritage Assistance Funding Program. We’ve been doing this since 2007.
innovatively designed spaces which are lively, active and accessible. You can see ‘The Future of Penrith/ Penrith of the Future’ vision on display (weekdays, 8.30am-4pm) in the Penrith Civic Centre foyer at 601 High Street. Visionary ideas for future Penrith include: •
an active Nepean River with a floating concert stage and pedestrian crossings
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multi-modal transport hub
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water features and canals to cool Penrith City Centre
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youth-programmed spaces including a skate park
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multi-purpose arena supporting a lively arts and cultural scene and
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intercultural community centre.
Restored: 26-28 Nepean Street, Emu Plains
The funding encourages the repair and maintenance of domestic scale heritage items and promotes a greater awareness, understanding and appreciation of local heritage .
ST MARYS AND PENRITH TOWN CENTRE BOARDS Council endorsed the board members for the St Marys Town Centre and Penrith City Centre at its 27 August meeting. There were many high quality applications from St Marys and Penrith for the places. Council looks forward to working with
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both boards to continue to revitalise St Marys for residents, visitors and shoppers. We await approval from the Department of Local Government on the creation of the new corporations, and the new boards will first meet in early October.
OCTOBER 2012 COMMUNITY NEWS
In the past financial year, Council offered to fund six properties for roof restoration, painting restoration, repointing stonewall building, ceiling renovation and building repairs. Funding was offered on a dollar for dollar basis, where Council contributes half of the cost of the restoration works.
Restored: 32 Nixon Street, Emu Plains
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Our budget for this financial year is $18,000 and we’re taking applications from local heritage property owners until 5pm Friday 19 October. To apply, read the guidelines and complete an application form – visit Council’s website www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au or contact Josephine Maejiirs on 02 4732 8070.
NATIONAL TREE DAY PLANTING AT ROPES CREEK
COUNCIL DONATES MOWER TO COLYTON LIFE ED CENTRE The Life Education Centre in Colyton is grateful for Council’s donation of a second hand ride-on mower. The Husqvuana BZ27 mower is only four years old and replaces the centre’s 20-yearplus mower which could no longer be serviced. The Centre maintains about a hectare of land including their grounds and a section on the corner of Roper Rd and Hewitt St, Colyton.
St Marys Scout group learning about waste
A bright, crisp July morning saw 35 keen volunteers help plant 460 Blackthorn shrubs near Ropes Creek, St Marys. The site is part of the critically endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland vegetation community.
Council sends at least six mowers to auction each year as part of the Plant Replacement Program. Rather than sending this mower to auction, Council agreed to donate it.
After the planting and a hearty thankyou morning tea, many volunteers joined an educational bush walk along Ropes Creek. They were introduced to different native plants local to the area as well as rogue weed species.
Life Education NSW runs drug prevention, health and wellbeing programs for primary school children and sees approximately 300,000 primary children annually. About 6,000 children attended their Colyton centre last year.
A pile of rubbish that had been washed down the creek was of interest and an opportunity for young Cub Scouts and
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Joey Scouts to learn about what happens to waste that’s not properly binned. A volunteer group meets monthly at this site and if you’d like to join (no experience needed) contact Janet, Council’s Bushland Management Officer on 02 4732 8088. As part of the Werrington Creek Rehabilitation Project and to celebrate National Tree Day, a community tree planting event was also held at Werrington Park in July. Local residents did their bit for the environment by planting more than 200 native trees and shrubs in the area.
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MAKE A SPLASH IN OUR PHOTO COMPETITION Valuing our water in Penrith
12 – 18 Year Category – Jade Gregory
Aspiring amateur photographers are invited to enter Council’s 2012 National Water Week Photographic Competition with the theme, ‘Valuing our Water in Penrith’. Now in its fourth year, this popular competition celebrates National Water
Week and encourages residents to enter photos that capture the value of our waterways in our local catchments. National Water Week raises awareness and improves understanding of water issues. Penrith City residents who are not
SPICY PENRITH More than 400 people attended the first Spicy Penrith event at the Memorial Hall in St Marys on 18 August. The Council-run event offered musical and dance performances from Sri Lanka, Nepal, India and Bhutan. Funds raised went to the Mamre House refugee support program.
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Under 12 Category – Sienna McKee
Open Category – Akos Lumnitzer
Council staff can enter the competition which has three categories and more than $1300 in prizes. Council will host a free photography workshop at Waterside Estate on Saturday 13 October. Bookings essential.
To find out more about the workshop and competition, visit Council’s website www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au or call 02 4732 7938. Share your work via social media – visit facebook.com/penrithishere or twitter.com/penrithishere.
PENRITH COMMUTER CAR PARK OFFICIALLY OPENED The $13M North Penrith Commuter Car Park was officially opened on 3 August offering 1000 free parking spaces near Penrith Railway Station. The car park cost about $2 million less to build than the original budget. Council (project
OCTOBER 2012 COMMUNITY NEWS
manager) worked with construction company Denham Construction Pty Ltd. The State and Federal governments and Landcom jointly funded the project.
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STUDENTS’ MOSAICS ADD COLOUR TO COLYTON
Cr Greg Davies (second from left) at the unveiling of a metal sculpture. Tanya Kalolo, participant in the (re)Presenting Colyton Picnic. Photo by Matte Rochford.
The Colyton community can admire the handiwork of 15 local students with the official unveiling of two large-scale mosaics at Colyton Neighbourhood Centre and Colyton High Trade School in late July. Artist Diamando Koutsellis and youth worker Pete Carney of St Clair Youth and Neighbourhood Team (SCYNT) worked with the students over a term to design, cut out, press, bisque fire and glaze the tiles. The project was funded through Magnetic Places, Council’s Neighbourhood Renewal Community Cultural Grants Program.
This project allowed students to channel their creative energy into learning new skills to produce positive artwork for their peers, teachers and family to appreciate. The mosaic creation, ‘Live, Love, Learn’ was installed at Colyton High School and ‘Harmony’ at the Colyton Neighbourhood Centre on Jensen Street. Find out what’s on at your nearest neighbourhood centre by visiting www. penrithcity.nsw.gov.au or contact Council on 02 4732 8098.
OCTOBER 2012 COMMUNITY NEWS
INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNITY ART UNVEILED A sculpture of sandstone rocks and a woven fish trap, representing intergenerational Aboriginal families and their culture, is now located at Dukes Oval, Emu Plains. The piece of community art was created by local Aboriginal community members, local Aboriginal artist Chris Edward and metalwork artist Henryk Topolnicki for the Aboriginal Intergenerational Art Project, funded by the Department of Family and Community Services - Office for Ageing.
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SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIP WITH JAPAN FLOURISHES Six Penrith region students and their families attended an afternoon tea with the Mayor in September before heading off on their exchange tour of Japan. The students: Justine Dwyer (St Pauls); Liam McKeown (Xavier); Christian Daniels; Makenzie Gaskin; Morgan Pollock (all McCarthy) and Skye Woodbridge (Jamison HS) were selected by Council to visit Fujieda, Penrith’s Sister City, as part of our Student Exchange Ambassador Program. They left Penrith on 14 September. Fujieda, home to about 115,000 people and is about 180km
MASTERPLAN IN THE PIPELINE FOR CBD
south-west of Tokyo, near the foot of Mt Fuji.
Five masterplan concepts to improve Penrith City Centre’s footpaths and open spaces were on display for public comment recently.
In July and August, four high school students from Fujieda visited Penrith for a three-week exchange to learn about Australian culture, visit sights and practice speaking English.
The options for High, Station and Riley streets were designed after comprehensive community consultation and include more outdoor dining and greenery, accessibility for bikes, mobility scooters and pedestrians, trading street parking for street trees.
Council signed a Friendship Agreement with Fujieda City in 1984. For more information about the Penrith International Friendship Committee, visit www.pifc.org.au.
The display period closed on 8 August and a draft masterplan is being developed to be exhibited publicly later this year. For more information, visit www.penrithcitystreets.com.
BAG A BARGAIN OR TREAT COUNCIL’S CHILDREN’S SERVICES READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD Glenmore Park Child and Family Centre was under the international spotlight in June when a delegation of 21 childcare centre directors from Korea toured the Council-owned and run facility.
The Farmers and Fine Food Market in Penrith is held on the first Saturday of every month at the ‘Mondo’, between the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre and Westfield Penrith. The markets showcase fresh local and regional produce so are a great place to bag a bargain or treat.
Penrith City Children’s Services Co-operative, a controlled entity of Council, signed a friendship agreement with the Association of National and Public Childcare Centres in the Gangseo District of Seoul, which is an international partner city of Penrith.
SEIZING NBN OPPORTUNITIES
The agreement creates opportunities for exchanges including information and artwork.
The National Broadband Network (NBN) is rolling out in Penrith and Council is preparing to take advantage of the opportunities and benefits on behalf of the community. We met with community and business representatives in July.
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PENRITH POOL CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF SERVICE Penrith Swimming Centre is celebrating its 50th year of operation this year. Isn’t it time you and your family visited this great affordable venue? Council’s Simply Swimming Program runs two holiday intensive programs and two school term programs at the pool, with Term 4 lessons starting 8 October. Our highly qualified instructors give
WHAT’S ON OFFER? •
five star safety accreditation from the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia
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a heated 50m pool
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program and toddler pools
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pool inflatables at various times
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a playground
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free electric BBQs
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large shaded grassed areas
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kiosk
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swim school
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friendly qualified staff
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memberships
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family and multi-visit passes
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discounted swim lessons if more than one family member participates
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expert advice to learner swimmers. The centre is also home to two swimming clubs that train and race there - Penrith Swim Club and Penrith RSL Swim Club. This season we have launched our own website: www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/ penrithswimcentre and Facebook page. You can also contact us on 02 4721 3625.
WHO CAN SWIM FOR FREE? •
children under 5
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people aged over 70
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returned servicemen and women with DVA status
In a recent independent audit by the NSW Royal Life Saving Society, the Council owned and managed Penrith Swimming Centre earned a fantastic 95.65% safety score. The score is based on the guidelines for safe pool operations, Australian Standards and state legislation. The audit criteria include management, design and operations, first aid, facility design, general supervision and learn to swim. Our score is more than 10% higher than the national average and 5% above the Sydney average.
OCTOBER 2012 COMMUNITY NEWS
GARDEN FESTIVAL A SUCCESS Hundreds of people attended Council’s annual Spring Garden Festival on Saturday 15 September at Penrith Library. Free native seedlings were on offer and everyone who came along had the chance to win a veggie box, compost bin and worm farm by attending one of the many workshops. Topics covered included native wildflowers, growing vegetables in a box or herbs in containers, composting, worm farming, volunteering and bush regeneration and growing food at home.
COUNCIL WATER SAVINGS, MORE THAN JUST A DROP IN THE OCEAN Several recreational facilities in Penrith have significantly reduced their water use over the past few years, delivering huge cost savings and helping to conserve one of our most valued natural resources. Penrith Swimming Centre, Ripples St Marys Leisure Centre and Penrith Whitewater Stadium have all improved their water efficiency while maintaining their high quality services and activities. The improvements flow from Council’s Water Savings Action Plan (adopted 2006) and Water Efficiency Plan (WEP) (adopted 2011) to save water our top 10 water consuming facilities. We’ve installed pool covers, fixed leaks and gutters, trained staff, installed rainwater tanks and automated irrigation systems and retrofitted hoses, among other things. Council continues to look at ways to reduce our water use and share information to help everyone in Penrith use water more wisely.
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