Council staff discuss Hillview St options

Gosford Council staff met last week with the owners and potential developers of the land on the corner of Veron Rd and Hillview St, Woy Woy, to discuss options for the sensitive site.

The council's natural resources manager, Ms Teena Pennington, confirmed that Council staff held the meeting to discuss the site's future.

She said staff were currently preparing a report to be delivered to council in early July.

"There are a range of issues concerned with the site.

"There is a development application currently with Council and that needs to continue, but there is also the separate issue of options the Council has in responding to community concerns," she said.

Ms Pennington confirmed that a part acquisition of the land was a potential option open to Council and that the land could be purchased using Coastal Open Space funds or other using other funding options.

"There are various options relating to the site.

"The State Government has allocated $1.5 million for the previous acquisition of sensitive land.

"There are some remaining funds."

The Greens' Cr Terri Latella said that she would like to see the site purchased for open space.

"That particular parcel of land: I'm just so in awe of it.

"It's just so beautiful," she said.

"It really is a beautiful pocket of land.

She said the land would be expensive to purchase but she had asked Council to investigate funding options.

"I have asked for those sorts discussions to take place.

"I would hate to put us in a negative position."

Cr Latella said she did not think only purchasing only part of the land was a viable option.

"There are two end parts of the land that have significant environmental significance, but there is ground cover over the whole of the site which brings birds and wildlife.

"If you develop part of it you decrease ground density.

"There are impacts that would flow on. We don't know the full extent of those sorts of impacts.

"It is actually the whole block that is environmentally sensitive."

She said she believed Council staff were listening to the concerns of Peninsula residents.

"I think they are, but they also have to look at it from a value perspective.

Cr Latella said she had also asked Council officer to investigate any aboriginal connections to the land.

Peninsula News was unable to contact Cr Craig Doyle, who had been reported elsewhere saying that $5 million to purchase the lot is not an efficient use of funds.

In the meantime, a petition has been started by local residents to save the site.

The petition has been distributed with leaflets asking people to write their opinions for the future of the site.

The petition asks: "Do you wish to see the 2.88 acres of pristine bushland at the corner of Hillview St and Veron Rd destroyed to make way for the 41 unit retirement village? Yes/No?"

It asks people to write a reason and leave their name and address and also supplies information regarding the land.

"Low lying coastal plains in the east are the most densely settled areas of Australia," it states.

"With the density of proposed housing on the Woy Woy Peninsula, it is essential that some virgin land is set aside for everyone's recreational enjoyment.

"This large site of natural coastal sand plain should be made available for easy access to students from primary and secondary schools immediately adjacent to this planned development," it states.

Alison Branley, June 25