Save Our Suburbs: Bryan Ellis

I have lived at Umina for 24 years and I became involved in community activity in the late 1980s when Gosford Council approved a development application to fill the former Lake Ettymalong and develop a housing estate.

Myself and others formed the Umina Nature Defense Organisation to try to stop the destruction of the lake and its flood storage capacity.

Over the last 15 years I have undertaken extensive lobbying and advocacy work directed at all levels of government.

The aim of this work has been to achieve protection of our suburbs and the adoption of sustainable development practices.

This work was instrumental in the Federal Government's decision to require council to undertake extensive bush regeneration work in the South Umina area to protect the habitat of a number of threatened species.

I joined SOS in 1999 and I am standing in this election because, after 10 years of record population growth, it is obvious that the State has failed to provide for the growing population.

As an SOS candidate, I seek to stop the overdevelopment of the Coast and support the development of infrastructure to cater for the existing population.

SOS also seeks to prohibit the practice of developers providing funding to political parties which is affecting the public decision making process.

If elected I will ensure that the character statements that we worked so hard to have included in Council's Development Control Plan 159 are enforced.

Changes need to be made so developers cannot continue to build two-storey "McMansions" in suburbs that are predominantly single storey residential.

We need to be looking at the limits to growth and the inability of all levels of government to fund their pro-developer policies.

I regularly attend council meetings and support other community organisations and individuals in making submissions on a range of local issues.

Statement, 7 Mar 2007 Bryan Ellis, Save Our Suburbs candidate for Gosford