Plans for open day at Umina oval
Gosford Council will host a meeting on October 21, to discuss plans for an open day as part of the proposed Peninsula Recreation Precinct.
Council's project officer of open space and leisure services Ms Rebecca Windust said the open day aimed to provide local residents the opportunity to gain "a sense of community and ownership" over the Peninsula Recreation Precinct project.
"Council is organising an open day at the Umina site from 10am to 1pm on Sunday, November 29," Ms Windust said.
"This is an opportunity for the community and media to visit the site before works commence.
"The open day will provide the community with the opportunity to see how the Peninsula and the wider Central Coast community will benefit from the project.
"Plans and conceptual images of the cafe and amenities building and the playground area, along with models of play equipment that was selected by the community will be on display for public viewing.
"Additionally the community is able to view the plans for the cafe and amenities building, which also includes a concept of the surrounding landscape plan, when the development application is advertised by council."
The community meeting will be held at Umina Surf Club from 6.30pm.
Ms Windust said other elements of the project would not be discussed at the meeting as it was "purely to develop community involvement opportunities for the open day".
Meanwhile, members of the Ettymalong Creek Landcare continue to raise its concerns over the size and location of the proposed cafe and amenities building for the site.
"I have had many phone calls from people wanting to know more about the proposals, who are being misled as they look at council's website and find only the same 2008 master plan which shows a modest kiosk of around 10m square," group representative Ms Sue Ellis said.
"The 2009 draft proposals presented to the recent stakeholders meeting showed a restaurant and amenities building (62 metres times 10 metres) twice the length of the surf club and including 12 new toilets.
"We are very puzzled as to why council officers have apparently put in a funding submission which ignored this aspect of the master plan, when it had been the subject of much community consultation and was formally endorsed by the full council.
"Surely it would be more appropriate to refurbish and extend existing amenities blocks and to ensure that they are clean and open, rather than building more facilities which require cleaning and maintenance.
"Since submitting our comments after the last stakeholders meeting on September 10 we have not heard of any changes that have been made to the draft proposals.
"We remain concerned about the size and location of the proposed restaurant in the middle of this bushland and recreation area and about the proposal to build a shared pathway through the middle of the remnant endangered ecological bushland next to Umina Public School."
Ms Ellis said the Landcare group would also like to see the remaining bushland protected and regenerated so that the banksia and other Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland species were "naturally replaced as older trees gradually reach the end of their life".
"A whole of site bushland management plan should be prepared so that this bushland and recreation area is managed and protected for the long term," Ms Ellis said.
"We think that it is imperative that the children of the future inherit the wonderful coastal woodland environment that previous generations have so much enjoyed.
"We urge local residents who are concerned about a building of this size in the middle of the recreation area to ring their local councillors to express their concern or to contact the Landcare group for further information on 4342 2251.
"Our crown land is after all a very precious resource."
According to Ms Windust, the original master plan for the project had been changed since it was submitted for funding assistance last year.
"The master plan that was developed for the funding application was prepared over a very short time frame to enable council to submit an application for funding through the Federal Government's Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program - Strategic Projects program," Ms Windust said.
"The master plan submitted with the application was therefore designed as a concept plan only.
"At that stage, council had not undertaken any of the necessary environmental or cultural assessments due to the tight time frames and limited funds to complete such assessments.
"The location of the cafe and amenities building and the playground has been moved further south from the area identified in the master plan to avoid the imposition of adverse impacts on the vegetation pockets along the north eastern border of the site.
"The majority of development will occur within an area predominantly cleared of natural vegetation however a shared footpath/cycle path through the fragmented vegetation area will assist management of the area by providing boundaries for management and community use, therefore encouraging regeneration of the vegetation pockets.
"There are also plans to extend the perimeters of the existing vegetation pockets, fence the vegetation pockets and provide interpretive signage to protect and increase community awareness of the Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland community.
"Amendments to the master plan have occurred following feedback from the community and, as with all council developments, the appropriate environmental and cultural assessments have also been undertaken for the project area.
"Through the numerous stakeholder meetings that have already occurred, the community has had the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed landscape plans.
"Meetings have and will continue to be staged with the relevant authorities to determine feasible options to address the anti-social element currently associated with the project area. "Although council is restricted by the terms of the funding agreement with the Federal Government to deliver the project within designated timeframes, council continues to work with all stakeholders to address the recreational, social and environmental needs of the community."
Ms Windust said the next meeting for key stakeholders was yet to be determined.
Clare Graham, 16 Oct 2009
Interviewee: Rebecca Windust, Gosford Council
Press release, 16 Oct 2009
Sue Ellis, Ettymalong Creek Landcare