Council land sell-off meetings well attended

The campaign to keep Umina's Brisbane Avenue reserve as community land was well-represented at public meetings held by Central Coast Council, according to organisers.

More than 90 community members attended the first session and about 50 residents attended the second session to voice their concerns about the former Gosford Council's land sale strategy.

The two public meetings were held at the Erina Centre on Wednesday, July 6, as part of the process of examining whether an initial 10 lots of community land could be reclassified as operational, which would enable them to be sold.

The reserve at 83 to 85 Brisbane Avenue, Umina was part of the initial list.

Other Peninsula reserves, currently classified as community land, which means they cannot be sold, are to be considered for reclassification in a subsequent process.

They are located at: Albion St and Pozieres Ave in Umina; and at Mackenzie Ave and Jumbuck Close in Woy Woy.

Ms Amie Raz, whose Umina home joins the Brisbane Ave reserve, said her husband Dan read a submission at the public meeting and her children made a video that was played at the end of the second session.

"We had about 15 people there to support keeping the Brisbane Ave reserve as community land," Ms Raz said.

Ms Sue Chidgey from save Central Coast Reserves said: "The turn out to support the Brisbane Ave reserve was amazing.

"They had at least 15 people and several stood up and spoke about their well-used and loved reserve," Ms Chidgey said.

"The three boys who put the video together have an old-fashioned attitude that kids should be able to go out there and experience stuff instead of being in front of screens inside," she said.

"I was incredibly proud that community members could stand up and defend their special public spaces like that."

Ms Chidgey said: "The attendance by affected residents was excellent considering the council chose to run the meetings in school holidays and refused to provide an evening session for workers to attend."

Ms Jane Smith from the Community Environment Network said the whole process had been confused.

"The previous Gosford Council resolved to proceed with the process of reclassification of the land including holding a public hearing and then to look at rezoning land so that it could be sold," Ms Smith said.

"Council staff are now suggesting that this will happen as one step," she said.

"Adding to the confusion, the public meeting was initially advertised as a public hearing, which is part of a formal process.

"Then it was changed to a public meeting and became an information gathering exercise.

"To make matters worse, there was no information available prior to the meeting about how to register to speak or the format of the meeting.

"The community's trust in this process is very low.

"There has been a lack of transparency and many residents complain of emails and correspondence not being answered.

"Information has not been available to the community and it took over eight months to get council to list the 24 sites on their website."

Ms Chidgey said the process had been distressing for all concerned.

"We are calling on council to withdraw all lots and halt this process now rather than continue to frustrate communities and place demands on the time of residents who are juggling work and family life," she said.

Eight community facebook groups have become involved in the campaign to protect the reserves, parks and green spaces listed in the land sale strategy.

At the council's public meeting the first 10 sites were listed for discussion and another 14 across the Gosford region, including four on the Peninsula, will be dealt with at a later date.

Ms Chidgey said the independent consultant who had been appointed by Central Coast Council said he had chosen the first 10 sites because he had considered them all appropriate for reclassification and sale.

"He gave an undertaking at the meeting to thoroughly investigate the history, use and environmental value of each of the 10 sites before handing his report to council," she said.

Ms Chidgey also requested that the council representatives present at the meetings undertook to pass on to the consultant all submissions and correspondence received by the council from community members concerned about their reserves throughout the past 10 months.

She said a council representative had told the public meeting that submissions in favour of the reclassification and sale of community land had also been received by council.

Public requests to be given access to those submissions were not granted.

Community members have been given to July 20 to submit their concerns to council regarding the reserves, parks and green spaces included on the initial list of 10.

Media release, 7 Jul 2016

Interview, 7 Jul 2016

Sue Chidgey, Save Central Coast Reserves

Interview, 7 Jul 2016

Amie Raz, Save Brisbane Ave Reserve

Reporter: Jackie Pearson