Council maps show reserve value, says campaigner

Jumbuck Reserve in Woy Woy has been identified on Central Coast Council's own maps as containing environmentally significant vegetation, according to Mr Mark Mann, spokesperson for Save Jumbuck Reserve.

It is one of five community reserves on the Peninsula earmarked for reclassification to operational land by Central Coast Council.

"I am hoping they will take it off the list because of its vegetation," Mr Mann said.

"I am hoping it is just a mix up and something that has been overlooked by council staff," he said.

Mr Mann said he believed Jumbuck Reserve was "the one with the most value" on the Peninsula but that all five locations made a contribution to the amenity and quality of life on the Peninsula.

For example, he said that the Woy Woy Peninsula Community Garden was formerly a location very similar to the community land at 40 and 42 Albion Street, Umina.

"It looks like an ordinary block but the community garden is an example of how that sort of community land can be utilised," he said.

Mr Mann said he disagreed with council's reasoning that the community land it was seeking to reclassify was "surplus to requirements, no value to anyone".

"The opposition that has sprung up from the community is evidence that is not true," he said.

"Clearly council has to manage its infrastructure but the question is whether the green spaces are important and the amount of value we put on them.

"Everyone appreciates that council has financial problems but these spaces have more value than council perceived them to have," he said.

Interview, 4 Aug 2016

Mark Mann, Save Jumbuck Reserve