17 Aug Council forgets to tell residents about $3.6 million grant and then tries to stuff up Gore Creek without a battle

Lane Cove Council appears set on a pre-determined path to change the community use of our key parklands to the disadvantage and near exclusion of dog walkers, family users, exercisers, casual sporting practice and many community events.

Already on the cards is a confused attempt to ban off leash dogs at Kingsford Smith Oval via Council leaving the gates open to the surrounding roads (see separate article).

Now Bob Campbell Oval (BCO) at harbourside Gore Creek Reserve is under direct threat of being astro-turfed for the use of competitive sport teams only – and the process seems strikingly undemocratic.

This is how the Council has secretly manoeuvred this process to suit a particular development and once again pulled the wool over the eyes of residents:

• Lane Cove Council received a $3.6 million grant for the project from the NSW Department of Planning. All approved. But who in the community knew about it?
• Yet, one of the criteria for assessment of the grant application was that “appropriate consultation has occurred within the community”. But what consultation had taken place?

How could this be, we ask?

As the smart and industrious people of the Greenwich Community Association point out:

‘There is not enough open space in Council’s SLS (St Leonards South). Nor is there enough open space in the high density St Leonards and Crows Nest Precinct generally.

‘So Council and the Department found a great way to fund the work Council wants to do at Bob Campbell Oval.

‘As the Department says in its letter: “The Department has been working with Lane Cove Council on a project nomination to seek funding under the Precinct Support Scheme”.

‘Our Council offered the community’s natural green open space at Bob Campbell Oval  as a synthetic surface sporting field for the St Leonards Crows Nest Precinct. And it will link it to the Precinct with an engineeringly challenged shared user path route.’

If you think this is a rotten, smelly way for our Council to operate our parks and reserves then take a listen or look at the treatment meted out by General Manager Craig Wrightson and Mayor Pam Palmer to Councillor Frances Vissel when she asked a very reasonable question on the issue at Council on July 20 this year. Read the transcript – sense the bullying atmospherics:

COUNCILLOR VISSEL  July 20, 2020

Yes Madam Mayor. Thank you very much. Today I visited the oval (Bob Campbell) between the hours of 1:30 to 2:30. And in the middle of winter, it was bathed in sunshine. Shading had just reached the dappled playground shading around and shadows from the trees were just starting to overshadow the extreme left end of the oval. I believe that the proper separation as was taken in Blackman Park for ovals three and four addressing the position such as drainage, deep soil and topsoil have been very successful and with necessary work could be successful here, the report recognizes that Bob Campbell oval is heavily used by locals have a wide range of informal active and passive recreation activities, including an off the leash dog area exercise here is most days of the year and plays a key role in developing and maintaining strong community links. Also, as a shared user path has been included as an important link to the St Leonard’s South precinct and the lack of open space for the proposed very large increase of population this would continue to provide that key role. So far the other issue on that is many have expressed concern about the health and environmental impact from artificial turf and the material which is used  to implement, implement and to use, and today we have again heard that there is growing concern amongst health professionals about the potential role of artificial turf causing cancer that has recently come to the forefront of practitioners. It is therefore desirable to have a second option to consider.

So, Frances Vissel has made some positive commentary on the community use and pleasant ambience of the Oval and also raised the concerns of some of her constituents who have queried the use of artificial turf and some claims it can cause cancer. Nothing more, nothing less! And here are the putdowns and muzzling she had to endure from GM Craig Wrightson and Mayor Pam Palmer:

GENERAL MANAGER

If Councillor Vissel honestly believes that then Council should close Blackman Park. We cannot have a situation where the Council is saying it thinks one of its facilities is causing cancer. So unless there’s evidence to that I would ask the Councillor Vissel so that she either has evidence of that or council needs to close Blackman Park we could not possibly have a situation where we’re implementing something knowing that that is cancer causing.

PAM PALMER

So you’re going to withdraw those remarks Councillor Vissel ? Are you going to withdraw the remarks about the surface of Blackman Park causing cancer.

COUNCILLOR VISSEL

I was just repeating what the General Manager said.

PAM PALMER

He’s asked you basically to withdraw the remarks that you think that one of Council’s facilities is causing cancer.

COUNCILLOR VISSEL

But I didn’t say that did I?

PAM PALMER

Yes, you did.

Um…no she didn’t Mayor Pam. When our Mayor and our General Manager are so aggressive when responding to polite and sensible questioning by our Council representatives such as Frances Vissel, what chance do we mere residents have with civil attempts to communicate with Council about saving our green spaces, golf courses and parks, let alone querying bigger issues such as St Leonards South which is looming all too largely over our homes and roads and schools.