Will Newcastle get the gong?
Newcastle Greens
21 December 2006
Will Newcastle get the gong??
Newcastle may become the latest victim of a Wollongong-style, one-size-fits-all, Lego land makeover under Sydney Labor’s Newcastle City Centre Plan to be released today, says Greens candidate for Newcastle, Cr Michael Osborne.
The Newcastle City Centre Plan, developed by Sydney Planning officials, will be launched today by former Independent Lord Mayor of Sydney, now the Sydney Labor Planning Minister Frank Sartor and the Lord Mayor of Newcastle (who was courted and then dumped as Labor candidate), Councillor John Tate.
The State Government has already developed and released City Centre Plans for Wollongong, Gosford, Liverpool, Penrith and Parramatta.
"If the other City Centre Plans are anything to go by, the Newcastle City Centre Plan will disregard Newcastle development controls and push for more high-rise and bulkier developments in the CBD, especially in the west end," Councillor Osborne said.
"The release of this City Centre Plan for public comment when people are preoccupied with Christmas shows the contempt that Sydney Labor has for Newcastle.
"There has been an appalling lack of consultation in developing this plan for Newcastle’s CBD. The only consultation has been tokenism. Newcastle City Council was virtually bypassed and the 'reference panel', hand picked by the Sydney Planners, failed to include representatives of community organisations with local planning and heritage knowledge and experience.
"The Planning Minister’s record of excessive development on the Royal Newcastle Hospital site, approving urban sprawl on the Dan Land near Maryland and doing deals with developers to allow more sprawl around Minmi gives no cause for optimism.
"Is Newcastle going to get appropriate development to revitalise our CBD or just massive Sydney-imposed high rise?" Councillor Osborne asked.
"This plan should have been developed in Newcastle by Newcastle people – not imposed by Sydney Labor," he said.
