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Concerted community campaigning resulted in Central Coast Council Administrator, Rik Hart, removing the Austin Butler Acc, Woy Woy, from the list of five sites he resolved to reclassify from community to operational land at Council’s September meeting.
By Jacquelene Pearson
It took an open letter, published as a full-page advertisement in two local papers and signed by 13 community groups, a petition with over 2500 signatures, and entreaties from at least two local MPs to convince Administrator Rik Hart to use an Administrator’s Minute to remove the Austin Butler Acc from the list of public land he went on to resolve to move to the next stage of reclassification when council met on September 26.
During the public forum that preceeds the formal council meeting, two residents spoke against the resolution put forward by staff to ignore the advice of the Local Planning Panel and move forward with the reclassification of Austin Butler Acc to facilitate its sale to the neighbouring Peninsula Plaza shopping centre.
Two other speakers were in favour of Mr Hart moving ahead with the reclassification.
However, the reprieve may be short-lived as Mr Hart also resolved to move forward with his plans to consult the community about whether they want to keep Austin Butler Acc with its 44 established trees or sell it and have the funds from the sale used to pay for 8500 new street trees for the Woy Woy Peninsula over 10 years.
In his monthly post-council meeting interview with The Point, Mr Hart said he wanted his proposed community consultation on the future of Austin Butler Acc to happen “as soon as possible”.
“The rationale behind this is very clear,” he said. “I think there was confusion in the community that this was an asset sale and we were working for the developers.”
Mr Hart said he and council’s CEO, David Farmer, had met, some time ago, with representatives from Peninsula Plaza and Woolworths.
“They outlined their concerns about the situation with their deliveries. They started making offers to the council, wanting to buy the land,” he said.
“What I did last night was separate it out, cut the reclassification at this time. We have an offer from the Plaza to purchase that land, sort out their issues and secure its long term future. What I have said now is the community needs to make a decision,” he said.
Mr Hart said Woy Woy Peninsula residents, including Jennifer Wilder of Grow Urban Shade Trees (GUST), “talks all the time about heat island effect” and he believes selling Austin Butler Acc would provide a way to solve the peninsula’s canopy shortfall.
“I thought it was an opportunity to think about the money we get from Woolworths and the plaza to talk about the trees down there.”
Mr Hart said the intention would be to purchase trees “in the order of 2m high”. The cost to acquire, water and look after the trees would mean council “could afford to look after 8500 trees”.
“Let the community make the decision. I have tried to keep it very simple for the community,” he said.
Mr Hart said he could not both retain the existing Austin Butler trees and do necessary street tree planting because the total budget for the whole LGA for street trees was only $40,000 per year.
Why are you continuing to sell community land?
Speaking against the staff recommendation to reclassify Austin Butler, along with five other parcels of community land, community campaigner, Joy Coooper, said the council’s reports and resolutions relating to the asset sales were full of “errors, mistakes, lack of care”.
She noted council had received advice from the Local Planning Panel not to proceed with the reclassification of any sites zoned RE1 or SP2 until environmental studies were carried out to determine their best use.
“Even a mediocre real estate person knows and understands zoning matters a great deal,” Ms Cooper said, arguing that by not rezoning the land council was “leaving fat for the purchaser”.
She pointed out small errors in the council’s reports such as incorrect addresses and lot numbers.
“These may be small things but they matter, resolutions must be correct or are the staff setting up another mess for another elected council to discover down the track too late,” she said.
Coral Roberts from Mingaletta Aboriginal Corporation, also spoke against the staff recommendation to continue with the reclassification of Austin Butler Acc.
“We should be working with mother nature not against her. We need these trees. Planting of new trees will not replace these magnificent trees,” Ms Roberts said.
“Removing trees to make way for a car park might seem like progress but it is not addressing the real issue of climate change, in fact it is making it worse. When we cut them out we are not only hurting ourselves but our future generations. Think about your grandchildren, what example are you setting for them? That only money and greed matters. They should be shown that we value the environment.
“Let’s not forget now more than 2000 signatures stand against this selloff. It is time to rethink your actions and revert to saving the environment.
“Let the Peninsula Plaza create their own solutions to the building design problem.
“You said at the last meeting you would listen to the residents. We are here to the end. We will fight and protect our trees. The community has been telling you since 2021. Can you instruct the staff to stop the selloff.”
Peter O’Donnell, a representative of Peninsula Plaza, spoke in favour of the staff resolution to proceed with reclassification. He said Woolworths as the main occupant of the shopping centre had been at its heart for many years.
Mr O’Donnell said traffic in the Woy Woy CBD had “changed dramatically”.
“At present semi trailers coming off Blackwall Road drive across the entrance of the whole shopping centre. Where the semi trailers get into position where they have to reverse into the loading dock through car park, exiting and entrancing grinds to a halt.
He said all issues would be resolved with the addition of Austin Butler Acc into the shopping centre. Mr O’Donnell also spoke of “severe anit social behavious from visitors” that impacted on customers, often necessitated with the intervention of NSW police.”
The second speaker in favour of the staff resolution was Matthew Wales, Chair of the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Wales said the centre had operated successfully for over 30 years but the addition of the Austin Butler land would “assure the centre continues to operate in a safe manner”.
He said there was “increasing vehicle, semi trailer and vehicle conflict both within the carpark and at the intersection with Blackwall Rd.
Mr Wales told the Administrator and public gallery that the reclassification of Austin Butler Acc had “wider implications for Woy Woy town centre which is due to have a major review”.
He said he had already received a draft economic assessment and traffic management assessment as part of a wider review of traffic controls.
“It is imperative the shopping centre function in the most efficient manner possible especially in terms of traffic impact onto Blackwall Rd, conflicts impact on operations of the centre, its customers and the wider precinct.”
“It is important to the wider commercial health of the town centre… extremely important to encourage redevelopment and residential living in the Woy Woy CBD.”
The detail of the Administrator’s minute
In announcing his minute to remove Austin Butler Acc from the bulk reclassification Mr Hart reitereated that on August 22 he resolved that formal community consultation would be sought about the future of the reserve and that consultation would be going ahead.
This means the land could still be reclassified and sold “should the majority of the community agree to the land being sold.
“To give a sense of scale of the type of project this could fund, bear in mind, it could fund more than 8500 trees across the peninsula region – could achieve advancement to council’s greener places strategy.
“Should the majority of the community express interest, such a program would go a long way to providing long term progress.”
The consultation will consist of an “independent targeted representative survey”. Council has been criticised for such surveys failing to be truly representative in recent consultations including the Gosford Waterfront proposal.
Mr Hart said he would request a summary report to be prepared outlining outcomes to report back to council as soon as possible.
He said he wanted to make it very clear the council was approached by the plaza and its tenants.
“This is an opportunity and it has been caught up if you like in a reclassification process and I want the community to have a discussion about whether or not the value of planting 8500 trees, what I am doing is putting that offer to the community because I have canned the reclassification process for them to consider and give me the advice back.
“There is only one source of money. I get hammered day after day about any tree that is knocked down in that Peninsula area.
“It is what I call true consultation,” he said.
