We made only one submission in the last two months. This was in relation to a public hearing on a Ku-ring-gai Council Planning Proposal to change the classification of land at 1192 Pacific Highway, Pymble from community to operational.
This land is commonly known as the Secret Garden. It is a small block (974 m2) that contains several mature trees such as Blue Gums and Blackbutts. It is classified as Blue Gum High Forest, a critically endangered ecological community. About half the land is subject to easements for Sydney Water infrastructure. To get access one has to go down several steps that were installed for Sydney Water’s use. According to council the land is not suitable to be used as public open space.
The land itself is weed infested but could quite easily be regenerated with a native shrub layer. Apart from the steps the land is inaccessible with the railway line below and private land either side. On the northern side the apartment block residents benefit from the views over the forest in contrast to the heavy traffic of the Pacific Highway. On the southern side there is an old house that is ripe for redevelopment in line with the high density zoning.
Council argues that retaining the site as community land will be a continuing expense with little benefit to the community. If the land were to be classified as operational, council could sell the block. Its value would be realised if it could be amalgamated with the block next door and allow a larger apartment development of the old house using a floor space ratio combining both blocks. For this reason council has been keenly supporting the reclassification.
Land reclassification process
The land reclassification involves several stages. We won‘t go into the detail. The proposal has reached the stage of being considered by an independent commissioner. The commissioner has to consult affected agencies (eg Sydney Water and Transport NSW), invite public submissions and hold a public hearing. The commissioner then writes a report that is reviewed by council that then decides whether the proposal should go to the Department of Planning that will make the necessary amendment to the local environment plan.
Seventeen public submissions were received opposing the reclassification and one in favour.
Outcome of the consultation process
The commissioner’s report recommended that the proposal should not proceed for several reasons including:
- it would risk compromising Sydney Water’s access to these critical assets for maintenance;
- a development application or subdivision/ amalgamation could negatively impact the values of the site state heritage registered water reservoirs in nearby Telegraph Road (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
_1_and_No._2); - the majority of the site is mapped on the biodiversity values map, which identifies land with high biodiversity value that is particularly sensitive to impacts from development and clearing;
- the site assists with urban cooling in the vicinity due to shade from the mature trees which contributes to Ku-ring-gai’s urban tree canopy in the Urban Forest Strategy.
Commissioner’s recommendation
The commissioner recommended that the land remains in council’s ownership and as community land, and that it is ‘improved’ as a rest area and wild garden. This would ensure:
- the land is available to the whole community for informal recreation
- retention of the Sydney Water easements
- no structures are placed on the land
- the elements of the land that the local residents and community value, ie the leafy green outlook and wildlife habitat, would be retained
- minimal maintenance required by council because interested local residents could assist with maintenance
What happens next?
It is still up to council to decide whether the planning proposal for the reclassification should be submitted to the Department of Planning, but they have to consider the submissions and the commissioner’s report that concluded that it should be withdrawn.