Civic Trust doing their bit on Housing Strategy

The Beecroft - Cheltenham Civic Trust had a stand on Hannah Street on Saturday, publicising the Hornsby Shire's Housing Strategy (2010 Exhibition). Cr Andrew Martin was there, providing clear and helpful explanations of council policy, and answering lots of questions from concerned residents.

The BCCT was handing out three form letters relating specifically to Beecroft, as follows:
1 - We are opposed to the Draft Strategy for the following reasons;
2 - We support the Draft Strategy subject to the following; and
3 - We support the Draft Strategy as exhibited but offer the following comments.

Each form letter then lists about ten selectable options, including "totally unacceptable in any form", "any development will need to be carefully planned", and "significant heritage buildings should be excluded".

No doubt you can obtain copies of these letters from the Trust, PO Box 31 Beecroft NSW 2119, or contact the committee at http://www.2119.org.au/. Meanwhile Ray White Beecroft has copies of the three form letters in case you want a copy.

Super Saturday

The SMH Business Day says "High clearance rate makes a Super Saturday", with a 70% clearance rate over Sydney. Beecroft and Cheltenham managed one auction sale, and if you drive round the area you see why - lots and lots of "sold" signs! As Douglas Macarthur pointed out in a recent Northern Districts editorial, Ray White Beecroft had a phenomenal start to 2010, selling more properties than ever, but all the local agencies are finding new listings hard to come by.

Parking at Beecroft Village

There are roughly 211 car park spaces within Beecroft Shopping Village that are restricted duration not available to commuters using the train.
Over and around The Module 97 spaces.
Outside the Arcade 65 spaces.
Around Raine and Horne 22 spaces.
Firestation Carpark 27 spaces.
There are also about 32 short term street parking spaces on Hannah and Wongalla.

Of these, the currently published plan for Beecroft rezoning appears to remove most of those. Although not explicitly stated, it appears the 33 spaces to the north and the 27 by the firestation, both shown as "existing shoppers car park", are the only ones being retained, with the expectation that underground car parking will substitute for the present open air parking. Is this realistic? And if the existing car parks are removed even temporarily without replacement, the village will die through inability to park, and probably never recover.

Have your say on this by email to housing@hornsby.nsw.gov.au
or in writing to
General Manager, Hornsby Shire Council, PO Box 37, Hornsby 1630.
Submissions must be in by 23 April.

Housing Strategy for Beecroft Available

The Hornsby Shire amended housing strategy is now available on the web or on display at various libraries, but not officially displayed in Beecroft.
Because the amendment has such a huge impact on residents of Beecroft and Cheltenham, Ray White Beecroft is displaying the eight page Beecroft section of the report on our windows and has printed copies of that section available on request at our reception desk.

BCCT Meeting on 5 storey development of Beecroft

The Beecroft and Cheltenham Civic Trust held their meeting on Monday at the Cheltenham Recreation Club, with about 200 people attending. The Mayor of Hornsby, numerous councilors and planning officers, and Greg Smith our MP all came to give a presentation and answer questions on the proposed addition of Beecroft to the Hornsby Shire Housing Strategy.

The Shire has to submit the final report in mid 2010, for intended implementation mid 2011. That means there is not time for the long consultation period held last year for the precincts that were then involved in the plan. So the residents of Beecroft and Cheltenham find themselves caught out, with only four weeks to find out what is happening and make their views known. Submissions must be in by 23 April!

There are numerous ways the local community can make its views known, and overwhelmingly the most effective way is for every resident to write both to State Government and to the Shire, specifically saying whether you agree or disagree with inclusion of Beecroft Village in the proposal.

State to Acquire Land Compulsorily

Those who attended the recent meeting of Businesses of Beecroft (BOB) will remember that much of the debate was on how difficult it would be for developers to acquire enough land within Beecroft Shopping Village to build the proposed 5 storey residential developments.
However according to the Sydney Morning Herald the NSW state government is to push through laws giving them the power to acquire land compulsorily and sell it to developers!
So any developer wanting to build over Beecroft Village need just ask the Shire to "get the land" for them.
Suddenly the Shire's addition of Beecroft into their Housing Strategy becomes a much more immediate threat.
Have your say, before submissions close on 25 April!

Submissions regarding the Housing Strategy

It seems residents of Beecroft and Cheltenham will be given just five weeks to view and respond to the Shire's intentions to transform Beecroft Village shopping centre into a multi-storey mixed commercial and residential development with some 450 new flat-dwelling residents.
As it seems unlikely the new presentation will do more than confirm inclusion of the Village within the overall plan for 11,000 new residents in Hornsby shire by 2031, it is not hard to draft a response in advance.
Peter Hewitt, Business Development Manager of Ray White Beecroft real estate, would be happy to discuss the known details of the proposal, and then to help residents of the Beecroft and Cheltenham community to draft their submissions.

Civic Trust Meeting to discuss Housing Strategy

Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust is holding a Public Meeting on the Draft Hornsby Housing Strategy.
Members and residents are advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Beecroft Cheltenham Civic Trust (BCCT)will be held on Monday 15 March, 2010Â at Cheltenham Recreation Club, The Crescent, Cheltenham between 7.30 and 8 pm.
The AGM will be followed at 8pm by a Public Meeting on the Draft Hornsby Housing Strategy. Key Council Planning Officers will make a presentation and the Mayor, C Ward and other Councillors will be present to answer questions.

Hornsby Shire Tightens the Timetable

Beecroft and Cheltenham residents will be able to see how the Hornsby Shire housing strategy affects their village when it goes on display on 15 March, and are invited to give their views with a final submission date of 23 April!
The plan will be on display in Hornsby, Berowra, Galston, Pennant Hills, and Epping libraries, but as yet there is no plan to display it in or around Beecroft itself.
There will be "Community Drop-in Sessions" at Roselea Community Centre 647-671 Pennant Hills Road, Beecroft on Thursday 25 March from 1pm to 4pm, and again at 6pm to 9pm.

Binzi Restarts Obedience Training

A while ago (28 Jan) this blog announced that Lydia Merrill had acquired a cute young dog, Binzi. On Sunday Binzi was enrolled at the Brush Farm Dog Training Club. We found that she had been enrolled before, three months ago as a puppy. I wonder why the previous owners gave her back!

Binzi has been escaping, and the neighbours return her and clip her to the lead we leave attached to the front door.