The CPPA invests hundreds of hours every month in activities and projects that directly benefit our community.
Providing the DA updates in the Chronicle alone is a day a month to process the list and follow up on what’s been happening, the Chronicle production and distribution another 2 days a month, landcaring our local reserves 100+ hours a month, looking after the Hall, it is our community’s asset not Council owned, more hours a month. On top of that there is the governance of the organization, applying for funding and managing the grants and coordinating hall bookings.
The CPPA membership is one way to show your support for what we do on the community’s behalf. The funds generated from membership provide a baseline for our income so we know how much more money we need to secure throughout the year to cover the ongoing costs associated with the owning an asset such as the Hall. Big ticket items such as council rates ($3500) and insurance ($3800) are a financial challenge but also known.
The Progress financial year is a calendar year and we are looking understand our fundraising needs for 2017. The constitution outlines our purpose and is online .
Membership fees are $8pp or $13/family with a $2pp option to join the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood group.
Membership fees and applications can be lodged in the Treasurer’s secure letterbox at 235 Coal Point Rd or posted to PO Box 329 Toronto. There is also a membership form available online to print out. If you don't have a proposer or seconder don't worry, we can attend to that at the monthly meeting.
With your support we can keep doing what we do!
The Online Calendar has dates and information about the events.
Boat Storage Strategy
Thur 9th Feb 5-7pm RMYC
Coal Point Progress Monthly Meeting:
Mon 13th Feb @ 197 Skye Pt Rd. 3:30-5:30. All Welcome
Lake Mac Walks-Walkshop
Mon 6th Mar, 1-3:30pm Met @Toronto Library
Clean Up Aus Day with TASNG
Sat 4th Mar, 8-10am Meet @ cnr Awaba Rd and Bridge St
Lake Mac Walks Public Forum
Wed 8th Mar, 9:30-noon, Performing Arts Centre.WB
Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group :
Wed 8th Mar @ The Hub, 97 The Boulevarde 5-6.30pm. All Welcome
Landcare Every Thursday 8:30am-1pm
- 9 Feb:Carey Bay Wetlands
- 16 Feb:West Ridge23 Feb: Stansfield Reserve
- 2 and 9 Mar: Burnage
- 16 Mar West Ridge/Threlkeld
On the 2nd February the world celebrated wetlands and CPPA landcarers did as well, enjoying a morning of camaraderie and purposeful movement. Landcaring has a very calming effect and is more like active mediation than physical work. The wetlands were slightly moist after the recent rain, the birds in abundance…perfect.
The Summer Bird survey had sightings at the wetlands of a Pied Butcherbird looking after young and two juvenile Dollarbirds, highlighting the importance of wetlands as feeding and foraging grounds for birdlife due to the abundance of bugs and water.
Locals have been landcaring at Carey Bay Wetlands since 2003 when a Clean Up Australia Day crew tackled the Lantana wall that bounded the Excelsior Pde edge. Since that time 2025 hours have gone towards encouraging the natural recovery processes by reducing the impact of weeds in this Endangered Ecological Community. We are very lucky to have such a gem in our Landcare crown.
The Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group is coordinating a Clean Up of Awaba Rd at Toronto West on Saturday March 4th, 8-10am. The meeting point is on the corner of Awaba Rd & Bridge St.
There is also a Clean Up event at the Toronto Lions Park on Sunday 5th March 9-11:30am.
You can register your participation on the CUAD website.
In January the final activity of the $19,993 grant, Safe and Sustainable Solutions to ensure Progress Hall’s Survival, was undertaken…a Freshen Up Frenzy which saw our Hall get a really good makeover for the new year. The walls were washed, kitchen decluttered, paths swept, grounds groomed, stage stacked, windows ‘transparentised’ and the toilets are now taintless.
The State funded grant Community Building Partnership grant has seen the roof repaired to capture water to fill the rainwater tank, which flushes the toilets. New lightweight chairs purchased along with a chair and table trolley to improve WHS in moving the furniture. The icing on the cake was the installation of 20 solar panels that are producing about 20kW/day, which also required the replacement of the aged meter box.
Sincere thanks to our State MP Greg Piper for his support of this grant.
How do you know if that scurrying flash is friend or foe. The Australian museum has a page dedicated to explaining the differences, which is summarised below.
How to tell
Black/ Brown Rat
- Behaviour:
- Active day and night, fearless around humans
- Agile climber of trees, fences, wires and roofs
- Nest: Made of shredded materials such as paper, insulation
- Tail : Long in relation to body, parsley haired and scaly
- Fur: Sleek smooth coat
- Ears: Big and thin
- Teeth:1 pair of chisel shaped incisors with yellow enamel
Native Bush Rat
- Behaviour :
- Shy, not found where people frequent
- Nest in dense understorey in short burrows under logs and rocks
- Nest: lined with grass
- Tail: Shorter than the body in length
- Fur:Dense soft fur
- Ears:rounded
- Teeth:1 pair of chisel shaped incisors with yellow enamel
Antechinus (Not a rat- it's a marsupial mouse)
- Behaviour:
- Found in bushland not urban areas
- Shelter in spherical nests, logs
- Tail:Sparsley haired, same length as body or shorter
- Ears:Large and crinkly
- Teeth: 4 rows of small sharp incisors
Council adopted the Toronto Contributions Catchment Plan on 28/12/16. The full document is available online. There are several items of local interest in this plan that are proposed over the next decade subject to public consultation which are listed below.
Parks Facilities and Open Space
Carey Bay- Hampton St Reserve (Pony Club)
- Multi-court, $45,702. Timing 2016-20
- Community Garden $20,501 Timing 2020-25
- BMX track Cook St or Hampton St reserve. $270,150 Timing 2020-25
- Upgrade to fenced dog park- Hampton St Reserve or Rathmines. $177,121. Timing 2016-20
Toronto
- Toronto foreshore Park. Major upgrade $13,677,244. Timing 2016-2020
- Lions Park upgrade. $507,800 Timing 2020-25
- Goffet Park upgrade. $558,580. Timing 2025-30
- Play - Toronto Foreshore Major upgrade $2,081,980 Timing 2016-20
- Outdoor gym equipment Toronto Foreshore $101,560. Timing 2016-20
- Community Garden Toronto Park-Renwick St $20,501. Timing 2020-25
Paths/tracks/trails
- Coal Point ridge line- $203,102. Timing 2025-30
- Shared path, extend Greenway to Wharf Rd- $1,296,373 Timing 2016-20
Transport
- Installation of compliant bus infrastructure on Brighton Av. East and west side Not shelters. $30,000 timing 2015-2030
Community Facilities
- Upgrade of facilities at Kilaben Bay Hall-ongoing
- Provision of additional library space at Toronto or Wangi
Nature of future development
The rationale behind this community investment is summarized below from the plan.
Between 2015 and 2030, there is forecast to be 2,198 additional private residential dwellings and 245 additional rooms/beds in non-private accommodation in the Toronto Contributions Catchment, accommodating 5,412 additional persons (Toronto Contributions Catchment Plan Residential and Employing Generating Development Estimate - 2015).
By 2030, there is projected to be an increase in employment generating development with an additional 28,967m² of commercial, and 43,255m² of industrial floor space. This floor space is anticipated to create 1,723 additional workers within the Toronto Contributions Catchment.
These future residential and employment generating populations will create a demand for new, enhanced or augmented community infrastructure and hence all new residential and non-residential development is to be levied under this Plan
The Plan has been prepared to cater for development anticipated for 2015 to 2030 which is the period for which residential population and employment projections have been prepared.
On 2nd March from 1-3:30pm council will be hosting a local ‘Walkshop’ to experience the walking environment around Toronto first hand.
On the morning of March 8th a public forum with experts will be discussing how we can better plan and design to deliver better active transport outcomes at the LM Performing Arts Centre, 9:30am-noon.
RSVP for these events on LMCC’s Have Your Say website
The NSW Government is investigating boat storage options for the Lake Macquarie area to improve storage capacity and public spaces along the lake foreshore while taking into account environmental and navigation constraints.
There will be an information session on Thursday, 9 February 2017 from 5pm to 7pm at The Royal Motor Yacht Club on 6 Arnott Avenue
The storage options being investigated for Lake Macquarie include:
• redefining existing mooring boundaries
• investigating new mooring areas
• piloting the use of multiple vessel mooring systems
• investigating options to establish public marinas
• identifying locations for dry storage stacks, and
• introducing pilot dinghy ID and dinghy shared schemes.
There is a fact sheet, the Draft Boat Storage Strategy and some FAQs available online.
2 Brighton Avenue-131 Excelsior Pde (DA1243/2016
SNL, the developer is progressing the DA that spans from 2 Brighton Ave to 131 Excelsior Pde through the Land and Environment Court. The developer took this step because LMCC had 60 days to assess a development and when this time was up SNL deemed it a refusal and pursued an alternative approval route.
It is unfortunate that the initial documentation provided by the developer was so riddled with inaccuracies that LMCC had to spend time requesting more information which resulted in an amended application that still had unaddressed issues. This resulted in two extended notification periods to allow for community comment, all eating in to the 60-day determination period.
It is hard to imagine how a large and experienced developer such as SNL could allow for such poor information to be repeatedly lodged. The most recent time wasters included a vehicle manoeuvre plans which were illegible due to the number of proposed car movements, LMCC requested clearer visuals, a photomontage which bore no correlation to the proposed loss of tree canopy, an accurate representation was again requested. A third request was made for accurate information on cut & fill, level anomalies, stormwater management and traffic flow out of the site as the submitted plans were not updated and information was inaccurate.
At present the Land & Environment Court process is a bit of an overwhelming mystery to the CPPA. If anyone has had experience and would like to share it please come along to the next CPPA meeting on 13/2/17, 3:30-5:30pm at Progress Hall, 197 Skye Point Rd.
NB: It was mentioned in the December Chronicle that there would be a presentation to Council on 13/2/17. This will NOT be happening as Council is now not the approval authority.
151 Brighton Av (DA 1835/2016).-The Hirecraft marina site.
Since December a few things have happened. Hundreds of submissions have been lodged with Council who have decided that the development will be brought before the Councillors for determination and not dealt with under delegated authority i.e by council officers. Also the Toronto Contributions Catchment Plan was adopted which has $13.6 million set aside for the purchase of the land and upgrade of the Toronto Foreshore Park should the development be rejected.
LMCC will only pursue the acquisition of the land if the DA is not approved. If the DA does not go ahead the owners have an agreed buyer in Council.
When the development comes before the Councillors there will be an opportunity to make a presentation to the Councillors and the community can attend the meeting to show their interest in this community-changing proposal.
It is now up to the community to make their hopes for this area clear so the Councillors understand what the community wants. Ring your Councillors, they are your local representatives and all the contact details are on LMCC’s website.
You can keep up to date with developments in the area through Council’s online tracking system. The list below has been abridged from Lake Macquarie City Council’s Application Tracking system. It has been compiled to support community understanding of developments in our area. Please consult LMCC’s website for details and a complete listing. Listings below are from 1/10/16 to 31/1/17.
- 9 Amelia St: Demolition of Existing Dwelling: Approved
- 77 Coal Point Rd: Dwelling House and Ancillary detached Garage/Shed - Amendment: Under Assessment
- 128 Coal Point Rd: Dwelling House Alterations & Additions: On Notification/Advertising
- 236 Coal Point Rd: Dwelling House and Demolition of Existing Structure: Under Assessment
- 49 Excelsior Pde: Dwelling Additions and Alterations: Approved
- 108 Excelsior Pde: Alterations and Additions to Dwelling Including New Garage and Driveway -: On Notification/Advertising
- 18 Grant Rd: Garage: Approved
- 25-27 Kilaben Rd: 1 into 5 lot Subdivision: Under Assessment
- 1/17 Laycock St: Child Care Centre: Awaiting Information Requested
- 81 Skye Point Rd: Studio: Under Assessment
- 106 Skye Point Rd: Dwelling Alterations and Additions and Pool with Associated Safety Barriers: Approved
- 185 Skye Point Rd. Erection of a boundary fence: Refused
- 282 Skye Point Rd: B149 Whole: Approved
- 14A Whitelocke St: Residence & retaining walls: Approved
- 25 Whitelocke St: Carport: On Notification/Advertising.
