Toronto Foreshore Protection Group

What an amazing turnout! About 500 people filled Toronto High’s hall and eagerly listened to a presentation delivered by Bob Ireland outlining the community’s side of the Bath St development proposal (now available on the http://tfpg.org.au/- reference documents page).

Councillors Harrison and Pauling were both present to witness the crowd and take in the atmosphere, and provide their perspective on the proposed DA.

Clr Harrison highlighted the lessons learned from Warners Bay. No iconic foreshore building was required, all that was needed to boost the local business was the shared pathway, recreational facilities attracts people.

Clr Pauling stated he agreed with almost everything that was and that the Joint Regional Planning Authority would be the body to make the final decision. They would have to be convinced that the proposal was in the public interest.

Questions from the floor were put to various representatives of the TFPG.  Below is the one the CPPA addressed, others will be available on the tfpg.org.au website.

Question: This proposal is good for business, why are you against progress?

Answer: Progress is about moving society forward, it doesn’t have to come at a cost to the community or undermine the building blocks that got you there in the first place, it doesn’t make business sense to compromise the drawcard that attracts people to the area.

Council has identified large areas of Toronto for developers to build 3-4 and possibly more storeys. A review of Council’s Town Centre Area Plan Block Controls shows

• The northern side of the Boulevard from Carey St to Victory Pde- 4 Storeys, the southern side 3-storey
• The Aldi Car park 4 storeys
• Carey St from McDonalds to The Boulevard mainly 4 storeys, but we’ve already seen a proposal for 5-6
• 3 storeys up the eastern side of Pemell St
• 4 storeys the western side of Carey St wrapping into James and Thorne St which also have 3 storeys block controls

So Toronto will definitely be open for business with lots of opportunities for residential and commercial enterprises, the population of Toronto is projected to increase by 20% in the next decade, business will be booming.

Business brings people, so all these new people will want to be able to walk and recreate in the area, the Lake is the drawcard and we need to be able to maximise that offering, it’s a small public space, relative to the rest of the city.

Council is the only agency that has the capacity and the charter to create public space, developers won’t do it, so let the developers develop their castles in the sky and lets encourage council to keep their feet on the ground. Bath St is the only public land available to increase the foreshore park for our community lets optimise it for community use. We’re all entitled to be able to see and enjoy the lake. That will keep people coming back to the area and wanting to live here.

A 4-6 storey building on Bath St is a business that benefits a few but denies many access to and the view of the Lake.

The final stage of the meeting was the adoption of three resolutions that will be presented to Councillors in October, along with the petition of over 4600 signatures.

The resolutions were;

• that Lake Macquarie City Council has no community mandate to progress the Bath St / Victory Row development. 
• that Council stop proceeding with the Bath St / Victory Row development and to include the site in the Foreshore Master Plan as an integral part of the Toronto foreshore park and 
• that Council rezone and reclassify the Bath St / Victory Row site as community parkland. 

Congrats to the organizing committee but most of all for the people of Toronto for coming out in a show of unity to Save Our Toronto Foreshore Park