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All members of the community are welcome to attend.
Please RSVP so we can make sure there's a snag on the BBQ for you!
Wednesday 24 August 2022
DAs In Play 23/8/22 to 22/8/22
The CPPA endeavours to provide a summary of active applications in our area as outlined in the table.
Please consult LMCC’s website for a full listing:
- DA = Development Application
- BC = Building Information Certificate
- TA = Tree Assessment
- CC = Construction Certificate
- CDC = Complying
- Development Certificate
- REF = Review Environmental Factors
- SC = Subdivision Certificate.
- MU = Mixed use
- RFB = Residential flat Building
Landcaring with the locals
Bindi is Back
Wikipedia tells us that bindi or burweed came from South America – thanks for nothing! It loves coastal NSW, where it grows low in spring with a bright green carrot or parsley-like leaf and a seed crown of thorns in the middle. Over spring the seed crown rises up and expands, pushing out the small thorns and exposing the multitude of small seeds, just waiting to be trodden on. Ouch!
This spring when lawns are fairly lush it can be hard to spot so a bindi spray on the end of a hose may be the best form of attack. If you do spot just a few, slide the tips of your fingers under the leaves and lift it, then bin it. The secret is not to press down and get spiked, though you will be pretty safe for the next couple of weeks. If you are not inclined to be brave, wear gloves.
Doing nothing guarantees it will spread year by year until your lawn or nature strip will be an unwalkable bindi-thick paradise. Do it now!
Protecting our Birdlife
SGARs are already heavily regulated or banned in Europe and North America, and some proactive Australian councils are already phasing out SGARs because of the risks.
https://www.actforbirds.org/ratpoison
Looking for some social activity?
The Coal Point Landcare group was one of the first in Lake Mac and have been actively landcaring on our public reserves since 1995.
The knowledge of our local bushland within the group is extensive and the group is very willing to share it.
If you have a bushland block and are wondering what weeds are upon it, and what to do about them, the Landcare group is a local source of knowledge.
Every Thursday the group meets somewhere around Coal Point- Carey Bay and at 10am they stop for morning tea.If you’d like to chat with the group and pick their combined brains, that’s the time to do it.
If you’d like to join in and get all the benefits that a bit of physical activity and social contact provides, all are welcome to join in.
Landcaring around our community
For updates on the tasks for the day and specific locations visit the calendar
- 25/8 Gurranba Reserve
- 1/9 - West Ridge Reserve
- 8/9 - Hampton st Link
- 15/9 - West Ridge
- 22/9 - Yarul
- 25/9 - Lions Planting
- 29/9 - Threlkeld
- 6/10 -Burnage
- 13/10 - Killibinbin
Living the Local Life
The Newie Pub choir is Back for Season 2
On Tuesday 30 August and for four more fortnightly sessions after that The Pub choir returns!
A choir where the audience does the singing! No experience necessary, just turn up, grab a drink and get ready to sing.
The Pub choir meets fortnightly at 7.30-9pm, Toronto Hotel, Upstairs at the Mulberry Bar. You can check on the dates on their facebook page @NewiePubChoir
Old Time Dance
Friday, 02 September 2022 | 06:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Put your glad-rags on and swing on down to the Rathmines theatre for a toe-tappin’ good time.
Find a partner and take a ‘quickstep’ back in time as ‘THE DUNGEON’ BIG BAND (14-Piece) revives the sounds of an era with tunes from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Fill your dance card, sip on some punch and celebrate the part this grand old venue has played in our social history. A place where people first met, a place where music and dance were enjoyed as a community.
We encourage you to come in your finest 1930-40’s attire to capture the spirit of the evening. Share your stories or photos of your experiences/ memories of old-time dances at Rathmines that can be added to the memory board.
Tickets can be pre-purchased or available at the door, subject to availability
General admission: $45
Lake Mac Arts Member: $40.50
Group Tickets - Group tickets can be purchased at a discounted rate of $40 per person for groups of 8+
Living Smart Festival
23-25 September, Speers Point Park
The Living Smart Festival is set to make a rousing return in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, with a weekend of celebrations on the shores of Lake Macquarie.
Spread across the weekend of September 23-25, this year's festival will feature three distinct events:
A Friday night Feast for the Senses dinner under the stars, utilising Speers Point Park's MAP mima (Multi Arts Pavilion) and featuring a seasonal, sustainably sourced menu
Living Smart Festival - a free Saturday line-up of workshops, demonstrations, market stalls and presentations by some of Australia's most prominent and innovative personalities in the field of sustainability, including gardening guru Costa Georgiadis
Living Together Festival - a new multicultural festival on Sunday featuring free multicultural workshops, demonstrations, market stalls and activities.
TASNG are looking for volunteers to assist at the Living Smart festival. Contact torontoareasng@gmail.com
How’s your head Fred?
The 10-week program begins Sunday 18 September and registrations are open now and available here
The program uses scientific evidence-based methods from the fields of Lifestyle Medicine, Neuroscience and Positive Psychology to boost your mood and lift your life! With 10 fascinating lessons run as a choose your own adventure, you can explore content with topics such as Motion Creates Emotion, Your Limbo is Listening, Immersing in the Natural Environment and Together Feels Better.
AGM for the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group
AGM for the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group (TASNG)Notice is given of the intention to hold the Annual General Meeting of the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group on:
Wednesday 14 September,
5pm at The Centenary HUB,
97-99 The Boulevarde Toronto.
The September monthly Ordinary meeting will follow the AGM.
Notwithstanding the impacts of Covid, there has been much happening with TASNG and the Sustainable Alliance. We look forward to an exciting year ahead in which we can improve and encourage sustainable living across the Toronto area and our city.
We would be delighted to see you at the AGM and would welcome your input to our activities and projects, either as a regular attendee or on a casual basis. You can join TASNG for $5 here
Nico Marcar - Secretary TASNG
AGM Agenda
- Welcome – Acknowledgement of Country
- Attendance & Apologies
- To confirm the Minutes of the AGM held on 13 October 2021.
- Reports
- Chair
- Treasurer
- Election of Office bearers - To elect an executive committee
- Chair
- Assistant Chair
- Secretary
- Assistant Secretary
- Treasurer
- Nominations for each of these positions should reach the Secretary at least ONE week prior to the meeting date but will also be accepted at the AGM. Please email torontoareasng@gmail.com.
7. To conduct any other business as required.
Car Boot Catch-up Registration Open
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As plans and details get firmed up the information will be updated on the Car Boot Catch-Up page.
On Sunday 30 October, between 8am and noon, the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group (TASNG) and Coal Point Progress Association (CPPA) are hosting the Car Boot Catch-Up, a community event to meet your neighbours, have fun and put into practice some of TASNG’s aims, to recycle and reuse unwanted household items (This is not a market for new items).
The Car Boot Catch-Up also aims to support local community groups and businesses to showcase their activities and services. There will be face painting and a drumming workshop, plenty of room to fly a kite and have a picnic.
LOCATION
The venue will be Puntei Park (The Old Pony Club) at Carey Bay, bounded by Excelsior Parade and Hampton Street, a great expanse of parkland with some special bushland bits to explore with a Landcare Treasure Hunt
COST
If you are already a member of TASNG the $5 fee secures your spot.
If you are not a member of TASNG the registration fee provides you with membership to TASNG which includes Public Liability Insurance coverage for this event. You will be required to sign the membership form on the day.
REGISTRATION
To book your spot visit the registration page.
By paying the registration fee you are agreeing to the Terms & Conditions of the Car Boot Catch-Up
VOLUNTEERS WANTED
If you would like to volunteer to assist on the day or with the planning please get in touch with Nico via TASNG, torontoareasng@gmail.com.
DA/1651/2022 114-120 Cary Street
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STOP PRESS : EXTENSION GRANTED TILL 15 SEPTEMBER
Members of the TAG team have been reviewing some of the documentation of this NEW development and are encouraging community members to submit any concerns they may have.Whilst this is a new development many of the issues from the previous DA may still be relevant and your previous submission may only need a little tweaking.
5-storey DA resubmitted for Cary St./Arnott St./Victory Pde Block
The developer Toronto Investments No. 1 Pty Ltd has submitted a new DA for a $36 million mixed-use complex for the long-vacant block at 114-120 Cary St between McDonalds and Victory Parade and backing onto Arnott Street behind the Yacht Club.
According to ASIC, Toronto Investments is a $1 company fully owned by Coveston Developments Pty Ltd and is represented as sole Director and Secretary by Mr. Nicholas Vranas of Summer Hill, Sydney.
In some minor respects it is an improvement over the previous DA that was refused by the Hunter & Central Coast Regional Planning Panel in December 2019 and then withdrawn by the applicant when appealing against the Hunter & Central Coast Regional Planning Panel, entitling the developer to then re-submit the application.
Despite reduction from 6 to 5 stories, the proposed maximum height along Cary Street is much the same (20.34m versus 20.6m). The number of units is reduced from 120 to 108 (fewer one-bedroom units) and commercial space from 2,872 to 929 sq. m. There is also larger communal rooftop space. There is now a detailed ecology report as well as other reports.
Nevertheless, in its main features, the proposal is still non-compliant with the town planning instruments. It is still higher than the 4-stories allowable under the Toronto Town Centre Area Plan. Although visual impact diagrams and photos have been blurred, dulled and redacted for public consumption on the Application tracking website. It is apparent that the developer wants to sell profitable penthouse apartments with lake views, which means they will also be intrusive when seen from the foreshore and lake.
The complex also has a heavy footprint, occupying almost the entire site. As aerial views show, it will become a massive block between the Toronto Foreshore and the Toronto Wetlands and Fassifern corridor. When Council is at last making progress with the Foreshore Masterplan and seeking to develop active cycling, walking and leisure activity, this makes no strategic sense. Toronto is bulging and needs more open space, not narrowing the Greenway into a bookended laneway.
The 2-level basement carpark will be a massive and disruptive excavation. From submitted reports, there appears to be some uncertainty about predicted changes on water levels in the Toronto wetlands. Its construction will certainly bring a lot more big trucks into an already congested area.
Residents are already particularly concerned about traffic. Here the new DA offers no relief but the proponent’s consultants maintain, on the basis of a one-day traffic count, that the peak hour flow is satisfactory and that the extra traffic can be accommodated at the Bay Street lights and without impact on safety around the Public School. Heavy vehicle access will no longer be allowed, but of course that means more medium-size truck movements.
All round, there is plenty of scope for a scaled-back development more in harmony with this strategic part of our townscape. Since the developer would have bought the consolidated 6183 sq. m. site in March 2016 at well below present market value so it would seem that fitting in with the community expectations would be possible.
DA/1651/2022 can be viewed on the Council website at https://property.lakemac.com.au/ePathway/Production/Web/GeneralEnquiry/EnquiryDetailView.aspx?Id=1618723. Scroll down to access the many documents relating to the DA. The Architectural Plan gives a good overview.
The submission period for community feedback on the DA has been extended by one week to Tuesday 23 August, but will close before you receive this edition of The Chronicle in your letterbox.
Address your submission to
Subject: DA/1651/2022 - 114-120 Cary St
council@lakemac.nsw.gov.au
and/or
Chief Executive Officer
Lake Macquarie City Council
Box 1906
HRMC NSW 2310
Here's a list of councillors too
Additional issues
Toronto Wetlands 
Toronto Wetlands: A large part of the proposed development site is located within land designated as being “in proximity to a coastal wetland”. Clause 2.8 of the SEPP (Resilience and Hazards) 2021 provides that the consent authority must be satisfied that the proposed development will not significantly impact on the adjoining wetland. The accompanying report by CMW Geosciences fails to give this confidence.
With respect, modelling programs are used extensively but the accuracy of the output is dependent on having data input of detailed site-specific parameters, which the authors of the CMW report state was limited and results are therefore only indicative.
Traffic
The additional vehicles which would access the Arnott Street, Bay Street and Renwick St areas from the proposed development would compound an already dangerous situation, with 200 extra cars from the proposed development regularly entering and exiting their parking facilities.
Additionally the vehicles of clients to the proposed business premises on the ground floor, the service vehicles and supply vehicles arriving and departing regularly – all would add a significant risk to safety and add traffic congestion.
Peak times for egress and ingress of the building would correspond with the peak times for school arrivals and departures and also with busy times at McDonalds.
A Comparison of the 2022 DA and the 2018 DA
2018 Site Layout
2022 Site Layout
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