PRESIDENT of Support Lindfield, Linda McDonald, has congratulated the new and re-elected Councillors and is looking forward to working with them to bring the Lindfield Village Hub to fruition.

Support Lindfield is a community group with a database of 1800 supporters and a committee of 10 volunteers whose objective is to have a new heart for our village that services the residents of Lindfield, Killara and Roseville.

"Over $9m of ratepayer’s money has been spent on the Hub to date. Following many missteps and avoidable delays over the past 9 years its now important for the Council to deliver for the residents. We’re optimistic the new Council will turn this situation around and promptly select a developer to undertake the project" stated Linda McDonald.

"The residents of Ku-ring-gai deserve transparency and accountability for the expenditure and excessive timeline for this project. The actual design of the Hub should be put on display to allow public feedback and comments. It is unclear what the residents of Ku-ring-gai will getting. Unfortunately, the previous Council spent significant amounts of ratepayer’s funds in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) trying to keep information about the project from Support Lindfield and the ratepayers." added Linda McDonald.

The formal tender process started in December 2019 with a Request for Tender issued to five developers. By the closing date of 2 April 2020 only two tenders were received.

In December 2020 officers reported to Council that no financially viable tender had been received and the officers seemed to go back to the drawing board. This is now eight years into the project. The only public information made available during 2021 was that officers were “negotiating with developers”.

Support Lindfield wants the Hub to include a new library of the future, community centre, child care centre, open space and parkland, restaurant and café precinct, supermarket and specialty retail, a range of high quality apartments, commuter and short stay parking. Also, a pedestrian bridge across Pacific Highway from the railway station is urgently needed for safety, access to the Hub from the station and Pacific Highway and to unite east and West Lindfield into one community.

President. Linda McDonald said, “If we get the Hub right it will deliver a place where all ages can gather to play, socialise, shop and enhance the joy of living in our beautiful suburbs.”

This is the largest project ever undertaken by Ku-ring-gai Council and Council’s future plans include a Turramurra Hub and eventually a Gordon Hub.

For more information info@supportlindfield.net or our website www. supportlindfield.net.