Coles Lindfield development underway

“Building a better store starts here” banners up around Coles Lindfield

The Coles Lindfield development is now underway! As reported earlier, Coles Lindfield has had a 2 part DA approved for apartments and a greatly increased floorspace supermarket approved. They have now begun at least Stage 1A which represents the first half of the DA.

Stage 1A diagram as per DA0197/18

The primary purpose of Stage 1A is to create a new roadway into the site, to give access to the school and in future become the primary access to the upper carpark of the new development. Confusingly, this stage doesn’t actually connect that roadway to anything. Instead, Stage 1B is a very small stage to connect this new roadway to Balfour St and the former end of Balfour Lane. Stage 2 is then the actual supermarket redevelopment.

The compromise is that a number of parking spaces have now been lost from the site, which won’t be replaced until the entire development is completed. The asphalt has already been ripped up over the last few days. This is not ideal given the Village Green carpark is yet to be finished, but given lockdown the demand for commuter parking is certainly lower than normal and so shouldn’t be a problem.

It remains to be seen if Stage 2 of the development quickly follows Stage 1 or not. Here’s hoping it does and it’s all completed before the Village Hub starts - of course it will!

BIG THANKS!! Elections postponed to 4 December

Firstly, a BIG THANK YOU to members and supporters who donated to our election campaign kitty. You donated a total of $7,385 which is just fantastic! That will allow us to mount a very effective campaign to support candidates who demonstrate the ability to make much needed change in Ku-ring-gai Council.

Yesterday, Shelley Hancock, Minister for Local Government, announced that the Local Government elections will be postponed to 4 December to allow for a safer environment for the community as well as a fairer contest for candidates. We are delighted with this decision as likely Covid restrictions would result in restricting campaign activity by candidates and community groups like us, and create an unfair advantage for some candidates, particularly the new ones. We will continue the process we have started to identify new candidates who we will endorse, however at a more leisurely pace. We will also continue to agitate for progress on the Hub as there is no reason for Council staff to put down their pencils.

Our Support Lindfield committee is getting a little strapped for time and some talent. We would like to identify someone who has journalist skills and experience, who could help us write press releases/articles for the local/daily papers, and possibly assist with messages to our database. If you have these skills and have a little time to help out can you please contact us at info@supportlindfield.net.

And, of course, we're always pleased to hear from our supporters about any of the work we're doing for the community. I'm pleased to say that a few people have contacted us during our donation campaign and expressed an interest in learning more. Keep it up!

Regards,

The Support Lindfield Team
info@supportlindfield.net

DONATIONS, $9m, HOUSING STRATEGY and MORE

A BIG thank you to those who kindly and generously donated to our campaign kitty. You can see that we're very close to our target. As soon as we've finalised the candidates we choose to support we will prepare campaign material. Watch this space!

If you're still keen to donate here are the details:

EFT to our bank account BSB 633 000 account no. 147 440 192 name Support Lindfield Inc (Your reference first name + last name)

or click on this link DONATE to pay by secure credit card or Paypal.

Lindfield Village Hub Expenses

We've received the latest update from the Council as result of our application through GIPA (freedom of information) process. The total expenses from May 2013 to 30 June 2021 for the Hub project are now $9,171,567. This is an appalling waste of money with no contract with a developer in sight and a shovel won't hit the ground for at least 18 months to 2 years. THIS is why we need a change in some of the Councillors. There is no accountability by staff and the Mayor won't hold the General Manager to account.

Ku-ring-gai Housing Strategy 2020

You may remember last year that we vigorously campaigned against the Draft Housing Strategy that Council was planning to submit to the State Government. Amongst other things, it called for building heights of up to 15 storeys in Lindfield and Turramurra and up to 20 storeys in Gordon. A row between the Mayor and the Planning Minister ensued, assisted by our two MPs, Jonathan O'Dea and Alister Henskens about who was right and who was wrong. An investigation was held by the Dept. of Planning and our two MPs issued a joint media release this week. You can find it at this link. Here are some highlights:

• The current Ku-ring-gai Council zonings without any change will achieve the Greater Sydney Commission’s 6-10 year (2021-2026) dwelling target.

• “Instead of spending money on footpaths and roads, the Council has spent over $2 million on an unnecessary and now abandoned Draft Housing Strategy”, Mr Henskens said.

• “I am still at a loss to understand how Ku-ring-gai Council produced and exhibited a flawed Draft Housing Strategy that proposed 20 plus storey heights in Gordon, 15 storey heights in Turramurra and Lindfield and expanding high density to 800m from town centres instead of the existing 500m”, Mr Henskens said.

• Mr O’Dea said, “The Council’s Draft Housing Strategy never properly assessed the residual capacity in the existing zonings and vindicates the strong opposition of myself and Mr Henskens”.

• “The Department forecast includes the progression of the current planning proposals for the Lindfield Hub and the site at Roseville Memorial Park to meet the dwelling target.

Covid-safe Council Election

The Office of Local Government is starting to publish information on their website about how the elections will be run to ensure voters are safe. It appears they are not postponing the elections. We will try to keep you up to date as they publish more detail. Here is the first piece of information:

The Government will maximise voter participation by utilising iVote, and expanding the eligibility criteria for pre-poll and postal voting.

Watch this space over the next few weeks as we ramp up the activity leading to election day on 4 September. And you can help by going to our Facebook page at this link to "Like" this post.

The Support Lindfield Team

info@supportlindfield.net

Facebook.com/supportlindfield

HOW DO WE GET THE LINDFIELD VILLAGE HUB BUILT?! 😢

Q. HOW DO WE GET THE LINDFIELD VILLAGE HUB BUILT?

A. BY ELECTING COUNCILLORS WHO ARE FOCUSED ON OUTCOMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY

We need your donation to reach our target and support our campaign to elect strong and community focused Councillors. We're over half way there!

You can donate in one of three ways;

• EFT to our bank account BSB 633 000 account no. 147 440 192 name Support Lindfield Inc (Your reference first name + last name)

• or click on this link DONATE to pay by secure credit card or Paypal.

Why do we need change?
Your Council has spent $9 million over 9 years on the Lindfield Village Hub project and achieved nothing, zero, zilch.

Support Lindfield is run by a small group of dedicated locals with limited resources. Your donation will help us drive change to get the Hub built.

Your donation will help fund a community campaign to make the Lindfield Village Hub a core issue in the Council election on 4th September.

Along with other community groups we are identifying a group of candidates (including some existing Councillors who have supported the project) who are seriously up for the job and focused on delivering outcomes for the community.

Your donation will be used to design/print/distribute flyers and posters and Facebook promotions.

Thank you.

---

We could use your talents
If you have skills and experience in communications, marketing, advertising campaigns, and graphic design or are just good at getting things done, then put your hand up. We need your professional help with the community campaign in the coming election. Contact us at info@supportlindfield.net

And please pass this along to your local friends and neighbours.

---

Here’s a reminder of the Lindfield Village Hub journey….. or read the full timeline here

In 2012 Support Lindfield approached the then Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian who put a hold on plans to build a multi-storey commuter carpark behind the West Lindfield shops to allow time for a better project to be conceived. The Community worked together to create a vision for the Lindfield Village Hub that included a town square, library, other community facilities, café precinct, specialty retail and supermarket.

Woolworths put forward several proposals to build the project, like those they have delivered for other Sydney Councils. They would fund the building of the Hub in return for a lease on the supermarket space with Council funding limited to fitting out the community facilities using funds generated from the sale of the current library site. No additional Council/ratepayers money would be required.

Council rejected these offers and instead have pursued an expensive consultant-led process to identify requirements and determine an alternate design. Despite an exhaustive tender process Woolworths is effectively the only development group still interested and Council remains unwilling to commit to starting the project. The amount spent on the project to date equates to around $3300 per Lindfield household.

We need a Council committed and capable of serving the community by overseeing appropriate planning policy and the development and revitalisation of shopping precincts and community facilities.

Support Lindfield will endorse candidates in all Ku-ring-gai Council wards who will commit to making the Hub happen. We welcome collaboration with other community groups in Ku-ring-gai who also see the need for change. Email us at info@supportlindfield.net if you are interested in standing in the 2021 Council elections or working with us for change.

The Support Lindfield Team

info@supportlindfield.net

It's Time for Change in Ku-ring-gai

We need your help…………..
 
Your Council has spent $9 million over 9 years on the Lindfield Village Hub project and achieved nothing, zero, zilch.
 

Support Lindfield is run by a small group of
dedicated locals with limited resources.
Your donation will help us drive change.

 
Your donation will help fund a community campaign to make the Lindfield Village Hub a core issue in the upcoming Council election on 4th September.
 
Along with other community groups we aim to identify a group of candidates (including some existing Councillors who have supported us) who are seriously up for the job and focused on delivering outcomes for the community.
 
Your donation will be used to design/print/distribute flyers and Facebook promotions.  Our target is $6000.
 
You can donate in one of three ways; 

• EFT to our bank account BSB 633 000 account no. 147 440 192 name Support Lindfield Inc (Your reference first name + last name)

• or click on this link DONATE to pay by secure credit card or Paypal.

Thank you.

---

We could use your talents
 If you have skills and experience in communications, marketing, advertising campaigns, and graphic design or are just good at getting things done, then put your hand up. We need your professional help with the community campaign in the coming election. Contact us at info@supportlindfield.net
 
And please pass this along to your local friends and neighbours.

---

Here’s a reminder of the Lindfield Village Hub journey….. Or read the full timeline here
In 2012 Support Lindfield approached the then Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian who put a hold on plans to build a multi-storey commuter carpark behind the West Lindfield shops to allow time for a better project to be conceived. The Community worked together to create a vision for the Lindfield Village Hub that included a town square, library, other community facilities, café precinct, specialty retail and supermarket.
 
Woolworths put forward several proposals to build the project, like those they have delivered for other Sydney Councils. They would fund the building of the Hub in return for a lease on the supermarket space with Council funding limited to fitting out the community facilities using funds generated from the sale of the current library site. No additional Council/ratepayers money would be required.
 
Council rejected these offers and instead have pursued an expensive consultant-led process to identify requirements and determine an alternate design. Despite an exhaustive tender process Woolworths is effectively the only development group still interested and Council remains unwilling to commit to starting the project. The amount spent on the project to date equates to around $3300 per Lindfield household.
 
We need a Council committed and capable of serving the community by overseeing appropriate planning policy and the development and revitalisation of shopping precincts and community facilities.
 
Support Lindfield will endorse candidates in all Ku-ring-gai Council wards who will commit to making the Hub happen. We welcome collaboration with other community groups in Ku-ring-gai who also see the need for change. Email us at info@supportlindfield.net if you are interested in standing in the 2021 Council elections or working with us for change.
 
The Support Lindfield Team
info@supportlindfield.net

It’s Time for Change in Ku-ring-gai Council

Positions Vacant – Councillors - Apply Now for Election in September

It’s time….for Change…. in Ku-ring-gai
Council has spent 9 years and $9 million on the Lindfield Village Hub and achieved Nothing, Zero, Zilch.
New Councillors are needed if we want a different result.

Contact Support Lindfield if you are interested in standing in the 2021 Council elections. We will support great candidates. info@supportlindfield.net

Here’s a reminder of the long journey….. 

In 2012, following an approach by Support Lindfield, the then Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian put on hold the planned multi-storey commuter carpark to allow time for a better project to be conceived. Our Community worked together to create a vision for the Lindfield Village Hub that included a new heart to our Village comprising, town square, library, other community facilities, café precinct, specialty retail and supermarket.

Over the years Woolworths have put forward several proposals to undertake the project, like those they delivered for three other Sydney Councils. They proposed to build the Hub with limited money coming from the sale of the existing library site, no additional Council/ratepayers money was required.

Council rejected this, instead pursuing an expensive consultant-led process and have spent $9 million of our money. Despite an exhaustive tender process and with only one development group left (effectively Woolworths) Council is still unable to commit to starting the project. No results are in sight despite spending $3300 per Lindfield household. Yes, your $3300 for no results.

Our community is understandably very frustrated and disillusioned by Ku-ring-gai Council’s lack of progress. Change is needed if we want a different result, and it is now within the power of the community to achieve this at the ballot box. Support Lindfield will be supporting candidates in all Ku-ring-gai Council wards who will commit to making the Hub happen. We welcome collaboration with other community groups in Ku-ring-gai who also see the need for change. Email us at info@supportlindfield.net

It’s time to vote in Councillors who will deliver for the community.

What is Council Doing with the Lindfield Village Hub?

Dear Resident,

We like to give you an update on the progress of the project from time to time. When there are long periods of silence from us, it just means there’s not much to tell you. This is mostly the case now but we thought we would at least let you know what we’ve been doing to further the cause. But first, a few facts.

• Time frame of the project - 8 1/2 years

• Cost of the project to end December 2020 - $8.85m

• Expression of interest issued - October 2018

• Request for tender issued to 5 shortlisted developers - December 2019

• Tenders closed - April 2020 (two tenders received; Fabcot (Woolworths & Aqualand)

• Council decision (below) - December 2020

Do you think this is a reasonable time frame and cost?

Recent Council Decisions
At the December Council meeting, Councillors resolved to:

• Note that the Lindfield Village Hub tender and subsequent negotiation period has coincided with the the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a global economic downturn, uncertainty in the property market and impacting on project viability and competitive tension.

• Note than an offer has not yet been received that is financially viable.

• Continue to negotiate with any possible providers, while undertaking a review of Council’s project assumptions and objectives.

On 21 January, we wrote to the General Manager as follows:
Dear John,
The resolution on this item stated 3 reasons for not proceeding with the Hub. I believe A. is a ferfy.  B. is always going to be an excuse unless you get the “self funding” outcome.  Everyone knows it is not viable.  The community needs to have information about why it is not viable. Item C. is “continue to negotiate with any possible providers, while undertaking a review of Council’s project assumptions and objectives.”  Can you please tell me what this means and when there will be a report on action made public.

It appears to me that Council officers have “put their pencils down” and aren’t going to do anything.  I can’t believe that there is not some agreement with Fabcot that is acceptable to all parties including the community.  It is simply breathtaking and an appalling lack of accountability that we are 8 years down the track, over $8.35m has been spent, and nothing substantial has happened. The community is being cheated out of the facilities it deserves while a tired old parking lot remains wasted space. I look forward to your reply.

On 12 February we received the following reply from Geoff Douglas, Group Lead Major Projects. Geoff is responsible for the project.

Thank you for your email dated 21 January 2021 re the LVH Council resolution of 8 December 2020. 

 At that meeting Council resolved that a review of the project’s assumptions and objectives should be undertaken. This process has commenced. A report will be brought Council for its consideration as soon as it is completed.  Information will be shared with the community where it does not comprise any ongoing negotiations.

Thank you for your ongoing interest in the Lindfield Village Hub project. 

We’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to whether this is an adequate response, however our Committee didn’t think it was. Some of our responses are not printable!

Recent Support Lindfield Activity

In late 2019 and early 2020, we submitted a GIPA (freedom of information) request to Council to obtain a suite of documents and the LVH Request for Tender (consisting of 60 separate documents). Now more than a year later and Council continually to refuse to release the documents, we submitted an application to NCAT (NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal). Mediation, as part of this process, failed to entice Council to release all the documents, most of which are those that the community would be interested in seeing. We now proceed to a hearing which will take another few months. This has taken a huge amount of time by a couple of our Committee members however, we believe that it is worth the effort so an independent legal process will determine if the community has a right to the information the Council continues to fiercely guard. This is all because of Council’s lack of transparency and their continual refusal to share information that the community has a right to.

Talk to Paul Fletcher
As you know, Paul Fletcher is our Federal Member for Bradfield. Paul has always been very helpful and supportive of Support Lindfield and the Hub project. In 2018 he went public to support Woolworths’ unsolicited proposal to Council which we also supported. While he can’t directly impact the progress of the Hub, he has considerable influence in the Liberal party and several of the Councillors (including the Mayor) are members of the Liberal party. Paul is having a series of “listen post community meetings” on 6 March and we encourage you to go along and voice your concerns in whatever way you wish, about the lack of progress with the LVH. Here are times and locations he will be on Saturday 6 March:
Roseville shops - 10.00 to 10.30am
East Lindfield shops - 11.00 to 11.30
West Lindfield shops - 12.00 to 12.30

As usual, we will keep you posted on any progress that occurs with the project, but we’re not too optimistic. Just keep this in mind when you vote at the Council elections in September. And we are also keen to hear from you at info@supportlindfield.net.

Regards,

The Support Lindfield Team
Working for the Community

2020 - The Year in Review

Dear Residents,

Well, what a year this has been! I’m sure all of us are glad to see the end of it in many ways. A year like no other and hopefully never to be repeated in our lifetimes.

In a normal year, we would have had our Annual General Meeting by now. However the Office of Fair Trading has allowed incorporated associations to extend their “year” until late 2021 if they wish. We elected to extend our year to probably mid 2021. However, we want to give you a summary of the activity since we last prepared a President’s Report in October 2019.

• Request for Tender was sent to five developers in December 2019.

• After Council Officers refused to release a suite of documents (including the Request for Tender) under our GIPA (Freedom of Information) request, Support Lindfield requested a review of the decisions by the Information and Privacy Commission (NSW). Request for access to the RFT and other suite of documents were recommended by IPC.

• Tenders closed on 3 April 2020 with two developers submitting bids. Fabcot (Woolworths) and Aqualand.

• Council approved Planning Proposal end of April 2020 for submission to State Government Planning Department for Gateway Determination.

• Advised mid May that there is no timeframe for completion of evaluation of the bids.

• 30 June Councillors approve report from Council Officers stating the tenders received did not conform to the requirements of the RFT and they recommended negotiating with the two tenderers; report to be prepared in three months and submitted to October Council meeting. (See Report at this link.)

• Support Lindfield writes to all Councillors over major concerns with the progress of the project. (See letter at this link). Counsellor Sam Ngai replied. (See his reply at this link.) Mayor Anderson replied on 27 July and her response is at this link.

• Council confirms expenses on the LVH project since its inception in 2013 total $8.35 million to end of June 2020.

• Support Lindfield representatives met with Council General Manager and other senior officers to discuss a range of topics related to the Project. No useful information was forthcoming from that meeting.

• 20 October Council officers report that “negotiations have progressed, but not yet reached a conclusion”. Councillors received a written report that was confidential and not available to the public. There is no indication when “a conclusion” will be reached.

• November Support Lindfield submitted two GIPA (freedom of information) applications to NCAT (NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal) after Council conducted reviews and again refused to release documents; the applications are currently going through the legal processes.

• 8 December LVH Tender Negotiation Update - Supplementary Report submitted to Council meeting with confidential documents. Councillors resolved “a. the LVH tender and subsequent negotiation period has coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a global economic downturn, uncertainty in the property market and impacting on project viability and competitive tension. b. that an offer has not yet been received that is financially viable. c. continue to negotiate with any possible providers, while undertaking a review of Council’s project assumptions and objectives.”

• The community continues to be kept in the dark by a Council that lacks transparency, accountability and leadership. We envisage nothing but more delays in the project over the next few months. As Council has “gagged” the developers we are unable to communicate with them to get their side of the story.

It’s been another busy year for the Support Lindfield Committee. While we continued to monitor the (slow) progress of the LVH project we also successfully campaigned to interrupt the fraught Housing Strategy that Council was going to submit to the State Government.

The other evening Rajee, Simmy and Sabina Grewal, who own Marciano’s Restaurant in Lindfield, kindly hosted an end of year celebration for the Committee. The food is delicious. Please try it some time! See below for some of the people who work hard for our community.

We wish you a safe and happy holiday season and may 2021 be a much better year for all of us. Thank you for your support.

The Support Lindfield Team
info@supportlindfield

L.to r: Andrew Sweeney, Deb Vievers, Bruce Strachan, Linda McDonald, Sarah Davis, Rachel Watts, Laurie Ormerod, Sabina Grewal, Richard Vowell, Alan McDermid. (Missing: Warren Dwyer and Scott Savage)

Housing Strategy - the Facts & What the Community Deserves

Recently there has been misinformation disseminated to the community about the debate at the last Council meeting on 22 September around the Draft Housing Strategy. You deserve to have the facts. We have previously sent you the information below but wish to reassure you of what really happened. We also have been busy preparing a suggested resolution for the Council meeting next Tuesday 20 October which we forwarded to all Councillors for their consideration.

The Facts - an except from our previous communication

At the Council meeting on 22 September, Mayor Jennifer Anderson (Roseville Ward) proposed a resolution that would authorise Council staff, without any involvement or oversight from Councillors or the community, to amend the draft Housing Strategy “to reflect provision of new dwellings to 2036 from capacity within current planning instruments”, make other consequential amendments and lodge the Housing Strategy with the State Government. This was based on new dwelling numbers being substantially reduced, thereby negating the need for building heights above what is currently permitted. It would effectively result in there being no real strategy for future housing in Ku-ring-gai. We understand some Councillors did not receive the 4½ page Mayoral Minute containing the resolution until about an hour before the meeting.

Deputy Mayor Spencer (Wahroonga Ward) and Crs Ngai (Roseville Ward), Kelly (Gordon Ward), Kay (St.Ives Ward), Pettett (Comenarra Ward) jointly prepared an amendment to the Mayor’s proposed resolution which was moved by Cr Ngai. They said good governance required that Councillors see the revised Housing Strategy before adopting it, given the extent of amendments that would be required to the lengthy document (150 pages plus about 450 pages of annexures). They also said that the community should have an opportunity to provide feedback on the revised Housing Strategy.

Councillors Szatow (Gordon Ward), Smith (St Ives Ward), Greenfield (Wahroonga Ward) and Clarke (Comenarra Ward) voted with the Mayor in rejecting the other five Councillors’ amendment and supporting the Mayor’s proposed resolution to adopt the Housing Strategy before it has even been prepared. The Mayor used her casting vote to pass the resolution.

Support Lindfield President, Linda McDonald said “This demonstrates a complete failure of due process and proper governance and has effectively sought to close the door on public scrutiny. While the community will no doubt welcome the proposal to reduce dwelling numbers and abandon heights above existing limits, in the absence of transparency around the changes, there is no guarantee the new Housing Strategy will accord with community expectations.”

Later in the meeting, Deputy Mayor Spencer and Crs Ngai, Kelly, Kay and Pettett lodged a motion to rescind (overturn) the Mayor’s resolution. The effect of this is to put a hold on the implementation of the Mayor’s resolution until Council decides the rescission motion (at the 20 October Council meeting). According to a statement made by Cr Ngai after the meeting, the Councillors lodged the rescission motion because the Mayor’s resolution was “not in line with…good governance and informed decision making…”.

In a press release issued after the Council meeting, Council provided an incomplete account of what transpired at the meeting, quoting the Mayor as saying she was “at a loss to understand” why the Councillors who lodged the rescission motion are “intent on denying residents unequivocal rejection of the Greater Sydney Commission housing targets…”. This misrepresented the position taken by those Councillors, whose objection to the Mayor’s resolution did not relate to the proposed reduction in dwelling numbers. The press release and a subsequent FOKE flyer, which have been widely circulated, have resulted in considerable confusion in the community. 

Support Lindfield has prepared a suggested resolution and forwarded it to all Councillors for their consideration at the Council meeting this Tuesday evening 20 October. You will find the resolution at this link.

We appreciate that this is a large and complex topic and there is considerable confusion about it, however it is also important since it the future environment of Ku-ring-gai is at stake. It therefore is important that all residents are made aware of the activity that surrounds the topic. We will update you next week after the Council with the outcome. Your feedback and comments are welcome at info@supportlindfield.net.

More Media on Ku-ring-gai's Housing Strategy

In an effort to keep you posted on some of the several messages about the Housing Strategy being circulated around the Ku-ring-gai community following the Council’s decision last Tuesday 22nd, we are providing you with messages from Rob Stokes, NSW Planning Minister, our State MPs, Jonathan O’Dea (Davidson) and Alister Henskens (Ku-ring-gai) and an article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald. We hope you find them informative and interesting reading!

Planning Minister Stokes’ Press Release 23 September 2020

Jonathan O’Dea’s Letter to Mayor 28 September 2020

Alister Henskens’ Message to Electorate 25 September 2020

Alister Henskens Letter to Mayor 29 September 2020

Sydney Morning Herald Article 30 September 2020

We welcome the strong support for our community by our State MPs. Thank you Jonathan and Alister.

As always, we welcome your comments to info@supportlindfield.net .