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Glebe Society

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Durham Court, 417 Glebe Point Road

This application was lodged just before Christmas, a time favoured by those wishing to avoid public scrutiny. Located between Cook and Leichhardt Streets Durham Court, originally a large private house, was extended ca 1920 into a large block of flats, but there is still a lot of open space on the site and we have been expecting a proposal to develop some of this space for some time. However this proposal far exceeds the density control and has severe impacts on many neighbours in Glebe Point Road, Cook Street, Leichhardt Street and Leichhardt Avenue, so the Society has joined residents with what we hope is an impressive array of objections.

Bellevue, 55 Leichhardt Street

The Society has been waiting a year for Council to find a tenant for this highly symbolic renovated waterfront villa. The proposal arrived in January, a little out of left field. It was from Tea Rooms, who run rather glamorous and expensive venues at QVB, the Gunners' Barracks at Georges Heights and the Sergeants' Mess at Chowder Bay. Moreover, the original application was for seven days from 7.30am until midnight and 11pm on Sundays.

However, Glebe Point residents called a meeting on 8 February to which the CEO of Tea Rooms, Manuel Spinola, was invited, and a somewhat different picture emerged. It seems the application was an ambit claim, and Tea Rooms was willing to reduce its hours of operation and to take on board the concerns residents expressed at the meeting. These alternative proposals have been circulated from 20 February as an amendment to the original application.

What follows is a brief summary. The full amendment can be viewed on Council's website. From Wednesday to Sunday (five days) there will be morning and afternoon tea in Bellevueitself, with an a la carte lunch. The lower courtyard will operate for the same period as a cafe, serving breakfast and lunch at lower prices. It is proposed to have private functions on Saturdays and most Fridays (maximum of two nights) until 10pm in Bellevuewith a maximum of sixty people. Tea Rooms will advise guests of parking restrictions and recommend alternatives. They will also supervise and escort departures. There will be community access to the venue once a month on Monday or Tuesday, including tastings, book launches and art displays. R.J. Williams Lodge, Glebe Music Festival, Gleebooks, Glebe Youth Service and the Glebe Society have all been contacted and have shown interest, and their activities will be supported by the operator.

NSW Planning White Paper

This discussion paper, misleadingly entitled ‘Improving the Planning System’, was on exhibition until 8 February. There are three main proposals:

1. An attempt to greatly extend the range of development that can be approved automatically without public scrutiny up to the value of $1 million. The Society has argued this is not possible in complex inner city areas with high densities and heritage buildings.

2. Other development to be determined by unelected officials appointed by the Minister or his Department. The effect is to deny citizens their democratic right to lobby on behalf of their preferred type of development. Assessment and reports of development proposals to be in the hands of private certifiers employed by developers, rather than trained staff employed by local government. An extra layer of bureaucracy will be required to supervise the private certifiers.
It is difficult to see these proposals as other than rewards to developers in return for the enormous political donations they made to the major parties before the last election, and the Society has proposed all such donations be banned as an essential prerequisite for a fair and equitable planning system. The most effective way State Governments can change the system in favour of developers is to remove the democratic rights of citizens, either directly, by reducing their power to object and lobby, or indirectly, by limiting or removing the powers of local governments elected by the citizens. This paper proposes both methods. Other moves have been made, besides the proposals in this White Paper, to reduce the powers of local government, which the NSW Government clearly regards as liable to pesky outbreaks of democracy. One is section

3A, whereby a development can be declared 'state significant' and determined by the Minister without regard to compliance with other Acts of Parliament. And more recently a proposal was made to restrict the collection of developers' contributions to facilities that benefit only a particular development, and for these contributions to be held and disbursed by the State Government. For a cash-strapped State this must be a very attractive method of increasing revenue. The current Planning Minister, Frank Sartor, is also 'reviewing' the Heritage Act, a particularly important document for Glebe, and the other major strand of protection apart from ordinary planning controls. I am very concerned about our lack of progress in having additional heritage items listed and heritage controls strengthened, and I call on all members to give maximum support to the new Heritage Convenor, Diane Gray, and her program. The future of Glebe could well depend on it.

- Neil Macindoe

Queries? email: planning@glebesociety.org.au