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News and Events
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Dry Boat Storage - the issues
About 200 people attended a meeting in Glebe Town Hall on Thursday, 12 October, and not one of them approved of the proposed development of a dry boat storage facility in Rozelle Bay.
The meeting was arranged by the Glebe Society, supported by many other groups, including:
John Buckingham, in opening, told the meeting "there can be no compromises - it is all or nothing. The Development Application must be totally accepted or totally rejected as the Master Plan supports a proposal of this sort". (Click here to read John's summary of the issues.) He said that attendance at the meeting, although important, was irrelevant unless everyone present made a written submission on the proposal to the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority before 20 October, in addition to signing the attendance list and petition which were circulated at the meeting. He also suggested that people join a group appropriate to them to continue the fight.
Tony Larkum
(Convenor of the Glebe Society Bays and Foreshores Sub-committee) gave
a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation.
David Lawrence (Save Rozelle Bay Association) spoke about Annandale. He told the meeting about the campaign by Annandale residents in 1987, almost 20 years ago, to oppose two attempts to impose a marina at the Annandale end of Rozelle Bay. That proposal was defeated because of the contamination in the bay and the probable impact on the traditional users, the rowers.
Jan Wilson asked us to visualise a building as high as the existing grain silos and as long as a football field alongside another building and a multi storey car park to appreciate the bulk of structures to be viewed from Glebe. She said that this is not a development that is in keeping with a maritime working harbour. It is a commercial land-based activity together with movement of boats in Rozelle Bay.
Melanie Cantwell (President, Dragon Boat Association), said that one of the objectives of the 2002 Masterplan for the area was to "safeguard the continued use of Rozelle and Blackwattle Bays for non-motorised, water-based recreational activities such as rowing and canoeing". However the DA proposes up to 23 additional powerboats per hour (one every three minutes based on their figures) entering and exiting through the Bays, all passive craft to be confined to the southern shore, despite the shallow water and moored boats and a large number of small powerboats using the Old Glebe Island Bridge to enter and exit the Bays (the applicant argues that up to three powerboats can enter the Bays at the same time and along with passive craft).
Jane Spring (President, Sydney University Women's Rowing Club), told us about the success in international competitions of people who had learned to row in Rozelle Bay. (Jane also presented a DYI Dissent segment on the Statewide TV program on Friday 11 October.)
After the panel answered several questions from the floor, the three foreshadowed motions were discussed by the meeting and passed unanimously. Copies of these motions had been made available to everyone at the meeting. A fourth motion was also introduced during the meeting and passed overwhelmingly. Click here to read the text of the motions.
After suggestions from the floor about future possible activities, John Buckingham thanked everyone for attending the meeting, reminding them to sign the attendance lists and the petition and to write letters to the relevant people.
- Edwina Doe
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