Blacktown Council

Former Mayor has Key to the City

BLACKTOWN City Council recently honoured the enormous contribution made to the City by a former Mayor and Councillor, the great Alan Pendleton OAM.

Mayor of Blacktown City Tony Bleasdale OAM presented Alan with a Key to the City for his 50 years of service at a meeting of Council.

Alan was a Councillor between 1995 and 2016, and served two terms as Mayor of Blacktown City, between 1999 and 2004 and, 2010 and 2012. He also served as Deputy Mayor from 2008 to 2009.

“There has never been a more determined advocate for the people of Blacktown City than Alan Pendleton,” Mayor Bleasdale said.

“Spanning 50 years, Alan was tireless in his contribution to local government and Western Sydney, including in his working life as a dedicated Council employee.

“He drew upon his talents in community leadership, collaborative decision-making and strategic planning to position Blacktown City as a thriving place to live, work and play.

“There have been few who have left a legacy like Alan has.”

Alan Pendleton was a central fi gure in many key developments in Blacktown City, including the construction of Denis Johnson Library and the enhancement of Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope.

He oversaw the multimillion-dollar refurbishment of the Grantham Heritage Building Estate and secured funding for the community resource hub at Mount Druitt.

He was pivotal in establishing a Council partnership with the AFL through the development of Western Sydney’s fi rst AFL team, the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

He served on many committees as a representative of Council, including as chairman of the Western Sydney Waste Board. Alan was also chairman of Regional Development Australia Sydney.

Former Blacktown City Mayor and councillor Alan Pendleton OAM (right) receives the Key to the City from Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM (left).

St Marys a key airport link

ST Marys will become the key link

for the new Aerotropolis rail line into the main Sydney network when the Western Sydney Airport opens in 2026.

This means the future of the multicultural city halfway between Blacktown and Penrith on the Great Western Line is looking very bright indeed.

And it also means the time has come to draw up a detailed plan for the future of St Marys, using input from the community and Penrith City Council.

Penrith City Council is embarking on a strategic plan to guide the future of St Marys, Penrith’s second largest town centre.

St Marys is undergoing major transformation coinciding with the delivery of the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport rail line connecting St Marys directly to the Western Sydney Airport from 2026.

20/9 Hollinsworth Rd, Marsden Park NSW 2765 Phone: (02) 8625 4649 Order: menulog.com.au

2021

Our fi rst heat resilience rating tool

THE Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), in collaboration with the Greater Sydney Commission and Resilient Sydney, have launched Australia’s first rating tool for heat resilient urban development – Cool Suburbs.

WSROC President, Clr Barry Calvert, said: “Time and time again, heat has been identifi ed as Sydney’s number one natural hazard risk with major impacts for public health, essential infrastructure, economy, and the environment.

“With projections for longer, hotter, more frequent extreme weather, it is critical we design our cities to keep residents comfortable and safe – however guidance on how to do this well has been limited.

“The Cool Suburbs Tool is the fi rst comprehensive place-based rating system to assess the heat resilience delivered by urban designs at various development scales – from lot to community masterplan.

“Developed in partnership with a panel of leading scientists, Cool Suburbs translates what we know about heat, climate and the built environment, into a practical tool to guide on-ground decision making,” said Clr Calvert.

Project partner and Resilient Sydney’s Chief Resilience Offi cer, Beck Dawson, said: “This is the fi rst time we’ve had a practical tool that we can use as a city to help us build in a way that cools rather than cooks our communities”.

Cool Suburbs outlines measures to maximise urban cooling including orientation, airfl ow, permeability, shading, open space, and water; and provides clear design guidance for how each measure can be achieved.

The tool also outlines further measures to support community heat resil-

WSROC President, Clr Barry Calvert.

The Cool Suburbs Tool is free to use under licence www.coolsuburbs.com.au.

ience including provision of drinking water, backup power for community hubs, and community information and signage.

Greater Sydney Commission’s Environment Commissioner, Meg McDonald, said “Developing heat resilient cities would positively impact people’s lives and improve liveability across the region.

Developments are awarded credits for the measures they implement, culminating in a Cool Suburbs score that represents how well they have delivered heat-resilient design.

Clr Calvert said: “The Cool Suburbs Tool can be used for all scales and types of development. Diff erent credits are switched on or off depending on whether you are building a residential home, building on an industrial site, or if you are developing a master planned community.

Typical Australian house.

“This fi rst iteration of Cool Suburbs is a prototype applicable to Western Sydney only. The Tool has been piloted with several government and industry partners, and over the coming 12 months we will be road testing the Tool across a far greater range of development types and are calling for collaborators to get involved. Ultimately, we aim for Cool Suburbs to become a national rating tool for heat resilience.”

Free Opal cards for fl eeing Ukrainians

UKRANIANS seeking refuge in NSW

after fleeing their war-torn homeland will be offered free Opal cards with credit by the NSW Government to help them rebuild their lives.

Minister for Transport and Veterans David Elliott said the NSW Government initiative would provide 250 Opal cards, worth more than $50,000, to families as a sign of the solidarity that the people of this State have with the people of Ukraine.

The 250 Opal cards, include 136 for adults and 114 for children, each with a $200 credit. The Ukrainian Council of NSW will coordinate the distribution of the cards to the appropriate members of the Ukrainian community.

Free solar - savings up to $600 on electricity bills

Are you eligible for free solar?

Save up to $600 in electricity bills!

SAE Group is the approved provider, designing & installing solar systems for the NSW Government Solar for Low Income Households Offer.

Get in touch with SAE Group today to find out more 1300 18 20 50 www.saegroup.com.au