COUNCIL NEWS & MARJORIE O'NEILL, MP Member for Coogee

Cross Street car park redevelopment

A new cinema complex, retail and community space, offices, residential apartments and car park is set to replace the Cross Street Car Park in Double Bay.

The project is a partnership between Woollahra Council, Pallas Group, Assembly Funds Management and Fortis, and will involve demolition of the existing 380-space car park and replacement with a new mixed-use structure.

The planning process will involve extensive public exhibition and community consultation at both Planning Proposal and DA stage, with a three-year construction phase anticipated to commence in 2024/25.

Visit woollahra.nsw.gov.au/crossstreet redevelopment for further details.

The existing Cross Street car park

Have your say on Woollahra’s future. Our vision for the next decade is to create a thriving, inclusive, sustainable and resilient community that will benefit future generations, and enhance, protect and celebrate Woollahra’s beauty, heritage and quality of life for the enjoyment of all.

To achieve this, we are setting our strategic direction through a Draft Community Strategic Plan and supporting documents including the Delivery Program 2022/23 to 2025/26, Operational Plan 2022/23 and Long Term Financial Plan 2022/23.

We want to hear your feedback on these important documents before Sunday May 15. Visit yoursay.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/future to share your thoughts.

Bus to Books

Woollahra Libraries’ Bus to Books service, designed especially for residents who have difficulty accessing the library due to limited mobility or access to transport, can pick you up from your home and take you to Woollahra Library at Double Bay. You’ll have full access to library resources and will be able to browse and borrow books, movies, magazines and more, and also enjoy morning tea and conversation with new friends before the bus takes you home again.

The service operates on the fourth Thursday of every month. Bookings are essential as places are limited. Please contact the Library for bookings on 9391 7100, or email

homelibraryservice@woollahra.nsw.gov.au

Nominations open for literary award

Attention local writers – nominations for the Mark & Evette Moran Nib Literary Award are now open.

The Nib Award is Waverley Council’s annual celebration of the best Australian writing in any genre, covering both fiction and nonfiction. It is the only major national literary award of its kind presented by a local council. Previous winners include Tim Low, Helen Garner, Christopher Koch, Clare Wright, Gideon Haigh and Rebecca Giggs.

Waverley Mayor, Paula Masselos, said Waverley Council was immensely proud to be continuing to offer this Award and provide direct support to Australian writers.

“Waverley Council recognises the role that arts and culture play in defining our community and during this period of recovery from COVID, we remain committed to supporting emerging and established writers through the Nib Award,” Mayor Masselos said.

The award is open to works published between June 30, 2021 and July 1, 2022. There is a first prize of $20,000, six shortlist prizes of $1000 each and a $2500 People’s Choice Award. Winners are decided by an independent panel of three judges.

Nominations close Monday June 20, 2022. For more information, visit www.waverley.nsw.gov.

au/nib

Traffic plan may not be Birrell of laughs for drivers

Birrell St in Waverley is a nice straight stretch of road where drivers are tempted to put their foot down, especially if they are heading down the hill, the blue jewel of the ocean shimmering in the distance. Forget all that. Well, you’ll have more time to admire the view, but you’ll be driving more slowly. Waverley Council is going to make it a 40k zone and narrow the road with traffic calming measures. It’s part of a council vision to enforce a 40 limit throughout most of the LGA.

Helping to get drivers to slow down will be pedestrian refuges and other “intersection improvement” measures. These will narrow traffic from two to one lane at the intersections of Birrell St with Park Pde and Dickson St. But a report tabled at a meeting of Waverley’s Traffic Committee claimed these measures would have “no significant impact” on traffic flow.

Racism not welcome signs

Signs declaring racism is not welcome will be installed in prominent locations across Randwick beach locations.

“We will not accept discrimination in our culturally diverse community,” said Mayor Dylan Parker, who led the initiative.

The signs will be installed on beachside poles at Maroubra, Coogee, Clovelly and La Perouse. Mayor Parker said: “Our beaches are proposed as appropriate locations for the signs as they have a high number of visitors (both local and non-local) and pedestrian traffic.”

In addition, signs will go up in a number of locations at the University of NSW, which will be involved in the campaign launch.

Maroubra Surf Club upgrade

A new $10m clubhouse is planned for Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club. Randwick Councillors unanimously endorsed a four-year funding strategy to knock down and rebuild the surf club.

The plan will be subject to 40% of the budget being covered by grants and fundraising. Maroubra SLSC is one of Australia’s oldest clubs and was founded in 1906. Membership has grown by a quarter in the past five years, with the majority of new sign-ups being young people.

Design work will now commence on the project, with construction estimated to commence 2024/25 subject to Council obtaining the additional funds.

Aboriginal artworks for Heffron Centre

Maroubra’s newest community sporting facility the Heffron Centre – currently under construction – will feature a unique local Aboriginal artwork inspired by the sea life and cultural practices of the local Gadigal and Dharawal clans.

Indigenous artists Carmen Glynn-Braun and Dennis Golding have developed the concept that translates the cultural practice of mullet fishing into a unique artwork that will wrap around the entrance wall and interior glass walls of the Heffron Centre.

In addition, a sculptural mural featuring stingrays and representations of the coastline will feature as a large-scale artwork on the external southern side of the building.

Construction on the Heffron Centre is well underway and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.

Marjorie O'Neill MP

MEMBER FOR COOGEE

Hi everyone,

My office has been conducting online community town halls over the last few months on a variety of issues, including public transport, planning and healthcare. Our next online community town hall will be on the topic of education, and I am interested to hear your experiences of our education system, whether that be in childcare, primary or high school, or tertiary education.

In the last few years, members of the community have contacted my office about issues of underfunding, teacher shortages, reliance on demountable classrooms and wait times to see school counsellors. These issues are incredibly important to me, and I have been calling on our Government for fairer funding for our public schools to help address these issues. To ensure your voice is being heard, I invite everyone to come to our forum so you can voice your experiences and concern. I will be joined by NSW Labor Shadow Minister for Education and Ealy Childhood Learning, Prue Car, MP. The meeting will be held online, on Monday June 6 from 6pm to 7pm.

This meeting is a great opportunity to raise any concerns you may have, to share your experience with our education system and shine a light on any areas in which you would like to see change.

To register, please scan the QR code below or head to the link:

https://marjorieoneill.com.au/community/community-town-hall-meetings/

I look forward to seeing you there!

OFFICE CONTACT DETAILS

If you have any issues relating to the NSW Government, or you are not sure where to go to for help, please contact my office on (02) 9398 1822;

coogee@parliament.nsw.gov.au

or visit us at 15/53-55b Frenchmans Rd, Randwick.

You can also visit my website at marjorieoneill.com.au and while you’re there, be sure to sign up to my online community newsletter there too!.