The Bugle 26 March 2016
A fortnightly celebration of people and places on the Upper South Coast of NSW
Serving the communities of Kiama, Gerringong, Jamberoo, Kiama Downs, Minnamurra and Gerroa and now at www.thebugleonline.com
Celebrating our Seniors With 27 per cent of Kiama LGA residents qualifying to call themselves ‘seniors’, fifty per cent more than the national figure, we’ve got a lot of people to celebrate in this year’s local Seniors Festival (formerly Seniors Week). With the help of a $1000 grant from the State Government, the weekly Kiama Farmers’ Market is planning a number of special activities for seniors, including cooking demonstrations by James Reeson of the TV show Alive & Cooking, free coffee from the Kiama Youth Centre and the Brooding Italian, free pots of herbs from Burnetts on Barney, presentations and tastings by Slowfood Saddleback and live music. They even have willing volunteers to help the ‘more senior’ seniors carry their shopping. “The emphasis will be on the importance of including fresh produce in your diet, and also the benefits to mental health of getting out and socialising,” says the Market’s manager, Tricia Ashelford. “Many seniors already come down to our Market every Wednesday and tell us how much they look forward to it.” Other activities offered by Council during the Festival, 1-10 April, include classes, a trip to Shoalhaven Heads Bowling Club, motorcycle
Inside this issue Report from the Sydney anti-merger rally p3
Donations to help refugees p3
Norma Bunter is a regular at the Market, and loved being asked to ring the opening bell last year
trike rides, a farmyard visiting Blue Haven, contribution they make to our community. a BBQ lunch, a bike ride, a Pizza Brunch & “It is also about having fun, so I encourage Garden Tour at the Kiama Community Garden, everyone to participate in as many events as entertainment and inter-town trivia competitions. you can.” “The Seniors Festival is very much about cele- Details: Special Seniors Kiama Farmers’ Market, Weds 6 April, 2-5pm. nswseniorsweek.com.au brating our wonderful seniors and the positive
Jimmy comes to town p4
Watch this space After six months of uncertainty, councillors have given approval for the Noble brothers to develop the land adjacent to their shops in Fern Street, Gerringong, and the adjoining block of public reserve which they lease from Council. The approval comes after months of lobbying by the South Precinct to ensure the original intent of the Charette for Blueberry Hill was respected. They contend it envisaged an open piazza area which the Nobles could have exclusive use of during
operating hours, but would revert back to open land after hours. The glass balustrades included in the original plans have now been disallowed on the leased land, although they will continue to be a feature of the development on the Nobles’ land. It is also a condition of the approval that the roof structure not be installed any further west than the Fern St verandah line of the $1.5 million development. While there are still grey areas as to how the condi-
tions of approval will be implemented, and their preferred position was for there to be no roof structure over any of the leased land, Howard Jones of the South Precinct says that “It is as good as we are going to get.” He’s happy that their agitating has kept alive the issue of retaining public access to the land the Nobles are leasing. Without the balustrading, Council will need to develop and implement landscaping plans for the remaining public reserve so that it forms a
Disabled surfers rule p8 seamless connection with the new development. Some sort of terracing will be needed to be incorporated to overcome the height difference in the blocks. “We have asked to be part
of the on-going discussion about how the boundary should be developed,” says Howard Jones. Once started, building works are expected to take six months to complete.