Peninsula News 486

Page 1

EDITION 486

YOUR REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWS

20 JANUARY 2020

Umina power blackout on 43 degree day About 1700 homes in Umina suffered a power blackout in 36 degree heat on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve. The temperature at Woy Woy had reached a maximum of 43 degrees at 2.20pm, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and just an hour later 1704 homes lost power which was not restored until 5.30pm. Peninsula Village aged care facility, in the middle of the blackout zone, was also affected, but their high-capacity generator kicked in almost immediately. Village chief executive Mr Shane Neaves said the nurse call system was inoperable for a short time but staff coped well with the situation. Ausgrid said that the power

The blacked out area in orange

outage in the Ausgrid EttalongWoy Woy zone happened when a panel at Umina had “tripped”, caused by a faulty underground cable. The Ausgrid statement said: “This happens from time to time and mostly because of normal wear and tear.” Due to the configuration of the local network some areas on the Peninsula were still able to be supplied from other parts of our network, the statement said. According to Ausgrid, load shedding or power rationing was not a factor in the blackout. SOURCE Media statement, 15 Jan 2020 Jonathon Hall, Ausgrid Interview (Sue Murray) 16 Jan 2020 Shane Neaves, Peninsula Village

Council approves plans for IOOF housing site Central Coast Council has approved an application to convert the former IOOF aged housing site in Springwood St, Umina, into a manufactured home park. However, the proposal was regarded as “interim” with plans that “the site will be comprehensively developed in the medium term”, according to a Council assessment. The approval provides for the 12 existing cottages to be retained and 16 manufactured homes to be added. Nine of the new homes will be one-bedroom and seven will be two-bedroom. An existing disused hall will be converted into two units suitable for self-care seniors. The proposal approved by Council on December 4 will protect three remaining residents who have life tenancies under a current lease agreement. The application was submitted by Peninsula Village Ltd and is expected to cost $1.8 million. The existing single bedroom cottages were built for aged accommodation on the 8808 square metre site by the Independent Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society in 1959. In 2010 Council refused an application (DA 15511/2002) to demolish the buildings and build 20 new aged care units,

An architectural montage of blending the old with the new

because of the social impact on the existing residents and the lack of alternative housing. The property was purchased in 2016 by Peninsula Village, which is the Peninsula’s largest aged care provider. The proposal includes landscaping, tree removal and an upgrade of the internal driveway. The Council’s Development Assessment Report said: “It is apparent that the existing

cottages are nearing the end of their usable life. “The applicant has advised that the site will be comprehensively developed in the medium term, which is why relocatable manufactured homes are proposed, to provide a less permanent solution that allows for the site to be upgraded and provide increased housing in the interim.” According to the report, there were three submissions,

two of which did not object to the development but wanted to ensure there would be suitable canopy/shade trees and protection of existing trees. The other submission expressed concern that the pre-fabricated housing would look like a “cheap and nasty trailer park” and that it would not be used for senior housing and instead be for low-income residents which could create safety issues.

The report said that appropriate conditions were in place to ensure the site was used for seniors housing and noted that the landowner and applicant, Peninsula Village, was a registered not-for-profit company and established seniors housing provider with 40 years’ experience in the industry. SOURCE DA Tracker, 14 Jan 2020 DA 56718/2019, Central Coast Council

THIS ISSUE contains 58 articles - Read more news items for this issue at www.peninsulanews.info Office: Level 2, 86-88 Mann St, Gosford - Phone: 4325 7369 - Mail: PO Box 1056, Gosford 2250 - E-mail: editorial@centralcoastnews.net - Website: www.coastcommunitynews.com.au


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