2 working days until demolition

Good Morning All, Following a meeting with Council representatives early yesterday morning (thank you to all those who attended!), unfortunately these representatives would not commit to a further delay of the project or any of the changes that have thus far been requested by the community, residents, and visitors who are concerned about the proposed stairs. As such, the following Open Letter has been sent to all North Sydney Councillors, the Mayor, and others this morning; in an effort to garner a response prior to scheduled demolition this coming Monday, 29th January (please forgive the lack of formatting, as it wouldn't transfer across). I will keep everyone updated via the petition page. Please feel free to leave any comments below. Kind Regards, Belinda. ***** Wednesday, 24th January 2018 An Open Letter to the Mayor and Councillors of North Sydney Council, My name is Belinda Campbell, I am a resident of Lavender Bay. I am also representing the community via an online petition entitled ‘SOS - Save Our Stairs’. This petition is currently live, and has 387 signatories at the time of writing: https://www.change.org/p/north-sydney-council-sos-save-our-stairs. Given the vehement community feeling regarding Council’s plans for these stairs (to demolish the current historic stairs and replace them with a ‘compliant’ steel and concrete version), I am surprised to hear that numerous members of the community have attempted to contact NSC, only to be ignored. I am hopeful you have all already been briefed on the current situation by Alicja Batorowicz and Robert Emerson, who have been my main points of contact during the past fortnight. This is not an issue that can be swept under the carpet. The community is outraged over the following matters: Lack of consultation Fact: no recent community consultation has been done Fact: the last community consultation was done 11 years prior to the commencement of this project (early 2007) Fact: during this consultation in 2007, under the broad umbrella of the Concept Masterplan for the Lavender Bay Parklands (https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/Recreation_Facilities/Parks_Reserves/Parks_Reserves_Management - Part 1, Section 2, Page 5 - Consultation with the community and stakeholders), it states, under your outline of key findings, “Watt Park: general support for the park as it is - highly valued”. Fact: no community consultation has been done between the initial Concept Masterplan and the signing of a contract and issuing of For Construction drawings of the proposed stairs; this despite several sets of drawings having been issued For Information/For Tender as early as 2015. Fact: this project is taking place on land designated as public space, and funded by ratepayers (the community). North Sydney Council states on its website that “Community engagement has become an essential part of government planning…It improves the quality of decisions and is an important part of being responsive to community and stakeholder needs.” In this case, Council appears to have failed to adhere to its own guidelines & values. Fact: despite notifying Council representatives of the community’s current lack of confidence due to the omission of recent and meaningful community consultation, they have failed to address or rectify the situation during this initial project delay (the previous 7 working days). Requests for an organised community consultation session during this period have been made to both Robert Emerson and Alicja Batorowicz in writing; and subsequently ignored. Fact: the two open days listed as part of your 2007 community consultation had a total of 65 participants over 6 hours (averaging 11 people an hour). There were approximately 30 in attendance for a last-minute meeting on the Watt Park steps yesterday; and 387 have signed a petition against this project. 2. Lack of notification Fact: the community first became aware of this issue a fortnight prior to the project start date, when 3 signs were erected on the stairs in question only (over a period when most people in the community were on holiday, at the beginning of 2018). Fact: the main contact listed on these signs, Project Manager Alicja Batorowicz, was on leave from the date the signs were erected until the initial project start date (15th January 2018). Those who attempted to contact her were met with an answering machine message, simply advising she was on leave; no alternative contact name or number for this project was supplied. Fact: those who called council in early January were initially told that no-one, with the exception of the aforementioned Project Manager, was across the project/able to give further information. Messages and emails went unacknowledged; and answers were only forthcoming when people became demanding. Fact: North Sydney Council has failed in its duty to notify residents, including the building sharing a border with the site, of a major project about to occur literally on their doorstep. North Sydney Council representatives and the Mayor have admitted this failure to notify in recent weeks. The only attempt to rectify this situation has been a single letterbox drop in the immediate vicinity, only after local residents complained. Fact: the lack of consultation and notification has been particularly disconcerting for residents of 23 Waiwera Street (the building that adjoins the site). The amenity, privacy, views, and peaceful enjoyment of their homes will be invaded during the proposed 5 month period of works; and negatively impacted in perpetuity, once works are complete. A detailed list of their concerns has been handed to Robert Emerson and Alicja Batorowicz at yesterday’s meeting, and is also attached to this email. Given the lack of due notice and the fact that the project is scheduled to commence in 2 working days, I am demanding a written response to this documentation from Council by no later than 12pm today. 3. Compliance vs safety Fact: Council representatives are continually parroting that their main justification for the new stairs is that they must be compliant. This buzzword was also used by Mayor Jilly Gibson in her comment for the recent article in the Mosman Daily (Thursday 18th January 2018). Vague references to the BCA have also been made. Direct question: I have been informed that the BCA (Building Code of Australia) does not apply to these stairs, as they do not form part of a building. Therefore, the only legislative framework that I believe would be applicable in this case is Australian Standard 1428. This standard is titled “Design for access and mobility”. Part 1 is entitled “General requirements for access - New building work.” Given that there is already access for those with limited mobility via Lavender Crescent (as stated in NSC’s original Concept Masterplan), why is there a sudden need to make this staircase compliant to a 2018 Standard? The community have stated their preference that, if anything, only minor repairs should be carried out to these stairs for safety purposes. A repair could potentially bring the stairs to a level where they are safe for use (fit for purpose); however not required to be compliant with modern-day standards. Potential alternative: as was suggested in the initial Concept Masterplan, Lavender Crescent could be explored as a shared route for cyclists, pedestrians and cars to facilitate better access for a wider range of user groups. This would not only improve safety in Lavender Crescent (preventing cars from speeding through a dangerous curve late at night following the introduction of a shared zone and corresponding speed limits); it would also mitigate the dangers faced by pedestrians upon emerging from the top of the Watt Park stairs (between parked cars and directly onto a narrow, winding, local traffic road). Fact: The only option for pedestrians exiting the Watt Park stairs is to cross the road directly, emerging from between parked cars with limited visibility for both pedestrians and motorists (as there is no footpath on the eastern side of Waiwera Street). Moreover, those with limited mobility (which the new stair proposal will supposedly cater for) would find it extremely difficult to navigate the most direct route from the nearest public transport (North Sydney station) via stairs through St Peters Park (non-compliant as per current Standards); a steep incline with numerous trip hazards due to tree roots under the footpath on the west side of Miller Street; across an increasingly busy Lavender Street (with no crossing or lights at that junction); down the steep initial incline of Waiwera street on the west footpath; then across the aforementioned local road before reaching the compliant safety of the new stairs (if they were lucky enough to make it that far without incident). Direct question: when questioned at the meeting yesterday morning, Council representatives confirmed there has been no Condition Report done on the current stairs. Additionally, Robert Emerson said he had no data/reports of slips, trips, falls, and near misses on these stairs. Hence, who or what has deemed them suddenly “unsafe”? Direct question: what, if any, alternatives were investigated with regards to making the current stairs safe? If repair work only was carried out (as opposed to constructing an entirely new staircase), would this not mean that the current stairs could satisfy current Performance Requirements (ie. be deemed safe) without having to satisfy contemporary Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions (ie. compliance with the current Australian Standard)? Direct question: is the decision to aim for full compliance, rather than safety, driven by Council’s fear of potential litigation? As Standards change every year, and there are many structures that would not be up to this year’s Australian Standards or BCA (including the front steps and several other areas at North Sydney Council Chambers; and the newer ugly steps at the bottom of King George Street, which were only completed recently). Surely this makes no sense? Could a member of the public litigate based on an argument that a structure they were injured on/in was not up to the current Australian Standard (if they were even aware of Australian Standards)? I would like to know if there are any legal precedents for this kind of litigation; and if so, surely government authorities around the world live in a state of perpetual fear. And if Council is in fact, extremely risk-averse, does that mean nothing in the North Sydney area is safe from being demolished and replaced with a modern structure on the whims of Council, and against community wishes? 4. Compliance (as opposed to safety) prioritised over history and character Fact: Watt Park (and the steps within them) are part of a Conservation Area; and are listed under Local Environment Plan I0348. This has lead the community to believe (perhaps erroneously) that the entire area is automatically protected from, as one community member put it, “overdevelopment”. Fact: reference is made in the LEP listing to both the “stately trees” and “sandstone walls and pathways” (http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2181136). This could be deemed to include the retaining walls, sandstone stairs & pathway that descend from Waiwera Street, encompassed within the boundary of Watt Park. The same listing states that “Watt Park makes a significant contribution to the appearance of the Lavender Bay area”; and “Heritage Inventory sheets are often not comprehensive…an inventory sheet with little information may simply indicate that there has been no building work done to the item recently: it does not mean that items are not significant. Further research is always recommended as part of preparation of development proposals for heritage items, and is necessary in preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments…” Fact: North Sydney Council’s Concept Masterplan for the Lavender Bay Parklands (https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/Recreation_Facilities/Parks_Reserves/Parks_Reserves_Management - Part 1, Section 4, Page 13 - History of use) shows how little historic research has been done with regards to this project. There are 3 lines on Watt Park; simply referring to the person whom Watt Park was named after. I questioned Robert Emerson at the meeting yesterday morning as to whether any heritage studies had been done for this project; his response was that the stairs and rock cut cistern were not on his lists (possibly because they have not yet been listed as separate items; an oversight). Robert stated that two Heritage Officers at North Sydney Council had reviewed the proposal; and that nothing further was required with regards to heritage. Request for Information: I am now requesting that the qualifications of these Heritage Officers, and any and all heritage studies/data relevant to this project be revealed and released to the public immediately. Given that we only have 2 working days prior to the desecration of this potentially significant heritage item (the stairs), I am demanding North Sydney Council forwards this information to me via email no later than 12pm on the 24th January. Should North Sydney Council not supply the information by that time, it will be assumed there is no information on file to supply; hence, North Sydney Council has not performed its due diligence when working on plans for a site that has had no building work done in the last 80+ years. Additionally, Council have been made aware of the site’s storied history 30 years ago, and again recently, by local resident and architect Bev Atkinson. The rock cut cistern is believed to have sustained the new colony of Sydney Town when the Tank Stream ran dry; and the age of the current sandstone steps which are about to be destroyed is, as yet, unconfirmed. These are potentially State Heritage Items; as such, I have applied for an Interim Heritage Order, in a desperate attempt to prevent Council from destroying these stairs without due consideration. Fact: Lavender Bay is known both locally and nationally for its liveability, village feel, parks and green spaces, and historic character. This is what attracted residents and locals to the area in the first instance. If North Sydney Council persists in replacing charming and historic local elements with (in the words of the community) “clunky brutalism”, “impersonal stairs - they all look the same as everywhere else”, “steel eyesores”, they will eradicate the individuality and the very fabric of the suburb people love. A local resident asked me tonight, “Where should I move to?”; and a tourist who signed the petition commented “the council proposal will make a unique and beautiful part of Lavender Bay quite ugly and unappealing”. If these stairs are destroyed, North Sydney Council will effectively be shooting itself in the foot, in making the suburb look exactly like the rest of the urban jungle. If anything, this will deter tourists and visitors, not entice them (when was the last time anyone booked a holiday or went somewhere simply because it had a modern, compliant stair/access route?!? These are not the things that sell trips to the charming cities of Paris, Rome and London). In summary, given that the community, adjacent residents, and even visitors to the area are extremely unhappy with North Sydney Council’s handling of this project (lack of consultation, lack of notification, lack of transparency, failure to follow the correct processes as our elected representatives), we are now demanding that North Sydney Council puts an immediate halt to this project for the foreseeable future. Only when meaningful community consultation has been achieved; alternative options proposed and evaluated (including the Lookout Park idea, which the community would like to see further development of); and thorough historical research and documentation completed should such a large scale project even be considered. The stated position of representatives of North Sydney Council thus far has been that the project will proceed regardless, as the contract has already been signed; however, this is a non-issue for the community, as the contract should never have been signed in the first instance. North Sydney Council should have a system of checks and balances in place so an error of this magnitude does not occur again. Given the situation North Sydney Council has put us in, I am requesting a detailed response to this letter (and all questions/RFIs within) in writing by COB on Wednesday, 24th January 2018. The only acceptable alternative at this point in time is for North Sydney Council to delay the project indefinitely; if this is the case, a considered response may be given in writing at a later date (however confirmation of the delay in writing is required by COB today). Regards, Belinda Campbell - Save Our Stairs Copies (electronic): North Sydney Council Mayor Jilly Gibson Deputy Mayor Councillor Stephen Barbour Councillor Zoë Baker Councillor MaryAnn Beregi Councillor Kathy Brodie Councillor Tony Carr Councillor Dr Alanya Drummond Councillor Samuel Gunning Councillor Jessica Keen Councillor Ian Mutton Generic council email Minister for the Environment, Local Government, and Heritage The Hon. Gabrielle Upton (via NSW Government website) The Office of Environment and Heritage Heritage Branch Lavender Bay Precinct c/o Precinct Secretary (Bernard Smith) SOS - Save Our Stairs All petition signatories (via the petition page) Residents of 23 Waiwera Street (via email) and other concerned residents Media Louise Starkey (Reporter, Mosman Daily) Michael Wilkins (Managing Director, News Corp) *****