Alternative Media Group

Letters

Author:

Shant Fabricatorian

Posted:

Thursday, 27 August 2009

Hasta la ‘vista’

I challenge the spokesperson for Joe Tripodi to outline the weighting given to the community’s wishes with regard to the newly-announced development design for Blackwattle Bay (‘Blackwattle Bay development “inexplicable”’, August 20). As someone involved in that consultation I can say that the clear desire of the community was for maximisation of views of the harbour from Wentworth Park. What we have now is a wall of buildings almost completely blocking the vista from the park. The Master Plan in outlining the design principles which should apply states that, “Built form must not present a wall of development to the public domain”, and that it should, “Maintain existing views to landmarks to reinforce the diverse visual quality of the area.”

The approved Stage 1 DA for these sites conformed both to the Master Plan, and the community’s desire for view corridors from Wentworth Park. The current design clearly does not. The future of this important area of foreshore must be considered as part of an integrated Master Plan for the four Bays. It is totally inappropriate for ministerially-favoured commercial developments to be fast-tracked outside the Bays Precinct Task Force process.

Elizabeth Elenius, Pyrmont

Switching positions

Councillor Mallard’s proposal that the City refuse a grant to animal liberationists (‘Sparks fly at Council over radical group grant’, August 13) is hardly surprising, given his past record.

In 2004, a gay men’s nudist group asked to use the former Erskineville Town Hall for a party. The building was empty at the time. Alderman Mallard led other Councillors in turning down the request, describing it as, “an unsuitable utilisation of public resources”. His position disappointed many as he’s gay himself.

It is encouraging that Council has approved the animal rights funding, despite Alderman Mallard’s objection. However, the same cannot be said about gay nudists, who to this day have not been able to secure a safe and affordable venue.

Stuart Baanstra, Alexandria

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