Letters

The Sterling plans for the creek construction were not followed.

You make much of the local protesters, and the Lord Mayor’s hubby has also put his oar in, but what about the engineers plans from DA approvals in 1999?
The approved plan dated 5 Dec 2001 shows the creek over 6m wide, along the boundary of the yard at 45 Foss St. It was not built that wide (its under 3m wide). There is no approved plan stamped by South Sydney Council for work as executed in 2002.
While the Lord Mayor is saying ‘follow the DA approved in 2007 for the park,’ what happened to the floodway capacity for the creek? There is now 800mm of water in the 1 in 100 year event.
The water off Bridge Rd washed out the landscaping in Dec 2007 and the rain last week washed about 400mm depth of sand into the yard at 45 Foss St. This is a problem for me and anyone walking here in rainy weather.
The Lord Mayor will not be here in the rain, but anyone using the path in Orphan School Creek will have wet feet and knees.
The relevant plans and letters are held by me regarding this, and I was astounded that Councillor Harris advised Council that Nick Wolff (for Frasers) would lodge a section 96 DA for the park.
Nick Wolff (then Sterling’s architect) advised me in 1999 the creek would be built according to the Masterplans and Coucil approvals.
While I want the park finished, the underlying engineering standards for the Creek, as approved by Council need to be met, particularly as it now floods my yard.
Ian Kolln   Ph 9528 3094

A path to nowhere
A rare opportunity to save inner city bushland for Indiginous wildlife lost.
Over 400 residents say no to concrete path.
Mothers with prams say no to concrete path.
Wheelchair users say no to concrete path.
50% of Councillors say no to concrete path.
But Clover More says yes and it goes ahead – and it’s not even council’s money!
So much for the “listening,” “environmental” conscious Lord Mayor!
When the opportunity was there to prove City of Sydney is committed to what it advertises, Clover voted TWICE to lets residents down.
Simon Stanton, Glebe Resident

Pyrmont Water Police Site
First of all my thanks must go to Lord Mayor Clover Moore and her Council for buying the old Water Police site and turning it into a park. The Park is almost finished and is looking fantastic except for two glaring exceptions.
The first is the posts that have been left from the old days that are protruding from the water on the western side of the park. These posts are very old and are rotting away and are a complete ugly vision to the naked eye. Some of these posts are covered by water and at high tide are completely submerged, which makes that area very dangerous to any boats coming in for a closer look at the park and also are extremely dangerous to anyone swimming in the area. The powers that be will tell you that there will be no swimming in the water there, but we all know that kids will take no notice of the rules that will no doubt come into effect when the park is opened.
The second eye sore is that ugly concrete block in the water section which is also from the old site. I complained to a Council member about my disappointment at the almost finished finished park and the reply I got was, and I quote: “The poles are a part of the design of the park as is the square block. They remain as an ‘interpretation’ of the original uses of the site and were included in the original design plans.” I have viewed artists impression of what the complex would look like and cannot find any reference to the above subjects.
Some of the men who have worked on the project since day one can not believe that these eye sores are to be left there and spoil the complete look of their pride and joy, our new park. Don’t tell me there are not enough references as to the old days of the site in the Council archives, so why are the people of Sydney to be constantly reminded of the ugly days of the past? This is a beautiful park with two glaring eyesores that should be removed before the park is opened.
Sincerely, Lance Day, Pyrmont

Councillors for nude rally
Since Councillors Meredith Burgmann and Chris Harris don’t mind being arrested for a good cause (‘Ratbag’ residents dragged to defeat, 02.04.09), I wonder if they’d like to join me in a nude rally to highlight the lack of rights faced by nudists and the green aspect of living without clothes.
Stuart Baanstra, nudist, Alexandria