At the TRRA Meeting on Monday 16 April the Issue of the location of the Nelson Bay Visitor Information Centre was raised by Margaret Wilkinson.  She submitted the folowing proposal and this was adoppted by the meeting.

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RECLASSIFICATION OF COUNCIL OWNED LAND – CNR PORT STEPHENS DRIVE AND NELSON BAY ROAD

(former Anna Bay sports field, 2 Jessie Road, Anna Bay – Potential Visitors Centre Facility)

PROPOSAL

That TRRA write to Port Stephens Council and to the NSW Department of Planning appealing the decision of 27.3.12 of Councillors to approve the reclassification from Community to Operational of Council owned land at the corner of Port Stephens Drive and Nelson Bay Road, previously highlighted as a potential gateway Visitors Centre facility and proposed by TRRA as a potential bus interchange and park and ride lot for car pooling.

BACKGROUND

The land in question was highlighted in the Port Stephens Tourism Plan – Diagnostic Report of 2010 prepared by Jenny Rand & Associates/Dain Simpson Associates funded by Industry & Investment NSW, Port Stephens Council and Port Stephens Tourism Ltd as a potential gateway Visitors Information Centre  (Page 123)  To quote from that report  –

“The other unknown factor is the likely length of tenure that the VIC will have in its current location.  The local officer from the Department of Lands advised that the land occupied by the VIC may be needed in the future as part of the re-development of the Nelson Bay foreshore area.  This should be investigated prior to Council disposing of the land that it owns on Nelson Bay Road, in case there is a need to hold the site for a future VIC”(Note that the Nelson Bay foreshore plan has still not been finalized.)

To quote from the Port Stephens Tourism Plan – Action Plan – 2010 (developed from the Diagnostic Report)

“Key Tasks – 10.5 (Page 45) Investigate security of land tenure and determine future location for VIC prior to disposal of former playing field on Nelson Bay Road”  High Priority.  Timing – Prior to decision to sell land on Nelson Bay Road”

None of the above information was included in the Council business papers prepared for the Council Committee meeting of 13.3.12 nor of the full meeting of 27.3.12. The papers were prepared by Carmel Foster, Commercial Development Manager.  Nor was the actual voting of individual Councillors recorded in the Council minutes.

The Examiner did not report on this agenda item at all in any editions of the newspaper.  Hence, the only reference to this approval to the general public was via my Letter to the Editor published on 29.3.12 in the Examiner “Eye on quick buck with no future vision”.  I had stumbled upon the agenda item when looking for something else.

TRRA immediately responded to Port Stephens Councillors prior to the Committee meeting of 13.3.12

“If this recommended reclassification is aimed at preparing the land for sale to raise funds to ease Council’s short-term budget situation without full consideration of the longer term potential of the site for important public facilties, TRRA would strongly urge Councillors not to support the recommendation.

MAJOR CONCERNS

• The reclassification of this land effectively opens it up for sale to the public.
• A good precedent of the potential outcome in the future is what we have seen recently at Salamander where Council have had to protect our community facilities from potential buyers (or lease our facilities back).
• Council showed the same shortsightedness a few years ago by reclassifying all the land and not separating what the community needs.
• The area immediately adjoining Nelson Bay Road should have been separated from the classification of the whole area. The decision to reclassify the whole parcel of land  is extremely short sighted.
• If a new Visitor facility (albeit it large or small) is decided for that site in the future, Council will need to either buy the land back or lease it back from the buyer at a huge cost to ratepayers.
• As part of comments on the Port Stephens Strategic Plan, TRRA drew attention to the emergence of this location (even in its totally informal, unsealed and potholed state) as a park and ride parking lot for car pooling and as a bus interchange.

Margaret Wilkinson

TRRA Member and concerned citizen

16.4.12