Bang The Table

12 May 2009

Council recently acquired 139 Artarmon Road which is located on the corner of Tindale Road, Artarmon. The property, originally built as a church has been bought to re-house the Artarmon library and provide a community facility.

The newly purchased facility will improve the level of amenity currently offered to local library users and provide the community with a versatile community facility that can accommodate a range of community activities and events.

Willoughby City Council is hosing an online forum as part of engaging the community about this change. This is an opportunity to comment on the facility and its uses, issues relating to the development and even to make suggestions for the launch.

Visit the discussion forum.

You can also still comment on the Willoughby City Strategy.

School for Naremburn - update

8 May 2009

The next meeting of the Naremburn School Working Party (NSWP)will be held on Thursday 28 May at the Naremburn Community Centre, 7-9 Central Street, Naremburn between 7.00 and 8.00pm.

Mr Dean White (relieving Dr Kathryn Brennan as the School Education Director) and Mr Steve Martens – Manager, Northern Sydney Region Assets Management Unit from DET will attend the meeting.

To view the latest Working Party minutes click here

Ella Street Bridge temporary closure

4 May 2009

The previously announced temporary closure of the Ella Street Bridge at the northern end of Dalleys Road that was to take place between March and September 2009 has had its commencement date postponed to September.
Steven Head, Infrastructure Services Director, WCC, whose role includes traffic, is to speak at the NPA general meeting on 14 May see above

Latest Laing O'Rourke flyer to affected residents here
Proposed detours when Ella Street Bridge is closed here

Traffic, Parking – Steven Head @ May meeting

29 April 2009

Ella Street Bridge temporary closure, and other traffic and parking issues for Naremburn will be featured when Steven Head, WCC’s Infrastructure Services Director, speaks at the NPA’s next general meeting on Thursday, 14 May at the Naremburn Community Centre, 7 Central Street.
Steven will commence speaking at 7:30 pm with normal meeting business suspended until after his Q&A session. Come along. Bring your neighbours.

Artarmon Loop bus

20 April 2009

Commencing Monday 4 May 2009, The Artarmon Loop is a free shuttle service travelling on a loop from St Leonards station through the Artarmon industrial area.
The service aims to encourage the use of public transport and reduce car usage across the City of Willoughby while also enhancing the viability of the Artarmon business precinct.
Jump on the bus at any of the Artarmon Loop bus stops located along the route. Take your bike too - Bicycles can be stored in bike racks inside the bus.
The Artarmon Loop will run every 15 minutes from 6am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Buses depart from St Leonards Station on the hour, quarter hour, half hour, and quarter to the hour. (i.e. 6.00am, 6.15am, 6.30am, 6.45am through to 6pm). Last run departs from St Leonards Station at 6.00pm.
Download the Artarmon loop map and timetable

2009 AGM minutes

14 April 2009

Read the President's report on community issues and the achievements of the NPA in the past year.

Bang The Table

14 April 2009

This is your opportunity to have a say in the library facilities provided for Naremburn. Bang the Table

Ella Street Bridge temporary closure

25 February 2009

Update
Latest flyer from the contractors, Laing O'Rourke here

As part of the major periodic maintenance program for the North Shore Railway Line, the existing road bridge passing over the railway line just beyond the western end of Dalleys Road is due to be replaced.

Bridge construction works will be completed between March and September 2009 and include the necessary closure of the Ella Street Bridge.

During the temporary closure of the Ella Street Bridge, Naremburn residents, as well as those doing rat runs through our suburb will not be able to access Herbert Street via Dalleys Road.

No vehicular access and no pedestrian access over the Ella Street Bridge from 3 March to 26 September 2009.

School for Naremburn - update

26 February 2009

A School Working Party meeting was held on Friday 13 February 2009 chaired by the Hon Gladys Berejiklian MP Member for Willoughby, whose hope had been to set up a meeting of the School Working Party with the NSW Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Verity Firth.

The working party meeting was attended by Nick Tobin WCC General Manager and two other Council Officers; Jane Simmons, Northern Regional Director, DET and a policy assistant, as well as four members of the Progress Association. Marcia Waller, WCC’s Community Services Director, was on leave.

The meeting commenced with Gladys tabling a letter to her from the Minister, dated 6 February, that had been received that morning. Gladys said that it had taken 5 months for a response to her meeting request of 9 September 2008.

In the letter the Minister stated that Census data since 2001 indicates;

• No increase in number of dwellings in Naremburn suburb
• Total population increased by less than 50 people
• Infant age group (0-4) has increased
• This has not flowed through to the key primary age group (5-9)
• There is limited scope in the area for further residential development
• Future growth in enrolments would be accommodated through enhancements to existing public schools with the upgraded Cammeray Public School being the main school for the area

The Meeting’s discussions revealed that DET:

• Has worked on demographics
• Consulted with school boards and school communities (P&C)
• Gave the numbers at the schools as Cammeray 705, Artarmon 686, Willoughby 804, with indicative averages being 30 for years 3-6, 20 for Kinda, 22 for year 1, 24 for year 2
• Seemed unaware that two year 4 classes at Cammeray had 34 and 36 pupils
• Admitted that there were pupils transferring from other systems as the credit crunch was felt
• Expect that ex-pats returning to Australia after June to further swell enrolments
• Is working with Catholic Education Office and have found the St Leonard’s Catholic Church site in Naremburn unsuitable due to the upgrade cost, safety and parking issues
• Would not condone a K-2 school as it would lead to composite classes
• Did not have Asset Management officers who look at the physical building side of schools at this meeting
• Claimed that the growth in the number of demountables at local schools is driven by a desire to keep class sizes to a regulated number
• Tabled a chart showing that the numbers of pupils in schools will peak in 2012

It would seem that there is a need for WCC and DET to work more collaboratively on education resources in Willoughby City.

When a request was made for a follow-up meeting in April with Asset Management attending, DET said that they could not gather the required information by that time. It was agreed to meet in mid May with a public meeting in Naremburn in mid June.

In the meantime, the NPA is approaching Council for statistics on the increase in rateable properties in Naremburn to ascertain if the figures quoted by the Minister are in fact a true picture of the current number of dwellings.

At the conclusion of the meeting Gladys requested, and the DET representatives agreed, that a strategic plan to address the overcrowding and other issues related to primary school students in the Naremburn area would be tabled at the next meeting. Minutes of this meeting are not yet available; when they are they will be placed on this website.

School for Naremburn - update

6 February 2009

The next meeting of the Working Party will be held on Friday 13 February 2009 at 2:00 pm. As discussed at the previous Working Party meeting, Gladys Berejikilian MP Willoughby has organised for Jane Simmons, Director DET and Kathryn Brennan, the School Education Director for this area, to attend. The meeting will be held in the Banksia Room on Level 6 of the Council Offices at 31 Victor Street Chatswood. Naremburn’s State Primary School, as well as the St Leonard’s Catholic Primary School, closed in the 1990s because school age population of the suburb had decreased to a point where keeping these schools open was not financially viable. Naremburn’s demographics have changed. There is now an urgent need for a K-2 school in our suburb.

To view the latest Working Party minutes click here

Bang The Table

21 February 2009

Willoughby Council has teamed with on-line consultation specialists ‘Bang the Table’ to deliver a range of web-based discussion forums. Council will regularly hold forums on key issues of interest to our community.
February’s feature discussions include:-

• Council’s Climate Change Action campaign
• The update of Council’s Cultural Policy.

March’s discussions include:-

• The Artarmon Library site - this will provide an opportunity for the public to make comment on future use of the facility
• Council’s Cultural Policy

“Bang the Table” will independently moderate all forums.
The site is easy to navigate. Users can also start their own discussions for each topic, vote on comments they agree or disagree with and engage in friendly debate.

“Community engagement is vital to Council’s forward planning. We welcome vigorous discussion on a wide range of issues.”

said Willoughby Mayor Pat Reilly.

“Council already participates in regular community consultation. We see this as simply another opportunity for us to reach out to the wider community. I’d particularly like to see our youth getting involved in the forums.”

Members of the community are invited to join the discussion by visiting Council’s website - www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au – and click on the Bang the Table link.

School for Naremburn - update

3rd December 2008

Following the May Public Meeting that looked at the possibility of reopening a Primary School in Naremburn, there have been two Working Party meetings. The Working Party is composed of representatives from Willoughby City Council, North Sydney Council, Naremburn Progress Association, as well as local parents. At the Working Party meeting held on 23 October, a number of reports were tabled. WCC presented its report, ‘Schools in the Willoughby LGA’ [local government area]. The report from the State Education’s Regional Director, who was not present or represented at the meeting, stated:

“….Following an assessment of the Catholic Primary site in Naremburn, the Department has determined that the site is unsuitable as a site for a school due to the site size, restricted floor space and unsuitable accommodation. This is also the view of the Catholic Schools Office….”

The Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Broken Bay representative, read a report by that office indicating inherent problems of the site in meeting their standards Clearly there are significant problems with upgrading the former Catholic school site to current standards. However, this has to be balanced against the need for further primary school capacity in the immediate area.

The local government schools, Cammeray, Artarmon and Willoughby, are all at, or near capacity, Cammeray Public, having 10 demountables, Artarmon Primary 13 demountables and Willoughby 6.

The WCC report also stated that the local Catholic primary schools, St Phillip Neri (Northbridge) and St Thomas (Willoughby), cannot accommodate any more students. A recent North Shore Times article reported:

“North Shore public schools are bursting at the seams with 2009 enrolments already at capacity”.

As well as the increasing primary school age population, Cammeray Public has stated that it has been inundated with requests from parents wanting to leave the private school system and seeking places at Cammeray. So the need for additional school places is clear; how this can be achieved without re-opening a school in Naremburn is difficult to understand. Continued community support, opinions and involvement in the issue are needed.

Updated information and Working Party minutes, as available, will be on this website. The next Working Party meeting will be in February 2009 and will be followed by a further public meeting.

To view the latest Working Party minutes click here