When:  Wednesday 7th, December at 6.30pm

Where:  22 Woolwich Road, Hunters Hill

Cost: $45 per person

RSVP with cheque to The Secretary, PO Box 85, Hunters Hill, 2110

or bank transfer (please include your name) Westpac, Gladesville BSB  032 185  Account No. 500 410

Explore the beautiful foreshores of Hunters Hill with commentary from local historians Graham Percival and Phil Jenkyn.  Board the historic Rosman ferry, Lithgow at Alexandra  Street Wharf, Hunters Hill.

2pm-5pm Sunday 30th October limit of 40 passengers

2pm-5pm Wednesday November 9th limit 18 passengers

Bookings:  Sally Gaunt 9816-4047.  If you are on a waiting list for this cruise, please CONTACT Sally to confirm your place. 

The wording was researched by Beverley Sherry (image below) historian, author of the book Hunters Hill:  Australia’s Oldest Garden Suburb, and member of the Hunters Hill Trust.  This project of the Hunters Hill Historical Society and Hunters Hill Council was sponsored by the Armati family as part of the Council’s sesquicentenary celebrations.

There will be brochure that shows a map of the sites.  Everyone is invited to the opening event: 10:00 am on Saturday, 19 November at Hunters Hill Town Hall.  This will be followed by a Jacaranda Walk. Enquiries:  9878 9443.

We await the results of the recent community meeting convened by the Health Department.  For more information contact Laura Hendry Parsons 1800 252 050 or email gladesvillemasterplan@kjassoc.com.au.

FENCE FACTS

Approval  Generally fences in Hunters Hill need development approval, so that Council  can assess their impact on the character of the area.  This is particularly the case for Hunters Hill High, which is in Conservation Area No 1 and on a very prominent site with a very wide frontage to the Lane Cove River.

The Department of Education did not submit a development application to Council for the fence.  In December 2010 the Government Architects Office simply sent an Impact Assessment Report, which supported the fence.  Council’s Conservation Advisory Panel advised Council that the proposed fence would have an unacceptable visual impact and alternatives should be considered.

When Council expressed concerns with the Government Architect’s Assessment Report they were advised that the fencing works would proceed under SEPP (Infrastructure) 2007, which prevails over SREP (Sydney Harbour Catchment) 2005.  In other words – we’ll go ahead with this whether you like it or not.

In February 2011, four days after Councillors were briefed about the issue, construction of the fence commenced.  There was no consultation with neighbours who would be affected by the fence and the concerns expressed by Council were ignored.

Other approaches  Other local institutions, like the Marist Fathers in Mary Street, and Riverview across the river allow people freely into their grounds because they understand that this creates in the community a sense of inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness.

Hunters Hill Public School was offered a standard 2100mm high fence but, recognising its place in the Conservation Area, opted to retain its existing 1000mm high timber picket fence along Alexandra Street.

The original fence along the 3 Patriots Walk was negotiated by Council with the Department to be 1200mm high, recognising its need to be low key.  For 53 years since the school opened in 1958 it has informally allowed the community access to the oval and until recently did not even have the no-trespassing signs on the fence.

Community reactions  Many people are dismayed by the high-handedness of the Department and the school in their dealings with the community. Many people are appalled by the eyesore that the fence has created, particularly along the waterfront.  These people include those who worked in close consultation with the school and the Department to have the 3 Patriots Walk opened for public access as well as those who joined in the fight to save Hunters Hill High from closure.

The views expressed in the various submissions objecting to the fence submitted by The Trust and in The Trust’s letter to the P and C are not just the views of one person, they are the views of The Trust, which represents around 400 members who are mostly residents of Hunters Hill.  Five members of The Trust’s executive committee of nine are the parents of former Hunters Hill High students and one member is a recent past secretary of the P and C.

The community that worked long and hard to save Hunters Hill High school from closure is shocked by the high handed approach that the High School has taken towards its local community.

The Department has built 2100mm fencing around most its site, including the shoreline and the Three Patriot’s walk in the apparent belief that this will make the school and students more secure, when security will actually come from building connectedness, respect and community engagement.

This eysore divides the school from the community that supports it and also contravenes Council’s standards and guidelines as well as the Sydney Regional Environment Plan (Sydney Harbour Catchment) 2005, which is supposed to ensure the protection of the harbour: “as an outstanding natural asset, and as a public asset of national and heritage significance for existing and future generations.”

The school’s P & C President is lobbying parents to write to our State MP Anthony Roberts in defence of the fence.  Please support the HH Trust and HH Council in their efforts to have the fence replaced with one that conforms with Council’s fencing policy.  Tell Anthony Roberts, MP  your views about the value of the HH riverfront:  http://huntershilltrust.org.au/?p=596 Hunters Hill Council has won its case at the Land & Environment Court which supported Council’s rejection of the 4 storey  ‘shop-top housing development’ planned on the old bank sites at 58-60 Gladesville Road at the overpass.