progress actions
18 October 2019 Proposed Service Station for 795 Medowie Rd
After discussing the proposed Service Station DA [for the west side of Medowie Rd, 150m north of the Ferodale Rd roundabout] at the July19 progress meeting, I contacted Council staff to ask why this DA had not been put on public exhibition given that it was a development of Council owned land + it was “likely to be of significant community interest” + it was a “Council project above $100,000”; refer PSC-DCP page A13: http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/grow/development-controls-plans-and-strategies/dcp
With the support of Cr Chris Doohan, the proposed DA has again been advertised in the Examiner and submissions called for; but it still has not been put on public exhibition, which is surprising given that a proposed Service Station at Williamtown is currently on public exhibition: http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/your-council/about-council/public-exhibition.
In any case, the documents associated with the proposed Medowie Rd Service Station [over 200 pages] can be viewed at: http://datracker.portstephens.nsw.gov.au via the SEARCH option; reference# 16-2019-339-1 [address 795 Medowie Rd]
AS PER PSC INSTRUCTION:
“Should you wish to contact council to make enquiries regarding applications displayed on the website, please contact council either by email Developmentand.BuildingAdmin@portstephens.nsw.gov.au, phone 02 4988 0255 during normal office hours or in writing to 116 Adelaide Street,Raymond Terrace NSW . All correspondence should be addressed to the General Manager and quote the relevant application reference number.”
Submissions close on 25th October 2019.
It has been reported at recent Progress meetings that Council has an updated Traffic Study for Medowie, yet the proposed Service Station DA still references 2009 data from a 2012 study.
Given the proximity of the proposed Service Station (and workshop) to the Medowie Rd / Ferodale Rd intersection and proposed Town Centre;
+ prospect of traffic lights at that same intersection in the future [not discussed in any of the reports] as well as future expansion to 4 x lanes ;
+ the prospect that the a significant portion of Medowie’s vehicle movements will come from the higher density North East quadrant of Medowie, potentially turning across Medowie Rd (when southbound);
it is reasonable that the Medowie community is provided with up-to-date traffic data & analysis prior to further consideration by Council.
Also, the draft Medowie Planning Strategy http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/grow/local-area-planning-strategies/medowie-strategy states on Page 3 [Planning Framework] that the Town Centre Master Plan is complete … but clearly this is not the case, as the Town Centre diagrams are out of date when viewed through the lens of current development proposals.
The reports associated with the proposed Medowie Rd Service Station state (based on 2009 traffic movements) that traffic delays will be acceptable up until 2029 [a decade away]. Given that that the draft Medowie Planning Strategy has a 20 year focus, what assurances can Council provide, beyond the next decade, that traffic flow in and around our town centre will not be constrained by the proposed Medowie Rd Service Station?
When this DA was first highlighted a few months ago on a Medowie Community Facebook Group, many of the hundreds of comments questioned if this Council owned land would be better utilised for other purposes; eg. a police or ambulance services? As a result of those questions, and discussion at Progress meetings, I contacted Kate Washington MP with that same question. Kate has approached the relevant Ministers seeking advice about future plans for police and ambulance infrastructure for Medowie.
It is therefore reasonable for Council to take on board State Govt input in regards to the best use of Council (community) owned land [once that advice has been provided] + the updated traffic data + a finalisation of the Town Centre Master Plan [costed], in addition to community submissions; before further considering this DA.
Of course, without community submissions the DA is likely to be passed, and Medowie residents will have to live with the result of that. So, I encourage everyone who desires free flowing traffic [and other Town Centre considerations] to be factored into Council’s decision process to put in a submission by the 25th October, as per the instructions above. In the experience of Medowie Progress, only a significant volume of individual submissions is likely to get a better outcome for Medowie; ie. petitions and template letters are treated as 1 x submission … so it is best for everyone to submit in their own words, with their own concerns.
As the proposed Medowie Rd Service Station DA has not been put on public exhibition, I encourage you to share this information with other residents who have an active interest in the future of Medowie.
We will be further discussing Town Centre development at our 28th October & 25th November meetings, along with the other Progress Items: https://medowie.nsw.au/mpa-progress-items.html
Cheers
Scott Broadhead
President
Medowie Progress Association
www.medowie.nsw.au/progress
After discussing the proposed Service Station DA [for the west side of Medowie Rd, 150m north of the Ferodale Rd roundabout] at the July19 progress meeting, I contacted Council staff to ask why this DA had not been put on public exhibition given that it was a development of Council owned land + it was “likely to be of significant community interest” + it was a “Council project above $100,000”; refer PSC-DCP page A13: http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/grow/development-controls-plans-and-strategies/dcp
With the support of Cr Chris Doohan, the proposed DA has again been advertised in the Examiner and submissions called for; but it still has not been put on public exhibition, which is surprising given that a proposed Service Station at Williamtown is currently on public exhibition: http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/your-council/about-council/public-exhibition.
In any case, the documents associated with the proposed Medowie Rd Service Station [over 200 pages] can be viewed at: http://datracker.portstephens.nsw.gov.au via the SEARCH option; reference# 16-2019-339-1 [address 795 Medowie Rd]
AS PER PSC INSTRUCTION:
“Should you wish to contact council to make enquiries regarding applications displayed on the website, please contact council either by email Developmentand.BuildingAdmin@portstephens.nsw.gov.au, phone 02 4988 0255 during normal office hours or in writing to 116 Adelaide Street,Raymond Terrace NSW . All correspondence should be addressed to the General Manager and quote the relevant application reference number.”
Submissions close on 25th October 2019.
It has been reported at recent Progress meetings that Council has an updated Traffic Study for Medowie, yet the proposed Service Station DA still references 2009 data from a 2012 study.
Given the proximity of the proposed Service Station (and workshop) to the Medowie Rd / Ferodale Rd intersection and proposed Town Centre;
+ prospect of traffic lights at that same intersection in the future [not discussed in any of the reports] as well as future expansion to 4 x lanes ;
+ the prospect that the a significant portion of Medowie’s vehicle movements will come from the higher density North East quadrant of Medowie, potentially turning across Medowie Rd (when southbound);
it is reasonable that the Medowie community is provided with up-to-date traffic data & analysis prior to further consideration by Council.
Also, the draft Medowie Planning Strategy http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/grow/local-area-planning-strategies/medowie-strategy states on Page 3 [Planning Framework] that the Town Centre Master Plan is complete … but clearly this is not the case, as the Town Centre diagrams are out of date when viewed through the lens of current development proposals.
The reports associated with the proposed Medowie Rd Service Station state (based on 2009 traffic movements) that traffic delays will be acceptable up until 2029 [a decade away]. Given that that the draft Medowie Planning Strategy has a 20 year focus, what assurances can Council provide, beyond the next decade, that traffic flow in and around our town centre will not be constrained by the proposed Medowie Rd Service Station?
When this DA was first highlighted a few months ago on a Medowie Community Facebook Group, many of the hundreds of comments questioned if this Council owned land would be better utilised for other purposes; eg. a police or ambulance services? As a result of those questions, and discussion at Progress meetings, I contacted Kate Washington MP with that same question. Kate has approached the relevant Ministers seeking advice about future plans for police and ambulance infrastructure for Medowie.
It is therefore reasonable for Council to take on board State Govt input in regards to the best use of Council (community) owned land [once that advice has been provided] + the updated traffic data + a finalisation of the Town Centre Master Plan [costed], in addition to community submissions; before further considering this DA.
Of course, without community submissions the DA is likely to be passed, and Medowie residents will have to live with the result of that. So, I encourage everyone who desires free flowing traffic [and other Town Centre considerations] to be factored into Council’s decision process to put in a submission by the 25th October, as per the instructions above. In the experience of Medowie Progress, only a significant volume of individual submissions is likely to get a better outcome for Medowie; ie. petitions and template letters are treated as 1 x submission … so it is best for everyone to submit in their own words, with their own concerns.
As the proposed Medowie Rd Service Station DA has not been put on public exhibition, I encourage you to share this information with other residents who have an active interest in the future of Medowie.
We will be further discussing Town Centre development at our 28th October & 25th November meetings, along with the other Progress Items: https://medowie.nsw.au/mpa-progress-items.html
Cheers
Scott Broadhead
President
Medowie Progress Association
www.medowie.nsw.au/progress