Council lock-step with state government, critics say

Waverley Council will hold a second community consultation tonight (April 3) regarding its plans for West Oxford Street in Bondi and the Waverley Bus depot. The consultation is part of council’s ‘charrette’, an intensive planning and design phase, to develop a strategic plan for Bondi Junction.

Concerns have been raised the charrette may amend parameters that were set by Waverley’s Local Environment Plan (LEP) and the Development Control Plan (DCP) in 2012, with the Save West Oxford Street community group requesting clarification about its scope.

Waverley Greens councillor Dominic Wy Kanak said heritage provisions, existing zoning and airspace over Syd Einfeld Drive could all be at risk.

“Council confirmed that there are no parameters,” he told the Bondi View.

But Waverley Mayor Sally Betts argued the process will allow residents to give feedback and help council develop a comprehensive strategic plan that best benefits the area.

“We want to involve the community from the beginning,” she said.

“The state government is looking to shift the way we look at planning [and] we are saying, ‘Let’s look at this area strategically – what do you want?’”

“We are talking about buildings, parks, traffic, amenity and asking residents, ‘What do you want your world to look like? Do you want another childcare centre, do you want more playground equipment?”

But Mr Wy Kanak said council was aligning itself to a pro-developmental agenda which could prove detrimental for the local community.

“Council appears to be aligning with the O’Farrell government’s asset sales objectives by reviewing the zoning status of the bus depot, and is also responding to developer pressure in a climate of planning laissez-faire (anything goes) to re-shape the western end of Bondi Junction,” he said.

Labor councillor Paula Masselos argued council should stand firm about enforcing the existing guidelines in the LEP, putting the interests of the community first.

“There is a potential to make Bondi Junction even more congested. Do you know what a crawl it is to go up Oxford Street? We shouldn’t be looking at a design charrette that has the potential to challenge the existing LEP,” she said.

But a spokesperson for Waverley Council said any changes to the LEP and DCP will necessitate comprehensive community input and discussion.

Labor councillor John Wakefield said a lack of transparency in discussions surrounding the future of the Waverley Bus depot is the bigger issue.

“With full transparency, if the mayor had declared her meeting with the minister responsible for the sale of the bus depot…would the councillors have made the same decision?” he asked.

Mayor Sally Betts responded that there is no hidden agenda, with a mayoral report on the discussions to be presented before Waverley Council on April 22.

“The state government said at some stage in the future they are interested in maximising all of their properties [but] there was no plan,” she said.

“We arranged a meeting to ask what their intention was [but] they did not say ‘sell the bus depot’. We told them we had a master plan for Bondi Junction. I’m not sure what’s not transparent [here],” she said.

A spokesperson for Waverley Council said council is adopting a strategic approach to planning.

“We are asking the community what they want their precinct to look and feel like. It is not only a matter of buildings: it is about…making Bondi Junction a sustainable liveable city.”

The second community consultation will be held from 5:30 to 7:30pm tonight, April 3, at the Waverley Library Theatrette in Bondi Junction.

With Daniel Paperny