Nothing ever changes if no-one speaks up. This is never truer than when applied to local and state governments!
Every year many terribly ill-conceived planning applications have been modified or refused because people have simply gone to the effort to point out what’s wrong.
Over the last 16 years the working group has spoken up on behalf of local residents on a range of important traffic and amenity issues at local and state level.
College of Fine Arts Redevelopment Campaign
Under the protection of a Crown Application that conveniently by-passes local council approval processes, it is alleged the University of New South Wales planned to push through a major development project.
Located on the College of Fine Arts (CoFA) campus in South-West Paddington, they planned to build an internationally significant art museum-cum-art gallery - but without any traffic/ impact plans or projections.
Recent changes to planning legislation means even more discretionary planning power resides at State level and the University could apply to the Minister should they not acheive the planning outcomes they desire.
Residents, students and staff at the faculty believe a world-class art gallery can be built on campus without ruining the home lives of hundreds of local people. In fact we think CoFA should be going much further with their plans and how they implement them.
We want to influence the key decision and policy-makers to represent both the interests of residents and CoFA, and change the plans put in front of them.
We love art and we also love our neighbours; and we are thrilled that CoFA plans to invest in their students and further the cause of art appreciation, but not at the cost of our day-to-day enjoyment of our homes and neighbourhood.
| What are the facts? |
| In a tough government spending climate, Universities need to make money to invest in their futures. Universities now have to be enterprising and are even having to increase charges to young Australians.
So we accept a commercially viable museum gallery as an inevitable fact, but CoFA planned to have the only attractive easy, level, direct, dry, safe, access to the new complex to be via a Reception Foyer on a tiny residential cul-de-sac at the back of the Campus!
Fact: there is already insufficient parking to meet local demand
Fact: based on conservative predictions by experienced town planners, the new facility will attract huge numbers of tourists and their transport
Fact: exhibitions need delivery trucks and access at unsocial hours
Fact: art galleries around Sydney are using gallery space to host private events to supplement their income
Fact: these often involve live music, young people and alcohol
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| What are the alternatives? |
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| First there is the holistic approach. For some time we have campaigned for a professional “masterplan” for the Paddington Campus that will benefit our community, CoFA and Sydney as a whole.
A “masterplan” isn’t just a woolly word either: it’s a planning expression that describes a written document supported by diagrams, architectural drawings and maps. Its aim is to present a series of planning alternatives that satisfy a wide range of criteria including: heritage and conservation considerations, ecological sustainability and public domain enhancement.
It shows graphically the proposed site layout and planning for the development of the land; the arrangement, footprint, envelopes and mix of buildings; pedestrian and vehicular access and movements; parking and open space arrangements.
Second is what we call the “worst case” scenario, where the plans on the table are changed so that the entrance to the proposed gallery/museum is located in a much more suitable position towards the front of the complex.
This will give excellent access for pedestrians, the elderly, the disabled and for delivery vehicles. Finally it will be much easier to locate and promote as it will abut the world-famous Oxford Street retail strip – a boon for CoFA.
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