Big developments planned for the far north

By Michelle Neathercote
A number of major development applications currently lodged with Wollongong Council could soon have a significant impact on the appearance and function of the commercial centres of the far northern suburbs of the Illawarra, if they are approved.
The developer of the former Helensburgh Workers Club site on Walker Street has recently gained formal approval for the “construction of mixed use development comprising of eight retail, and twenty two residential apartments with ancillary parking”.
Their original application was rejected three times by the Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel despite Council planners giving their support each time the application was considered by the IHAP. Following intense lobbying by local residents and community representatives, it was granted approval in December 2009 by the Wollongong Council administrators after the developers amended their plans to incorporate a large number of recommendations made by the IHAP.
At the same time, on 11th December Wollongong Council received another development application for 61-63 Walker St, Helensburgh with the notification period starting on 4th January. The application involves demolishing the existing buildings and constructing a multi-unit building containing 18 units, two commercial premises and basement parking.
In Stanwell Park, two separate development applications have also just been lodged with Council that focus on the ‘commercial district’ of the seaside village. The different developers are seeking to replace a number of existing older buildings, including Ruby’s café, with three storey buildings containing a mix of commercial and residential units.
The applications are similar in theme to the already approved multi-storey development on the site of the existing Park Life café, which will
include seven residential units, with five of the units as three level apartments, retail premises, a forecourt plaza and basement car parking for sixteen vehicles.

The community group Friends of Stanwell Park stated at the time that “most residents strongly objected to an urban style development in a coastal village setting and this particular application was not seen as an appropriate addition to the small scale commercial area of Stanwell Park”.
If the new development applications are approved in their present form, the land area between Peppies Corner store and the Park Life Café on Lawrence Hargrave Drive will be massively transformed into a high density urban strip with remaining blocks under great pressure to be caught up in the current development juggernaut.
It appears the end of the year and traditional holiday season is a very popular time to lodge major development applications.
Anyone interested in discussing the impact of development on their local area should attend the Neighbourhood Forum Meeting on Wednesday, 10 February, 7pm at the Community Centre.

Greens ‘see red’ over 7D zonings

The New South Wales Greens have used the protection of parliamentary privilege to name companies and individuals it believes have unfairly obtained benefits from land deals in Helensburgh.
The Greens allege that as a result of missing land title records, Wollongong Council accepted rates notices as proof of ownership of numerous lots of land.
The Council administrators are currently going through a process to rezone 7D lands at Helensburgh, Otford and Stanwell Tops to E3, to allow the land to be built on.
Greens' MLC Sylvia Hale has called on the Minister for Lands to investigate the ownership of lands under question.
"Yes, I think there have been some very odd transactions take place concerning land”.
“The upshot of those transactions may well have been that public land has been transferred into private hands," she said.
The Department of Lands says the matter is being looked into but “as it involves archived records it could take some time”.
The Member for Heathcote, Paul McLeay, says he is unaware of the issue and will also look into it.

Time to ‘retire’ after two decades of work for HDN

After nearly twenty years of dedicated service to our local community through her work for the Helensburgh and District News (HDN), Cris Payne is ‘retiring’ as advertising co-ordinator.
The choice to step down as a HDN volunteer has not been an easy one but Cris said she would like to spend a little more time travelling with her husband Geoff.
“It’s such a massive effort and I think Cris more than deserves to take some time out to travel and to spend time in her beautiful and much loved garden,” said Lyn Johnson, a friend of Cris’ who also volunteers for HDN.
The HDN team have all been incredibly impressed with Cris’ work to keep the much loved community paper running over such a long time and through so much local change.
Everyone in the HDN team would like to personally thank Cris for her services to the paper and to the broader community and to wish her well as she sets out on new adventures.
The new advertising coordinator is Angela Fagerstrom. Angela looks forward to helping local businesses in the advertising role.

Paramedics from Finland work in the Illawarra

By Ian Hanna, District Manager, Illawarra Sector
On Tuesday 22 December 2009, two paramedics from Finland joined paramedics from the Illawarra to see first hand the differences and similarities shared by the professions  from opposite hemispheres.
Intensive Care Paramedic Christina Luoto and her niece Paramedic Viivi Luoto from Finland were visiting Australia and have completed working and training with the paramedics from the Wollongong Ambulance Station. The idea is to exchange information and to see how the other half treat and transport patients and to continue to deliver a world class service to the people in the Illawarra.
Discussions between paramedics ranged between hypothermia (cold weather exposure) and hyperthermia (heat stroke), multi trauma patients and cardiac treatments. It was noted that both services were trialling better treatments in the field of early pre-hospital cardiac intervention.
Christina said that all our equipment is very similar to theirs, even down to the set up of our vehicles. The Lifepack 15 defibrillators, oxygen equipment and medicines we use are identical to that in Finland, except for the spelling and pronunciation of course.
 Christina also noted the type of medical cases is very similar except for the motor vehicle accidents which are a daily occurrence for paramedics in Wollongong but a rarity in Finland.
Viivi loved the warm weather, commenting on how different it is here not having to keep everything warm and stop the medicines from freezing.
When asked what is the temperature over in Finland at the moment Viivi replied, "a very normal minus 27 degrees.”
She also  noted that "the work load in the Illawarra was much busier than  I am used to. We work a 24 hour shift where we may do seven cases and then have three days off. Today in an 11 hour shift we did 11 cases and have to come back tomorrow.”
Christina and Viivi both enjoyed their experience in the Illawarra and take valuable experience in the treatment of heat exposure and high speed motor vehicle trauma back to their colleagues in Finland.
Christina and Viivi would like to thank Frank Michlmayr, Tony Ryan, Corey Hammer and Craig Pusser for the training and friendship during their stay.
The invitation is now open to Illawarra paramedics to travel to Finland to experience first hand their treatment of minus degree illnesses and of course the Finnish hospitality.

Return of the Little Prince

By Geoffrey Sykes
In this beautiful retelling and sequel to the classical French story, the Little Prince leaves his planet and returns to Earth.. Themes of climate and the Earth are mixed with fun and over an hour of outstanding new musical composition, song and fast paced acting. This show continues the tradition of quality theatre presented at the Chapel last year. "Tremendous", "loved it", "fantastic", "beautiful" were a few of many comments about past shows.
This current work is guaranteed to please all ages and tastes, and includes rich visual imagery. It features outstanding performances by  Erin Brookhouse, Irene Kokotatsios and Jack Michel.
Friday and Saturday, February 25, 26, March 5,6. 7.30 PM.
Ticket prices - Adults $20, Family (2 adults + 2 kids) $45, additional children (over the family of  four) $5, all others $12..
Bookings 42941695 or at Helensburgh Newsagency or for more information go to www.bushchapel.com.au/art_scene.html

Charles Harper Park a designated bushfire refuge

By Michelle Neathercote
Helensburgh’s Charles Harper Park has been listed by the Rural Fire Service as a "place of last resort" in a bushfire emergency.
Pinecourt Park in Austinmer and Charles Harper Park in Helensburgh are the only two places listed in the Wollongong City Council area designated as RFS neighbourhood safer places.
The Rural Fire Services zone manager Superintendent Richard Cotterill said neighbourhood safer places were intended to be a refuge-type arrangement.
"Neighbourhood safer places are not places of first resort but somewhere to go as an absolute last resort,” Superintendent Richard Cotterill said.
"They are for people who have done a bushfire plan, and if that plan fails they need to leave.”
The RFS recommends everyone have a bushfire action plan, whether it be to evacuate early or stay and defend a well designed and prepared house.
"A bushfire action plan should have resaidents moving well away from the area well before (the fire front hits their home) or defending well designed and constructed houses," Superintendent Richard Cotterill said.
The nature of the escarpment being so close to the ocean meant there were few places in the Illawarra which met the requirements of a neighbourhood safer place but Mr Cotterill said most residents could head for the nearest beach if they had nowhere else to go.

New fatigue guidelines for safer mining

 A new safety guideline has been developed to help workers in the NSW mining industry monitor and manage the risk of fatigue, both at work and at home.
A guide to developing and implementing a fatigue management plan has been developed by the NSW Mine Safety Advisory Council. It brings together advice on what contributes to fatigue, including work and non work related causes, who needs a fatigue management plan and how to manage the risks of fatigue
NSW Minerals Council CEO Dr Nikki Williams said safety was the mining industry's number one priority and fatigue management was one of the key areas where it continued to innovate and improve.
"There is nothing more important than the safety of the men and women working in our mines. Safety is everyone's responsibility and this guideline will help both companies and individuals identify fatigue hazards and put measures in place to control the risks," Dr Williams said.
"One of the benefits of this guideline is a new list of triggers that may contribute to fatigue and a range of control measures that could be included in a personal fatigue management plan.
“It's the sort of thing that can be put into practice on the job, but also be just as relevant away from work for the 30,000 people employed in mining.
"The industry has been addressing hours of work and fatigue management for some time. This guideline builds on the work being done to improve safety and shows what the industry is achieving by working in the spirit of cooperation at the NSW Mine Safety Advisory Council.”