Gills Creek Precinct

GILLS CREEK PRECINCT - HELENSBURGH

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Wollongong Council Review's Recommendations - amend the Environmental Plan 2009 by: • Rezoning land on both sides of Baines Place to IN2 Light Industry, to provide further local employment opportunities. ! (employment limited to Baines under this zoning) • Rezone the bushland area E2 Environmental Conservation (with an E3 Environmental Management zone retained around the existing dwellings - July 14 - WCC has announced that they are recommending to extend the industrial zoning right along and behind Baines Place, as per the submitted development sketch BELOW LEFT - Greatly endangering the purity of Gills and Kellys Creek (& therefore the Hacking River, the State Conservation area of Kellys Falls, wildlife corridor and the tourist-attractive village ambiance of 2508.

WCC Preliminary Review Recommendations
It is recommended that a planning proposal be prepared to amend the Wollongong Local Environmental Plan 2009 by:
• Rezoning land on both sides of Baines Place to IN2 Light Industry, to provide further local employment opportunities. (yeah right! at huge expense to the community & environment)
• Rezone the bushland area E2 Environmental Conservation (with an E3 Environmental Management zone retained around the existing dwellings).

Please e-sign the submission letter below to protest at the proposed development & industrial zonings for the Gills Creek precinct

- A brief review on the different precincts proposed for 2508 -submission letter
- general submission letter on retaining the E2 environmental protection across the majority of the 2508 area

	The Administrators Wollongong City Council Locked Bag 8821 Wollongong 2500 Preliminary Review 7D Lands - Gills Creek Precinct & Gateway Precinct Helensburgh
To:
Any Additional Comment you'd like to include :
Lette:
	I object to the adjacent and surrounding zoning of land of South-West Helensburgh as B6 Enterprise Corridor or industrial zoning, including but not limited to Baines Places, Lawrence Hargraves Drive and Princes Highway. This corridor is adjacent to the Sydney Water Catchment, F6 ramp Roundabout. & the tributary to Gills Creek. The concrete batching plant in Baines place is by Primary Industries's, EPA and Department of Planning definitions, an Extractive Industry and therefore not permitted under a IN2 zoning. Tourism -The majority of traffic flow to the Wildlife Park, Kellys Falls & Bald Hill hang-gliding either as a destination or impromptu is via the Roundabout Gateway on the Princes Hwy. It is also a thoroughfare to the start of the Grand Pacific Drive. The proposed enterprise corridor that allows new development ranging from brothels to heavy machinery depots and used car yards with flashing neon signs is not in keeping with the historical village ambience nor the tourism gateway to the south coast. Such development will deter tourists and swamp the area in a sea of concrete bunkers - all a threat to the water catchment, diminishing wildlife corridor and our tourism industry. A mixed zone of Tourism and E2 in this corridor would be far more beneficial to the 2508 area and environment. Employment opportunities would be increased with a conservation-tourist geared rezoning, whereas an industrial zoning to benefit cement manufacture would only offer very limited employment, and be greatly outweighed by the risk to the employment of surrounding tourist driven enterprise and the wildlife corridor. Threat to existing cafes/takeaway - As the entrance and outer fringe of the Helensburgh township, a B6 zoning allowing a multinational fast food operator, could severely jeopardise the future viability of takeaway and cafe food operators within the town. Local residents could completely miss the Walker St/Park St shops & tourists miss the cafes of Stanwell Park & Otford. Environment -Given the volatility of many industrial materials and chemicals, such B6 & industrial enterprise will also require extensive land clearing in the guise of fire hazard reduction. Further risking high soil erosion to the Wilsons Creek, Gills Creek and Sydney Water catchment . The former RTA site on the corner of Parkes St was known to contain buried drums of toxic waste. We risk accidental releases of similar with a prong of the first excavator. The wildlife habit corridor between the Royal National Park, Garrawarra and the Illawarra escarpment has already greatly diminished. ‘Fenced in’ by the F6 freeway, Pacific Ocean and rail corridor, these last fragments of bushland are essential to the movement of wildlife and biodiversity. Increased refuse, and litter will also be inevitable. Even Otford Rd bears testimony to regular vehicle discards of thickshake cups and hamburger cartons originating from 15km away. To reiterate, the Gateway and Gills Creek precinct should be a split of E2 and tourist/recreational zoning, to conserve the essential wildlife corridor and tributary creeks, and encourage tourists and visitors to the 2508 region. For the balance of the lands under review, we would like to register our approval of the Otford Protection Society Incorporated's Planning Proposal dated 30 April 2010 for ALL the previously zoned 7d lands to E2 Environmental Conservation, which also includes exit strategies for landowners. Yours faithfully
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              OnSubmit, form letter will automatically be forwarded to
              records@wollongong.nsw.gov.au.
              Or you mayprint it out to post a hard copy to them