Summary of Bays Precinct Leadership Summit and Sydneysiders Summit

On display were 4 Bays Destinations.  These are identified as the first of 7 Destinations to be tackled:

·       Bays Waterfront Promenade – takes in the Bank Street and Blackwattle Bay foreshore, including the Sydney Fish Markets.  Basically providing a continuous link from Pyrmont to the Glebe Foreshore foreshore walkway (although it seems to miss the gap between the Hansons site and the end of the Glebe walkway).

·       Bays Market District – Also encompasses Blackwattle Bay around to the Glebe Island Bridge (but excludes the bridge abutment) at the end of Bank Street.  Basically focussed on the SFM but proposing fresh food markets and outlets along BW Bay foreshore.  Hidden in the talks was reference to some residential which we assume will pay for the public works.  See Sunday’s Sun-Herald article on one Grand Project with a 32-storey residential tower.

·       White Bay Power Station – takes in the heritage buildings and forecourt down to the head of White Bay and including  White Bay wharves 1 and 2 (and maybe 3).  The objectives tend towards it being a job-creation hub, rather than a grand Tate Modern vision.

·       White Bay Cruise Passenger Terminal – Appears to recognise the need to open this facility for much greater local community access.  The Urban Growth speakers did not rule out a ferry service and we can press for cafes/restaurants, noting that there are few ships docking there out of season (none in the past 3 weeks or so).

Noting that there are immediate plans for a doubling the capacity of the luxury cruiser facility and dry boat storage in Rozelle Bay, Urban Growth have identified other Destinations for mid to longer term  development:

·       Rozelle Bay and Bays Waterways – Appears to be focused on powered vessels, with no reference to rowers (there for 130 years) or dragon boaters.   They plan to integrate a mix of new land and maritime uses and other living uses (do they mean residential?) with working harbour (eg Waterways) and on-water recreation facilities (ie jetties, marinas, etc.)   An aside is that it would include better public waterfront access.   UG acknowledged that there was a substantial and unresolved conflict with the idea of a continuous foreshore walkway and the development of more super-yacht and dry boat storage in Rozelle Bay.

·       Rozelle Rail Yards – Development of this area hinges on the future of Westconnex and takes account that some of it is earmarked for light rail stabling.   Also proposed is mixed housing and better north-south linkages across the site.

·       Glebe Island – Long term project as it is earmarked as a deep water port for the foreseeable future but proposed to have public foreshore access at some stage.

The two biggest impediments to achieving good outcomes for any of these Destinations are:

Traffic and Transport

Coordination of all relevant Government departments and agencies

It is proposed to double the visitation to the Sydney Fish Markets.  This can only be achieved with a drastic change to the Pyrmont Interchange and Bridge Road/Wattle Street intersection.   In addition, there will need to be additional public transport.  Ferry services were mentioned at the Summit.

The other big question is whether Urban Growth will have the authority to over-ride departmental obstruction in order to meet its principles and objectives for the Bays Precinct.   So far the rhetoric is a case of hope over experience.

Urban Growth is also launching a call for Great Ideas.  Of course, we’ve had great ideas spanning 20 years, all of which have been incorporated in Master Plans over this period.  The catch is that the community’s ideas will be evaluated alongside Grand Ideas from the likes of Meriton, Lend Lease and Mirvac – and we have been given the same short timeframe to work up our proposals.  Some developers have already prepared detailed plans (eg the Chinese investor hopeful in the SFM).  The Call for Great Ideas opens from 25 May to 6 July.   They will be evaluated against objectives outlined in Transforming City Living:  The Bays Precinct.   The Great Ideas will be categorised according to their contribution to achieving the ambition and objectives.   As most of the objectives relate to job-creation, housing choices, transport and traffic systems and building design; or to specific sites eg White Bay Power Station, the Sydney Fish Markets or White Bay CPT, it’s difficult to see how we can meet more than two objectives (out of a total of 9).   The only Categories that would fit the Bank Street Foreshore Park Project are 3 – Great Ideas that exceed or meet one or more objective, but not all; and Category 4 – Good Ideas.

A number of us are proposing to work up a Good Idea Project for Bank Street Foreshore Park.  This was raised by several speakers at the Leadership Summit and generated considerable interest, also in discussions at the Sydneysiders Summit on Saturday.   The project would include all sites zoned Public Recreation, including the proposed park site, the Sydney Heritage Fleet site, 1 Bank St, the small adjacent RMS site and the Glebe Island Bridge abutment.   We are in touch with a Landscape Architecture student who is working with a team on a class project for the site and may be able to assist with ideas and graphics.  Discussions have taken place with SHF re temporarily accommodating the dragon boats on its site and more representations will be made to the Minister for Finance (now in control of 1 Bank Street) to allow the Pyrmont Heritage Boating Club to be located on the SHFA site.  Senior officers of Urban Growth undertook to take this up with the relevant government officers as a matter of urgency, as PHBC has been advised that it will receive a notice to quit its current site.

The Bays Community Coalition has organised the Bays Community Submission Workshop at 2.30-4.30pm on 7 June, 2015 at Leichhardt Town Hall.   We urge people to come to this important meeting to provide input to a community submission on the proposals presented at the Summits.   Submissions are due 30 June, 2015, so there’s very little time.    In fact, the short timeframe contravenes UG’s Principle 4 which states:  “Allow the time to invest in genuine and early engagement with, and broad acceptance of our plans from all categories of the public, government and industry”.

Visit the Urban Growth website for full details:  www.thebayssydney.com.au.   Also visit http://bayscommunitycoalition.com/ for news and views from the Bays Community Coalition.

Elizabeth Elenius

Convenor, Pyrmont Action Inc.

Anzac Day Service

Pyrmont Action Inc, represented by Elizabeth Elenius, Convenor, participated in the Union Square 

Anzac Day Service, conducted by the Rev Niall Reid of the Mustard Seed Church.   Elizabeth laid a sheaf of native flowers on behalf of PA members, many of whom attended the service.  The ceremony was also attended by the Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, and Alex Greenwich, representing NSW Parliament.  The Mustard Seed Choir led the singing of Abide with Me, the Recessional and the National Anthem.   As with previous years, the addresses focused on the message of peace and kindness.   There was a record attendance at the service from babes in arms through to the elderly, and WW1 Pyrmont veteran families were well represented.   The official ceremony was followed by a wonderful morning tea provided by Bartino’s restaurant, ably assisted by local volunteers – a great chance to catch up with our neighbours and friends.

Powerhouse Museum Submission

9 March, 2015

The Hon. Mike Baird

Premier

NSW Government

52 Martin Place
Sydney NSW 2000

Dear Premier

Re: Proposed Sale of Powerhouse Museum

Pyrmont Action Inc is an organisation established to work with governments, residents, business and community groups to improve the amenity of Pyrmont. 

We oppose the sale of the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo and its relocation to Parramatta, but strongly support the establishment of new cultural facilities in Western Sydney which could house part of the collections of the Powerhouse Museum, the Art Gallery of NSW and the Museum of Contemporary Art, currently in storage and unable to be displayed through lack of room.

The Powerhouse Museum has been located in Ultimo since 1893.  The Technological Museum was originally housed in what is now the Sydney Institute of Technology in Harris Street, Ultimo.  It moved to its current premises, formerly a power station, as part of what is now a cultural, educational and community precinct, also comprising the Ultimo Community Centre and Library, the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre, the ABC, UTS and SIT.   It continues to be a central part of everyday life for Ultimo, Pyrmont and Haymarket residents, reinforcing the historical links to the area’s industrial past.   Indeed, the City of Sydney, in its Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision identified the forecourt of the Powerhouse Musum as the hub for its Ultimo/Pyrmont Village.  It is one of the few public spaces remaining among the ever-increasing urban densification occurring in the Inner West of Sydney. 

The activation of the Goods Line linking Central Station to the Powerhouse and Darling Harbour increases visitor access to this public precinct.  These few public facilities, including the Powerhouse, will provide important amenities to the thousands of residents and students moving into the new Darling Walk development.  Given the paucity of public cultural amenities in Pyrmont/Ultimo/Haymarket, it is vital that those that remain are not only retained but revitalised.

The Powerhouse Museum building in Ultimo should not be sold but continue to serve the social, educational and cultural needs of both the local and wider communities.  Our strong preference is for it to continue to operate as a technological and design museum but perhaps with a new focus – one that demonstrates Sydney’s industrial history as well as current and future workplace and technology trends.   It is interesting to note that Ultimo has been identified as the largest IT hub in Australia, with Pyrmont being number 3.   The Powerhouse, as part-IT technology incubator, is ideally placed to provide the connection between the nearby universities and Sydney’s financial/services sector.   But experience at the Australian Technology Park demonstrates that only a government-owned incubator will work. 

Let’s keep the Powerhouse as a public space in which to display the transition from the old technologies to the new.  Reinvigorated as a showcase for innovation it can inspire our children and grandchildren to become the inventors and designers of the future.   The Powerhouse should not be sold for private development. 

Yours sincerely,

Elizabeth Elenius, Convenor

cc Troy Grant, Deputy Premier, Alex Greenwich MP, Clr Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney