Water Police site to become a public park

[Fabian]

Another harbourside park for Sydney which has been saved from falling to developers. It's a big win for the residents of Pyrmont.

From The Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au)

Parkland to the people: council votes to buy harbourside sites
By Tim Dick and Anne Davies
June 2, 2004

Pyrmont's former Water Police site is poised to become a harbourside park - and add another missing piece to the harbour foreshore walk - after the City of Sydney resolved to spend $11 million to buy the land.

If all goes to plan, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority will also hand over neighbouring Pyrmont Point Park, two smaller parks nearby and the control of seven roads in the area.

The Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said the council had reached an in principle agreement with the authority to buy the 1.8-hectare site, previously slated for development that might have delivered the authority a $30 million windfall.

It is a big win for Cr Moore and Marcelle Hoff, who successfully stood on the Moore election ticket after leading local opposition to development on the site.

The council, being the richest in the state, has no problems finding the money to buy the land. Its accounts recorded a $66.4 million operating surplus in the financial year to the end of March. That is expected to increase to $70 million by the end of this month.

Cr Moore yesterday described the development as fantastic, saying the council had unanimously supported it.

"This is something for all of Sydney - open space and a harbour walkway, which is part of our vision for the city," she said.

Cr Moore left the exact shape of the expected park open, pending community debate.

"We hope these negotiations will be concluded as quickly as possible, and then we will embark on comprehensive consultation," she said. "We are hopeful of seeing a landscaped harbour foreshore park in the life of this council.

"I think many people thought 18 months ago it was a lost cause. We have not given up, and it's been a very effective campaign."

Cr Moore said she believed the State Government would support the move.

She understood that the plan had been discussed at length with the Minister for Planning, Craig Knowles, during regular consultations with the authority.

A spokeswoman for Mr Knowles, who has to approve the deal, said there appeared to be no serious impediment to the handover, but "we're not quite within sight of the tape".

"You know how difficult it is to buy a house," the spokeswoman said. "This is bigger than a house. The devil's always in the detail."

The authority's chief executive, Robert Lang, was more positive, saying it was timely that ownership would now go to the city.

He said "we are confident that the proposal by the city . . . represents a great outcome for residents and businesses at Pyrmont". This is despite an authority sign still proclaiming the site as "perfect harbourside living", betraying its earlier intentions. A 13-storey tower block had been proposed for the site.

A spokesman said that although the site's $11 million price tag was less than its commercial value had it been developed, it was an "appropriate price" given the council's intention to create a park.

Cr Hoff, who remains president of the Friends of Pyrmont Point and lives near the park, said she was delighted, but praised others for the win. "It wasn't just me. It was a concerted effort on the part of the community. There was an enormous community groundswell."

[CULWULLA]

silly idea! pyrmont already has lots of park areas. it wasnt like this proposal was bad or anything. i give up.

[Tony P]

Great! Another park for Pyrmont in which nobody will set foot apon!

[Tony P]

What's worse, is that the building slated for this site was an Engelen Moore design. Now, I'm really MAD!

[CULWULLA]

from todays tele

Artist’s impression – Pyrmont Point reclaimed as a public recreational space.

The City’s plan to acquire the former Water Police 1,825 ha site at Pyrmont Point for $11 million is now one step closer to a successful conclusion
The City’s plan to acquire the former Water Police 1,825 ha site at Pyrmont Point for $11 million is now one step closer to a successful conclusion.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the City of Sydney and the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA) was signed on 25 June.

This is a win for all Sydney as well as for local communities, with more harbour foreshore preserved as public recreational space.

The community strongly opposed commercial development of the site, and I pay tribute to Councillor Marcelle Hoff, the Friends of Pyrmont Point, the CFMEU and all others who fought to retain the site in the public domain. I commend the initiative of the City’s General Manager, Robert Domm and his staff who negotiated the successful outcome, and thank all Councillors for their unanimous support to purchase the site.


The former Water Police site is a vital link in a continuous Harbour Foreshore walkway.

The agreement has the support of the Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, Craig Knowles, and shows what can be achieved when City and State work cooperatively for the public good.

Reclaiming the Water Police site is a key step in the plan for continuous parks and walkways around the Sydney Harbour foreshore, from Glebe to Rushcutters Bay .

Once acquisition is finalised, the site will be transformed into a park. We will consult you on all aspects of its design.


http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/citynews/2004_August/images/main_hd.jpg

[Grollo]

Why not use half of the site for a tower and the other half for a park?

[CULWULLA]

the original proposal was for 3 x 4storey high bldgs and 1x 12storey. but nimbys put up a stink!

[MrTall]

That's it, I'm moving to Melbourne where they don't run this sort of circus.

[finn]

What a waste. :no:

[MILIUX]

I'd rather keep this as partkland. I don't trust the apartment developers anymore. They'll build like as if it's Moore Park.

Besides, the park is for the future.

[Tony P]

What rot! The foreshore of that site, probably 30 metres deep and even more was always going to saved for public use. There's already a park right next to it that is about twice the size of the Opera House forecourt, itself, more than enough space to swing a cat. It's all about saving private views.

Anyone wanna come with me to plant a wall of some of these Styx Valley mofo's in the new 'park'?.

http://www.touringtasmania.info/images/MTFIELD/STYX_TALL_TREES_Sep15347.jpg

Let's just see how much they want a park then... Grrrrr...

[James Saito]

Well, look on the bright side.
More parks -> Less space for development -> Taller towers in the future!!!

But this park in the artist impression looks horribly plain and dull.

http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/citynews/2004_August/images/main_hd.jpg

[ShayPlan]

could not agree more! The plan looks like something in a rural setting, not a proposal for the world's best harbourside!

The Sydney Water site, though, is not 1825 hectares, considering sydney airport is 881 hectares. What is the site plan area?!

[Randwicked]

That should be 1.825. Stupid fuckin Telegraph can never do maths.

[Muse]

EDIT: Did i write that 2 1/2 years ago?
...

[finn]

@ finn. I'm surprised you said in your last post in this thread "What a waste" folllowed by the emoticon :no:
...

Yes, I think Pyrmont is already oversupplied with parks, and the apartment complex designed for the site was very nice and provided lots of open space plus a wide waterfront promenade. I just thing this site deserves something better!

[Tony P]

Muse, be aware of wolves in sheeps clothing. A park isn't necessarily 'green' because it is called a park, and by the looks of this plan, this one certainly isn't. This park is a large lawn. It will require copious amounts of water to keep green (and you can be sure the residents will push to keep it green), and will probably require fertilizer/pesticides, which will eventually wash into the harbour.

Futhermore, the site could easilly be planned in a way to have development on a third of the site, and the remaining 2/3 as a park planned to be 'more green' (i.e, more trees, native flora to attract native fauna, native grasses that don't need watering or fertiliser/pesticides). This would result in 2 things. The first, a truly 'green' park, which at 2/3 the size of the the proposal above, would actually be more 'greener'. Second, the demand for the development is real, people need to live somewhere, and building denser in the inner city is a lot more environmentally friendly overall and a smarter use of infrastructure already in place than pushing the demand to the periphery of our cities, where we'll gobble up greater amounts of land and recources to satisfy the same amount of people.

A true greenie indeed, Muse. ;)

[Muse]

EDIT: Did i write that 2 1/2 years ago? Part 2.
...

[Muse]

What's worse, is that the building slated for this site was an Engelen Moore design. Now, I'm really MAD!In The Australian's last issue of the Primespace (Thurs 12/08/04) there is a full report on how Engelen Moore will soon be no longer as a partnership. Ian Moore is moving to Noosa and Tina Engelen will remain in Sydney. The split seems congenial.

I guess he's moving to Queensland to overlook their already designed proposals there and ironically she will retain the company name of Engelen Moore.

There's a lot more to it, but that's it in a nutshell.

[LanceDriver]

construction is about to begin on this controversial park, finally. see the distillery hill / jacksons landing (pyrmont) thread for other discussions that have gone on about this park.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=217280

[Austraarabian]

good lord another park to add to the Australia's garden of eden.... :ohno: :ohno: :ohno: :ohno: :ohno: :ohno: :ohno: :ohno: :ohno:
Dear Sydney: You are not god! You cannot recreate the garden of Eden!!!:bash:

[CULWULLA]

What rot! The foreshore of that site, probably 30 metres deep and even more was always going to saved for public use. There's already a park right next to it that is about twice the size of the Opera House forecourt, itself, more than enough space to swing a cat. It's all about saving private views.

Anyone wanna come with me to plant a wall of some of these Styx Valley mofo's in the new 'park'?.

http://www.touringtasmania.info/images/MTFIELD/STYX_TALL_TREES_Sep15347.jpg

Let's just see how much they want a park then... Grrrrr...
yes lets throw in some Mountain Ash seeds when they plant the seedlings for the trees and watch them babies grow!! when they get to 60m they might think, hey cant see sky for trees?? lol where the view gone?

[LanceDriver]

unfortunately mountain ash won't grow in sydney (easily), they need very cold winters plus around 1500ml+ of rain each year and the seeds need to be frozen in winter to germinate. i know people who have tried and failed.

what does grow very well is the Flooded Gum which is the dominant eucalypt of NIMBIN! besides a few stands of mountain ash down near the snowies, it's the tallest tree in nsw reaching 70-80m.

the royal botanic gardens in sydney planted one up the back corner in an open area in the mid to late 80's. in about 20 years it has become a massive tree with a huge spread. you'd only need 3 or 4 of them to block out all their views and we'd get to see this in our lifetime! once the park is finished i reckon it would be easy for us to pop down and plant some of the suckers in key locations and no one would be any wiser because they would look like native plants put there on purpose as part of the park. once they get bigger we could put a plaque at the base of them that says "for the nimbys, courtesy of nimbin!".

http://www.mdavid.com.au/trees/images/grandis1.jpg

[Lord_Bertrum]

Love the idea, shame that there are too many folks out there that think nothing of poisoning a tree or two, such as the case in Mosman at moment.

[CULWULLA]

ive been to the GRANDIS which is Buledelah state forest. magnificent 400 year old gum reaching 76m. you cant get that close to it anymore due to potential accidents from falling branches etc. i think its 20m minimum now.

http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/127/grandis9hgva0.jpg

[LanceDriver]

^^ wow, i think this below means it is heritage listed! it's actually the tallest tree in NSW!!
______________________________________________________________

6 - Heritage Item ID: 3913596
Item Name: The Grandis
Heritage Type: Landscape Sub Type: Single Tree
Location: 9km north east of Bulahdelah
Grid ref: 56 433130 6418610 CRA Region: Lower North East
Boundary:
Owner: State Forests
Reserve: Bulahdelah State Forest
Study Name: CRA Project NA 29/EH, Thematic Forest History (UNE/LNE)
Inspected By: Anne Bickford and Helen Brayshaw Date: 19/08/98
Current Use: Historic tree
Former Use:
Physical Description: The Grandis is a flooded gum tree (Eucalyptus grandis). This is the tallest tree in NSW, at 76.2 metres. Its circumference is 8.54 m at 1.5 m above ground level. At ground level its circumference is 10.2 m. Its diameter is 2.7 m at 1.5 m above ground level. At ground level its diameter is 3.2m. The diameter of the trunk at 25 m is 1.8 m. The height of the trunk is 25 m to the first branch. The trunk volume is 122.76 cubic metres or 39651 super feet. The Grandis is about 400 years old.
Historical Notes:
Construction years: 0 Circa Flag: No
Physical Condition: Good. Still growing.
Recommended Management: The site is well interpreted and presented by SF. Threats are bushfire and vandalism.

SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT (NSW CRITERIA):
Historical Significance: As the tallest, and one of the largest trees in NSW, the Grandis is an example of what we have lost, for almost all trees of this size, whatever their species, have been cut down by timber getters in the last 200 years.
Aesthetic Significance: The Grandis, being such a magisterial tree, evokes a sense of awe and majesty in the viewer, and, like an endangered species, a sense of regret for how many more have been cut down.
Social Significance: The Grandis has social value as such trees are valued by the community, who go to see them, and are venerated by the conservation movement.
Technical Significance: Not assessed
Intact Assessment: High
Representative Assessment: The Grandis is not representative of flooded gums today which are generally much smaller.
Rare Assessment: The Grandis is rare in that it is the tallest, and one of the oldest trees in NSW.
Statement Of Significance: The Grandis flooded gum tree is the tallest, and one of the largest and oldest trees in NSW, and is visited by many people.

RNE Sub Criteria ID: 13
Assessment Text: The Grandis is important to all sectors of the community, and many people visit it, as its location is well publicised by State Forests. As an outstanding example of an ‘old growth’ tree it is especially significant to the conservation movement.
RNE Sub Criteria ID: 6
Assessment Text: The Grandis is the tallest, and one of the oldest trees in NSW. It is a rare example of the once common large old trees in Australia’s forests.

[LanceDriver]

it seems that a taller tree was apparently found near armidale but there isn't much out there about this taller tree and it seems that officially the grandis is still the tallest -

http://www.forest.nsw.gov.au/bush/aug97/stories/9.asp

strangely, it's found along a river called the styx river which is oddly similar in name to the styx valley in tasmania where the giant mountain ashes are found.

hmmmm....

[CULWULLA]

^wow, thanks for that.
yes i was going to mention the 80m Armidale tree.Its known as the Noble tree and is a white gum. Im pretty sure its now the tallest but Grandis is a larger tree. Ive also studied the tallest in Australia and once drew a diagram comparing 10 tallest and tallest in each state . i love tall trees /there magnificent.i have a 40m brown bark tree in my property and its gorgeous. it has to be one of tallest in my town.
i have a book on "Valley of the giants" by bob brown. its a good read.
There is a 70m gum on south coast near Nowra.ive seen.huge
anyway back to boring water police site

[Brizer]

Some-one had a sense of humour back whenever, naming rivers/ valleys "Styx". In Ancient Greek mythology you had to cross the River Styx to get to the Underworld.

[LanceDriver]

ah yes, of course.

[LanceDriver]

^wow, thanks for that.
yes i was going to mention the 80m Armidale tree.Its known as the Noble tree and is a white gum. Im pretty sure its now the tallest but Grandis is a larger tree. Ive also studied the tallest in Australia and once drew a diagram comparing 10 tallest and tallest in each state . i love tall trees /there magnificent.i have a 40m brown bark tree in my property and its gorgeous. it has to be one of tallest in my town.
i have a book on "Valley of the giants" by bob brown. its a good read.
There is a 70m gum on south coast near Nowra.ive seen.huge
anyway back to boring water police site

they're great because they are tall ! the only problem is that their construction takes quite a while. :) if we had a few of these reach full height on the water police site they'd be the tallest things in pyrmont at current heights.

i've actually read a few articles saying that "the grandis" is actually 84.3m high, it was re-measured with modern equipment after "the noble" was discovered. from this website - http://farrer.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL7/sep97-7.html

"Short Lived Reign? In June, the long reign of "The Grandis", a 76 metre tall "Flooded Gum" (Eucalyptus grandis) as New South Wales' tallest tree, was apparently ended when a 79.6 metre Eucalyptus nobilis ("The Noble Tree") was surveyed near Armidale in the state's north west. However, never slow to take up a challenge, foresters in the Bulahdelah area (home of "The Grandis") have now re-surveyed their tree at 84.3 metres.
The next move is awaited with interest.....
From the Sydney Morning Herald of 10 June 1997 and August 23 1997"