Blue Mountains Have Your Say | Latest Forum Topics/News Articles

Trial Wildlife Protection Areas

bmccadmin — 2012-02-14 17:24:59 +1100

Blue Mountains City Council is proposing to implement two Wildlife Protection Areas on a trial basis at Bonnie Doon Reserve, Katoomba and Sassafras Gully Reserve, Springwood for a five year period.

Further information is provided below and in the Library of this webpage.

We invite your comments on the proposal. Have Your Say in the online discussion forum or send a submission to Council.

Do you have any suggestions to improve self regulation of the trial Wildlife Protection Areas?

bmccadmin — 2012-02-14 17:07:13 +1100

A review of the implementation of WPAs in other LGA’s has indicated that self-regulation is the preferred compliance approach due to:

• the high cost associated with proactive enforcement

• the limited ability to apply a penalty to owners of companion animals, in particular cats, in breach of the local order.

Council will adopt a similar model relying primarily on education and voluntary compliance.

Wildlife Protection Area categories

bmccadmin — 2012-02-14 16:04:37 +1100

The two proposed trial WPA sites are listed below along with the size of the reserve, the proposed categories of WPA being recommended and the size of the prohibition areas.

Town

Reserve

Area of WPA (Cat1/Cat2)

Springwood

Katoomba

Sassafras Gully

Bonnie Doon

41.80 ha (Cat 1)/1.6ha (Cat 2)

59.97 ha (Cat 1)/0.51ha (Cat 2)

Wildlife Protection Areas can be declared as one of two categories:

Category 1 lands prohibit both cats and dogs as per S.30 c.1(b) and S.14 c. 1(h) of the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998.

Category 2 lands prohibit cats as per S.30 c.1(b) of the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998. Dogs that are on a leash will be permitted on formed tracks, pathways or roads in Category 2 lands.

BMCC Wildlife Protection Area Policy

bmccadmin — 2012-02-14 16:02:46 +1100

In 2010 Council adopted the Wildlife Protection Area Policy to provide the framework for the Council to declare public lands, or part thereof, as a WPA.

The Wildlife Protection Area Policy has the following objectives:

1) To provide a transparent, community-supported process to enable the Council to declare a public place, or part thereof, as a Wildlife Protection Area;

2) To protect native wildlife in Council managed reserves;

3) To reduce the area of land subject to impacts associated with companion animals; and

4) To further communicate the responsibility of companion animal ownership.

Do you have a comment on the proposed location of the trial Wildlife Protection Areas?

bmccadmin — 2012-02-14 09:38:07 +1100

The trial WPAs at Bonnie Doon and Sassafras Gully Reserve will provide a trial WPA in both the upper and lower mountains.

Do you agree with the categories of the trial Wildlife Protection Areas?

bmccadmin — 2012-02-14 09:34:17 +1100

The two proposed trial WPA sites are listed below along with the size of the reserve, the proposed categories of WPA being recommended and the size of the prohibition areas.

Town

Reserve

Area of WPA (Cat1/Cat2)

Springwood

Katoomba

Sassafras Gully

Bonnie Doon

41.80 ha (Cat 1)/1.6ha (Cat 2)

59.97 ha (Cat 1)/0.51ha (Cat 2)

Wildlife Protection Areas can be declared as one of two categories:

Category 1 lands prohibit both cats and dogs as per S.30 c.1(b) and S.14 c. 1(h) of the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998.

Category 2 lands prohibit cats as per S.30 c.1(b) of the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998. Dogs that are on a leash will be permitted on formed tracks, pathways or roads in Category 2 lands.

The proposed categories of the trial WPAs at Bonnie Doon and Sassafras Gully Reserve will allow the evaluation of both Category 1 and 2 lands.

Street Tree Masterplan Amendments

admin — 2011-11-30 10:03:07 +1100

The BMCC Street tree masterplan was placed on public exhibition in April/May 2010 and adopted by the Council in August 2010. A local community group has subsequently assessed all streets in Blackheath
to include them in the Masterplan. These plans are available in the library to download and read and you are invited to view them and provide comment in the Street Tree Masterplan Amendments project.

Selection criteria for Street Trees

bmccadmin — 2011-11-28 14:28:15 +1100

Not only must trees be hardy to the climate and soils, they need to meet a long list of other criteria to be a "competent" street tree in today's urban environments - including:

have a reliable form - an elevated canopy and single trunk are needed to keep sightlines open for traffic and security reasons;
needing to be long lived - many fast-growing trees tend to be short lived. Some research indicates that a tree starts to justify the investment in its planting and growth after 23 years;
not a weed - and unlikely to become one;
whether deciduous or evergreen - every site should be assessed on its merits for sun/shade requirements.

There are many more - these can be found in the Street Tree Masterplan at section 1.4 Species Selection.

The work of the Blackheath Streetscape Group

bmccadmin — 2011-11-28 14:21:50 +1100

The BSG group used prinicples discussed with Council's Urban Designer including:

Recognition of existing plantins that were worthy of repetition for example, the Flowering Cherries in Hat Hill Road, or the Plane Trees in Neate Park;
Recognition of limits to exotic species and the use of indigenous species on town edges in particular; and
The technical specification required for a "competent" street tree, i.e. single trunk, elevated canopy, long lived, etc.

Note that all species are assessed for weed potential to avoid trees that are existing weeds or are likely to be problematic in the future.

Do you have any other comments to make about the draft design for Outrim Park?

admin — 2011-11-21 07:33:24 +1100

What do you think could be added to the draft design to make it better?

admin — 2011-11-21 07:33:03 +1100

What elements of the draft design for Outrim Park would you change?

admin — 2011-11-21 07:32:41 +1100

What aspects of the draft design for Outrim Park do you like?

admin — 2011-11-21 07:32:17 +1100

Blue Mountains City Council's Street Tree Masterplan

bmccadmin — 2011-11-04 14:15:03 +1100

In August 2010 Council published its Street Tree Masterplan. This document sets the technical standards for planting and managing Council's street trees, and also sets out the preferred species for the major roads and streets in the City. You can access the document from the library on this page.

There are a number of key issues in managing street trees in the Blue Mountains:

Providing the conditions for good growth over many decades in streets where there are significant conflicts with infrastructure – roads, paths, power, sewer, etc. - for space.
Maintaining both the cultural exotic landscape within the towns, and the indigenous landscape between them, especially in the major transport corridor of the Great Western Highway and the rail line.
Managing the succession of generations of aging trees with new plantings.

The Street Tree Masterplan aims to improve the general understanding of the requirements to grow our valuable street trees, and the benefits they provide.

Batman Reserve draft Plan of Management

admin — 2011-09-09 10:14:27 +1000

This consultation has concluded.

A draft Plan of Management is currently on public exhibition for Batman Reserve, Springwood, until 10 February 2012.

We would like to hear from your ideas and opinions on this draft Plan of Management.

Go to our online consultation for draft Plan of Management (PoM) to read the draft Plan of Management, make a formal on-line submission or contribute with comments and opinions on the draft PoM on the on-line guest book.

A Public Hearing Session will be held at the Springwood Bowling Club, 7-8pm on Thursday 2 February 2012. This is a requirement of the Local Government Act where the land is catagorised for particular uses. You are welcome to attend, and take this opportunity to make comments to an independant planner.

Please note, comments must be received by Friday 10 February 2012.

Draft Plan for Outrim Park released for comment!

admin — 2011-08-26 11:27:06 +1000

The draft plan for Outrim Park is now available and Blue Mountains City Council is keen to receive your feedback and thoughts on the draft design for the park facilities at Outrim Park.

Please take a few minutes to provide your feedback on the draft design by donwloading the plan from the project page library and adding your comments to four questions in our online dicussion forum.

Please provide your feedback on the draft design by the 2nd of December 2011.

Have your say about the Outrim Park draft plan Blue Mountains!

Tell us your thoughts on the draft plan for Outrim Park!

The draft plan is now available!

admin — 2011-08-26 10:59:22 +1000

The draft plan for Outrim Park is now available for download from the library section on the right hand side of this page.

Hey! There is no play equipment in the park!

admin — 2011-08-26 09:02:58 +1000

Last financial year, due to its dangerous condition, the play equipment was removed from Outrim Park. Blue Mountains City Council has allocated some money to upgrade the Park this financial year. Blue Mountains City Council has sought input from the community through a survey and a public meeting was held on 14 September.A steeering committee has been established and is looking to install new play equipment and facilities.

Where is Outrim Park and how big is it?

admin — 2011-08-26 08:57:40 +1000

Outrim Park is the park behind the shops at Blaxland. It can be reached from Hope Street, the car park or the lane way through from Station Street. By comparison with a lot of parks, Outrim Park is a small park, about 740 square metres, and it is the only park in Blaxland on the southern side of the Great Western Highway.

A junior skate facility can potentially offer a range of designs and features.

bmccadmin — 2011-08-04 20:11:23 +1000

It would be good to have more family friendly facilities in North Katoomba.

bmccadmin — 2011-08-04 20:10:50 +1000

There is a need for younger children to learn to use wheeled play equipment in a location other than Goldsmith Place

bmccadmin — 2011-08-04 20:09:42 +1000

Melrose Park Junior Skate Facility

bmccadmin — 2011-08-04 18:47:46 +1000

Over the next 6 months, Council will be exploring the possibility and draft design of a Junior Skate facility at Melrose Park, North Katoomba.

This proposal has arisen from an identified need for a family friendly skate/ wheels facility in the Katoomba area that is suitable for young and learner riders. The current skate facility at Goldsmith Place will continue to provide for the needs of older experienced skaters, subject to some proposed modifications.

This proposed Melrose Park skate facility will be for younger people and junior riders to use equipment such as small bicycles, scooters, skate boards, rip sticks, etc, in a location which is visible, accessible and is suitable and inviting to family groups.

Council is interested in community views on this proposal. Click here to have your say.

Knapsack Reserve Downhill Bike Track REF

bmccadmin — 2011-07-27 17:31:28 +1000

This consultation has concluded.

The Knapsack Reserve Plan Of Management (PoM) provides for a range of recreational uses including a single downhill bike track. A Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has been prepared for the proposed downhill and cross country (XC) mountain bike track. The REF provides an analysis of the anticipated environmental impacts associated with the current proposal for mountain bike tracks in Knapsack Park and if these impacts can be appropriately managed.

Public comment is invited on the REF for the Knapsack Park Mountain Bike Plan. Click here to have your say.

Pioneer Place Master plan

bmccadmin — 2011-07-27 09:42:48 +1000

This consultation has concluded.

Pioneer Place is the Council owned public parking facility located within the Katoomba retail precinct, providing car parking for customers to the Coles/Kmart complex, Katoomba Fair and a range of businesses in the vacinity.

The functionality of this precinct has long been an issue for users of Pioneer Place. A draft master plan has been prepared for Pioneer Place and is now on public exhibition. residents and users of Pioneer Place are encouraged to read and comment on the Pioneer Place draft Master plan in our online discussion forum.