Get ready for a bumper year, says Ryde’s GM

GM Michael Whittaker, “It (Macquarie Park Corridor) will create a major employ-ment hub, with one million square metres of floor space for commercial and indus-trial premises.”

Ryde City Council’s General Manager Michael Whittaker is predicting a bumper year for Ryde including projects that will boost employment and give the city’s oldest shopping centre a $1 billion facelift.

The projects, he said, will all be carried out in line with Council’s New Year resolution: “To extensively engage with the community in such a way as to inspire community praise, civic pride and satis-faction.”

Mr Whittaker said the exciting and innovative pro-jects are planned in all wards across the electorate.

In West Ward Council will start the Brush Farm House restoration project, with other projects in West Ward in-cluding: a major rainwater harvesting and re-use project at Ryde Aquatic Leisure Cen-tre; new West Ryde library in conjunction with the Wool-worth redevelopment; up-grading “an array” of com-munity facilities such as child care centres and implemen-ting the Meadowbank Local Environmental Plan (LEP).

Two major developments are set to go ahead in Central Ward, with Council submitting its draft LEP for the Macquarie Park Corridor to the Minister Planning and Infrastructure to gazette.

Mr Whittaker said, “It will create a major employment hub, with one million square metres of floor space for commercial and industrial premises. We will also improve the road networks around Macquarie Park and Mac-quarie University to further facilitate employment and education and protect resi-dential amenity.”

The second high profile project - the Top Ryde Master Plan and Local Environment Plan (LEP) - is estimated to have a total cost of $1 billion and is due to come before council in draft form in March.

According to Mr Whittaker the centre is one of the oldest in Australia - at around 50 years of age - so not only will the redevelopment of the centre mean that it would get a much needed facelift, but also it would create an opportunity for council to co-locate some of its services there, and possibly negate the need to build a new library, saving both Council and ratepayers a minimum of $12 million.

“This would save the cost of building a new library and would leave the proposed library site free for us to engage and consult with the community and try to deter-mine what should be done with it,” he said.

In East Ward the Gladesville Masterplan is getting under-way in conjunction with Hunters Hill Council, and due for completion by June 2005.

The two councils are also working together on a heritage study this year.

It is anticipated that the long-awaited Eastwood SES Head-quarters will be built by Christmas, and a Field of Mars plan of management is being developed.

Working towards creating positive environmental out-comes across the electorate was also high on Council’s agenda, Mr Whittaker said.

“City wide there is going to be an increased focus on Ecological Sustainable Deve-lopment (ESD) through plan-ning controls.

“We are going to be much more energy smart and water wise, and our development control plans will reflect that.

“We are going to purchase more green energy to run our own facilities and we are going to increase staff in our environmental areas and give more prominence to environ-mentally friendly outcomes.”

In regards to all of its projects Council will be working to a quadruple bottom line this year - addressing governance, economical, environmental and social outcomes.

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