Author: Save Westleigh Park

The Sydney North Planning Panel have approved the Westleigh Park DA without any amendments.

Here is the Notice of Determination.

I would like to thank all of the members of Save Westleigh Park for their efforts seek a compromise that puts the local community first. Unfortunately this development can now be imposed on the community.

The words of the Bob Dylan Song come to mind “how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn’t see?”

So no, mountain bike tracks will never be OK in a Critically Endangered Ecological Community (CEEC).

Artificial turf is not OK in a fire prone area.

You have brought on a traffic nightmare to the residents of Westleigh.

Your over development will largely benefit those outside of the LGA whereas the residents of the Hornsby Shire LGA will wear the full cost.

You have shown total disregard to the flora and fauna that were abundant but will inevitably slowly decline.

Hornsby Shire Council have lost their funding for the contentious regional sporting venue at Westleigh Park.

Despite repeated calls for the project to respond to the constraints of the site such as:

• Traffic bottlenecks
• Critically Endangered Forest
• Lack of funding for a regional sporting venue
• Close proximity to a National Park and bushfire prone land
• Critical infrastructure – a dam supplying the area’s drinking water
• Significant asbestos and soil contamination including PFAS

Council refused to listen to the calls of the community to scale back the project. Now the Labor government have scaled it back for them.

See article on the ABC News

Save Westleigh Park ask Council to give the project a fresh start with priority given to:

• Properly remediating all of the toxic soil and asbestos contamination now.
• Put the mountain bike tracks on the cleared area.
• Create water sensitive urban design where the rain soaks into the landscape. Impervious services such as artificial turf and hard roads direct huge torrents of water into the creek lines and are already flooding housing at the lower end of the catchment. This will only get worse with more intense development and climate change.
• Protect the Aboriginal cultural heritage – don’t cut down the Aboriginal scar tree and move mountain bike tracks away from the rock shelter.
• Keep walking tracks in the forested areas instead of preventing walkers from using all but 170m of walking trail, when mountain bike trails were to be 7km.The endangered forest and threatened species shouldn’t only be available to mountain bikers speeding by.
• Avoid any impact to the Dog Pound Creek biobanking site – increased traffic along the riverine areas is a threat to Powerful Owls who use the area for nesting and roosting.
• Save the forest for those that want to enjoy one of the most amazing plant communities left in Sydney.
• Save the forest for the wildlife that it supports.
• Save the forest for those who want to tread lightly on the earth.

On Wednesday 13th September 2023 the Hornsby Shire Council voted to approve the following item:

On 14 June 2023, Council adopted the revised draft Westleigh Park Master Plan (MP) and draft Westleigh Park Plan of Management (PoM).
• Following adoption of the MP and PoM in June 2023, the immediate goal for Council’s Westleigh Park Redevelopment was to prepare a comprehensive and coordinated set of documents to submit with our Development Application.

• The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and supporting documentation is now developed to a stage that will enable lodgement of a Development Application by the end of the calendar year.
• The Development Application will seek assessment and determination from the appropriate planning authority for the entire scope of works identified in the adopted Master Plan over stages, with Stage 1 split further to accommodate the potential for differing delivery timeframes:
• Stage 1a: Southern sports platform; mountain bike trails; carparks 3 & 4; Sefton Road extension – west section; and shared way to Ruddock Park.
• Stage 1b: Sefton Road extension – North and east sections around Reservoir.
• Stage 2: Centre and northern sports platforms, carparks 1 & 2; and Warrigal Drive upgrades.
• Owners Consent is required to lodge a Development Application and given the public interest in the development of Westleigh Park this is sought via a formal resolution of Council.
• Should Owners Consent be resolved, instruction will be given to Council’s consultant planner to submit the Development Application on Council’s behalf via the online NSW Planning Portal. Once lodged, the assessment process will commence and be publicly exhibited.

The item was passed with only 2 Greens (Tania Salitra and Monika Ball) voting to oppose.

Hornsby Shire Council now has the dubious honour of approving the unauthorised building of mountain bike trails through large areas of critically endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest and endangered Duffys Forest. This is very sad as the council in almost every other instance has sought to protect these precious areas.

This is a lost opportunity to alter the trajectory of another threatened ecological community. Political pressure has forced on the community a poor and ecologically ignorant decision.

Hornsby Shire Council’s recent decision to proceed with their plans for Westleigh Park has generated some media articles.

ABC News

Synthetic turf fields ‘lack standards’, but no moratorium as chief scientist recommends more research

North Shore Times, Hornsby Advocate, Hills Shire Time

Forest vs mountain bike: Delayed park proposal sparks war of words

Hawkesbury Post

Synthetic Turf Warning Bells in Landmark Report

14 June 2023 Council voted 7 (6 libs + 1 Labor) to 3 (Greens) to approve the Master Plan and Plan of Management.

Thank you to everyone who spoke out for the environment, and called out this appalling development. The next step is for the development to go to the District Planning Panel.

Thank you to all of you who attended Wednesday’s Hornsby Shire Council meeting, particularly those of you that spoke and to the many more of you who watched online.

While the outcome to exhibit the Draft Master Plan for Westleigh Park as published was disappointing, it is by no means the end of the story. That was just the first skirmish in what will be a more protracted battle to protect the ecologically sensitive bushland at Westleigh Park and to preserve local residents’ amenity.

Save Westleigh Park will continue to fight for the bushland, the native fauna and for residents and there are many hurdles at which Council’s concepts can fall.

The next step in this battle for biodiversity is the Master Plan and Plan of Management will go on exhibition for one month for public submissions. This is when we all need to make a BIG noise and inundate Council with objecting submissions.

Save Westleigh Park will send you all a submission guide shortly to assist you with the most important points, together with links to the documents and who to send your submission to.

Again, thank you for your support to Save Westleigh Park. We will be here for the duration to support YOU in getting the best and fairest outcomes.

Council are about to put the Westleigh Park Master Plan on public exhibition. See the Council Business Papers.

There are still 7km of tracks through the the sensitive bushland and an unacceptable amount of tracks through the Critically Endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest and the Endangered Duffys Forest.  These tracks apart from 2 are not shared so only available to mountain bikers who are destroying the forest. Council will not release the fauna reports so that the public can see the fauna being disturbed by their illegal activity.