Hornsby Shire Council held their mandatory public meeting on Tues 4th April concerning the Draft Plan of Management for Westleigh Park. Many residents, community groups and concerned citizens attended.
https://yoursay.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/westleigh-park-plan-management
It was very pleasing to hear the community raise the same concerns we have been raising for over a year now.
We also received the following email from a local which expresses more than we can the dismay felt regarding Council’s meeting.
“I attended last night’s meeting at Hornsby RSL. What an unfunny joke!
We were treated like kindergarten children.
We were allowed to ask one question at a time but not allowed to question the answers in reply.
(The resident felt) those answers (could be considered as being):
- sometimes so brief and curt as to be disrespectful of the questioner
- often waffling and vague
- frequently only one response to a two part question.
This was no open and frank discussion. Ratepayers were effectively muzzled from expressing their opinion.
It was a “tick the box” exercise on the part of Council.
Imagine the irony when I saw the Council’s notices this morning on a thin border area of bush (we believe this is an area of the endangered Duffys Forest) near Westleigh.
So Council thinks it’s OK for Mountain Bikers to trail for miles through endangered bushland at the proposed Westleigh Park, but unacceptable to do the same on an area down the road because it “damages the native plants and habitat for animals.”
What hypocrisy! What contradiction! What an admission! What double standards!
The notice goes on to say that “building trails or jumps is a fun and great way to spend time outdoors but just not here”.
How can Council say that when the trail builders don’t own the land, and in the case of Westleigh Park never had permission?”