News

Following a unanimous vote at Council on 15 September to retain the Hall for public use, Council has now advised that the initial remediation work is scheduled for completion early December.

The Hall has been set up on Council's booking system and can now be booked for use from 20 December:  

Link to book the Woronora River Hall

There are also longer term upgrade plans which will require a temporary closure at a future date, and Council will work closely with users at that time to minimise disruption.

A huge thank you to everyone who turned up, spoke out, signed the petition and contacted Council to let them know how important this Hall is to the community. And a big thank you to Council for listening.

A fantastic outcome for Woronora and Sutherland Shire.

You may recall that back in August it was announced that funding of $500K had been secured from the State Govt for dredging within the Woronora River, with an additional $200K contributed by Council.

The focus of attention was to be the heavily silted riverbed around the commuter wharf.

Further information has been sought on the scope and the timing of the dredging works and Council Officers have advised that:

• A review of Environmental Factors (REF), including sediment sampling, is required prior to proceeding

• Following completion of the REF, the project will be put to tender, with works likely to commence mid-next year (2026), outside peak river usage periods

• Dredging will focus on the area around Gweneth Thomas wharf, prioritising emergency user access

• The final scope will be determined by the REF analysis

• The inclusion of Forbes Creek in the works will depend on available funding and the feasibility of material reuse

Here's a link to the Woronora River Dredging Management Plan 2024:

Https://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/100862/2024-Woronora-River-Dredging-Management-Plan-Revised-Final.pdf

Whilst the document does contain lots of data, tables and diagrams which is great for the dredging nerds amongst us, it also includes a large amount of very interesting local historical information and is well worth a flick through for that alone.

It's perhaps fair to say that our precious Woronora River in recent years has not received the care and attention that it deserves. It's also worth remembering that whilst plans and studies may indeed look impressive, it's the subsequent actions that matter.

An update on the penalties imposed on both the landowner and the excavation company responsible for this environmental vandalism:

The matter has been settled out of court with an 'enforceable undertaking' in place for the landowner. This includes a fine of $70K to be paid to Council.

That $70K is just 2% of the cost of the $3M mansion that the land owner sought to build. A pathetically small sum for such environmental devastation.

Whilst an 'enforceable undertaking' to also replant the land may sound acceptable, the specific details of that undertaking raise a lot of questions:

• The undertaking was 'proffered' by the land owner - Surely they didn't write their own punishment??

• The land owner pleaded guilty to carrying out prohibited vegetation clearing on the land and carrying out development without first obtaining consent. Why then were they not dealt with by the Court and punished to the full extent of the law?

• The undertaking was signed off by the landowner and Council in April and the NSW Govt on 15 July. The $70K was to be paid within 30 days of the commencement date so Council hopefully now have that money.

• The land owner has submitted a DA for the site, the outcome of which has not yet been determined.

• The replanting works are to be completed within 18 months of the commencement date. If during that time the DA is granted, the replanting is to be completed within 2 years of the issuing of a construction certificate or prior to occupation of the dwelling, whichever comes first. So . . .if the replanting is started and then the DA is granted, does the area then subsequently become a building site?? What about any replanting that has already taken place?

• The undertaking includes a 5 year Vegetation Management Plan. This plan also estimates the vegetation recovery time for land in a highly disturbed condition, such as cleared areas, as 20 - 40 years. Given the level of vegetation degradation at this site, is a 5 year plan really appropriate or adequate??

• And anyway, once replanting has been completed the undertaking states it only needs to be maintained for 2 years.

• There's also a chart showing month by month the work that needs to be done. In the first month this work includes site stabilisation, weed control, tubestock planting and watering. Has this happened yet??

• The undertaking states that significant additional sediment controls also need to be installed and maintained to manage sediment outflows from the disturbed area. These controls should be managed under a dedicated sediment control plan. Is this plan now in place?? The sediment controls certainly aren't.

And what of the undertaking given by the earthwork's excavation company involved in the land clearing? Their fine of $40K goes to Councils Green Street planting budget, for Council to plant new trees in our streets and parks. And that money, along with the $15K for Councils legal costs, can be paid in instalments over 570 days.

If this is the best possible outcome, then the current system is not fit for purpose and needs to be changed.

Many of our streets have river or water related names. 

On the East side of the river there's a collection of streets named after rivers in the UK and Ireland:

Tay Place The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland

Severn Road The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain

Wye Close The River Wye is the 4th longest river in the UK

Mersey St The River Mersey is a UK major river from Liverpool to south of Manchester

Liffey Place The River Liffey is an Irish river that flows through the centre of Dublin

Thames St The  River Thames is the longest river in England and flows through London

On the west side of the river there is a collection of streets which are named after Australian rural towns or waterways derived from Aboriginal language words. The Aboriginal language names often include a reference to rivers or water. These include: Manilla Place, Boomi Place Yanko Close and Nundah Place.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woronora