Category: Newcastle News

City of Newcastle (CN) will expedite processing a soon to be lodged Development Application by Iris Capital, to enable the demolition of the buildings located in Phase 3 of its award-winning East End development.

Phase 3 is bound by Hunter, Newcomen, King and Laing Streets and includes the building which previously housed several retail outlets and a food court.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said CN is committed to the long-term revitalisation of Hunter Street and this is another step towards improving the Mall area as an attractive destination for locals and visitors.

“Delivering the long overdue transformation in the Hunter Street Mall has been a vital project for City renewal. The initial stages highlight the overall vision for the future completed revitalisation of the heritage precinct. The next stage of public domain works are planned and ready to deliver.

“Through close collaboration with NSW Police and Iris Capital we identified that we have some public safety concerns in the final stages of the heritage revitalisation, so action is progressing on the demolition of the non-heritage buildings so the site can be adequately contained,” Cr Nelmes said.

Iris Capital Development Manager Jamie Boswell said this site completes Iris Capital’s contribution to the East End Village and the demolition is an important step towards future development.

“This site provides another opportunity for revitalisation and for Iris Capital to contribute further to the transformation of the Hunter Street Mall and along with City of Newcastle we are committed to public safety and the best outcome for the community is to progress with the demolition of the existing structure as quickly as possible,” Mr Boswell said.

The DA for demolition of the buildings will be expedited following concerns about the current state of the buildings and antisocial behaviour from members of the public and local business owners.

Police are aware of reports of antisocial behaviour in and around these buildings and will continue to work collaboratively with the City of Newcastle and increase proactive police patrols in response.

CN’s Executive Director Planning and Environment, Michelle Bisson, said her team will undertake the assessment as a priority to ensure all requirements are met, including heritage considerations and expect to have the application determined shortly after lodgement.

The East End Public Domain project consists of multiple phases of work with the long term vision to reinstate Hunter Street as a traditional high street and an attractive destination for locals and visitors, with outdoor dining and boutique retail opportunities.

With school holidays underway, families are celebrating City of Newcastle’s ongoing investment in recreational spaces with five new local playgrounds officially opening for children with energy to burn. Young people will be able to swing, slide and climb on upgraded equipment at Loch Ness Drive Park in Fletcher, Waratah Park in Waratah, Harold Myers Park in Birmingham Gardens, Vera Wilson Park in Beresfield and Avon Street Reserve in Mayfield.

With a total investment of $750,000 across the five playgrounds, there are activities to suit all ages and importantly, equipment that allows children’s senses to go wild these school holidays.

Loch Ness Drive Park, Fletcher

The largest of the five playgrounds, the design of the renewed playground at Loch Ness Park was guided by Everyone Can Play principles. The playground has an activity for every age, with a total of 41 inclusive activities split across two-levels.

Waratah Park, Waratah

Nestled amongst greenery, Waratah Park’s playground design is sympathetic to its natural surroundings. The new playground offers a range of 22 activities to encourage children to enrich and improve their skills on items including a climbing wall, challenging climbing nets, swings, and a slide.

Harold Myer Park, Birmingham Gardens

This renewed playground features 35 activities, with multiplay equipment designed to encourage interaction between children with slides, gangways, climbing nets and climbing walls.

Vera Wilson Park, Beresfield

This playground showcases areas for children to build strength and endurance, as well as elements that encourage creativity and social interaction. With 24 challenging and inclusive activities, children of all ages will be able to enlighten their senses on commando tubes, climbing walls, swings, slides, climbing nets and play panels.

Avon Street Reserve, Mayfield

Stimulating hearing and a sense of rhythm, this playground offers musical play activities in the form of underground pipes with attached dongers. These pipes double up us talk tubes, enabling children to interact with other children in the playground. Multiplay equipment also offers swings, slides, balancing beams, play panels, gangways, and climbing nets.

Find out more about our Playground Replacement Program on our project page.

50 people have been charged following an unauthorised protest in the Hunter region this morning.

About 10am (Sunday 16 April 2023), officers attached to Newcastle City Police District, along with specialist police resources, attended Tourle Street, Sandgate, in relation to unauthorised protest activity.

Police spoke with a group of 50 people who entered the railway corridor, with a portion of those people who had climbed onto a train carriage.

47 people were issued court attendance notices for offences including obstructing a railway (locomotive), assist in obstructing a rail locomotive, aggravated enter inclosed lands and interfere with business, and enter inclosed lands.

During the event, it is alleged two more people damaged property and a third person assaulted a security officer, all while attempting to gain entry onto the railway corridor.

All three were arrested and taken to Waratah Police Station.

A 32-year-old man was charged with common assault and assist in obstruction of rail locomotive or rolling stock.

A 59-year-old man was charged with destroy or damage property, cause obstruction to railway locomotive or rolling stock, and enter inclosed non-agricultural lands interfere etc business.

They were both granted bail to appear before Newcastle Local Court on Thursday 1 June 2023.

A 47-year-old man was charged with destroy or damage property, assist in obstruction of rail locomotive or rolling stock, and enter inclosed non-agricultural lands interfere etc business.

He was bail refused to appear before Newcastle Local Court tomorrow (Monday 17 April 2023).

The Upper Hunter’s newest racing facility will be unveiled with an historic TAB meeting on Sunday afternoon at Muswellbrook.

Following a $3 million redevelopment of the facility, the Muswellbrook Greyhound Track will host a Grand Opening family day to celebrate the club’s first ever TAB race meeting.

“It’s a very exciting time not only for our racing participants in the region – which is a heartland of our sport in NSW – but for the community in and around Muswellbrook,” Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) Chief Executive Officer Rob Macaulay said.

“What greyhound racing does within local communities, is that it supports livelihoods of participants and but there are also flow on benefits throughout the towns.

“We estimate the facility will bring an additional $20 million into the Muswellbrook economy, and 20 additional jobs.

“The local community will see an influx into the economy from those coming to race,  and, as part of a new GRNSW policy initiated last year, local suppliers were the preferred supplies for work, and will continue to be.”

GRNSW purchased the track from the Greyhound Breeders, Owners & Trainers Association in 2021 with the aim of rebuilding the facility. The last race meeting staged at Muswellbrook was an 11-race, Non-TAB card on August 1, 2021.

As the case is with all GRNSW track upgrades, the focus of the rebuild at Muswellbrook  has been firmly on safety.

“The reason why we are investing in these tracks around the State is to bring all of our racetracks up to the safest standard for our greyhounds, and we have done exactly that here at Muswellbrook,” Mr Macaulay said.

“The safety and welfare of our animal is paramount.”

Among the work conducted at the track has been a full refurbishment with the remediation and re-profiling of the track and the turf surface, the installation of a new safety rail, safety padding on the turns and in the catching pen, and a Safechase lure system.

The kennels have new insulation and air conditioning installed, new starting boxes and new synthetic mats at the boxes are in place, and a new swabbing bay and stewards’ room have been built.

“We are very, very proud of the new facility at Muswellbrook, it looks spectacular, and to celebrate the Grand Opening, we are inviting everyone from around the region to come along and be part of what will be a memorable day,” Mr Macaulay said.

“There will be lots of free activities for all the family, including a jumping castle, face painting, sausage sizzle, fairy floss, kids’ zone, and local band Hurricane Fall will be performing, and it will all be free.”

Local participants have shown their support for the new facility with a large number of nominations ensuring a 12-race card has been scheduled.

The completion of the upgrade at Muswellbrook will offer participants another state-of-the-art venue in the region to race at, along with The Gardens in Newcastle and the Maitland track.

A man will face court today charged over an alleged stabbing at a train station near Newcastle.

Emergency services were called to Broadmeadow Railway Station about 10.15am yesterday (Friday 14 April 2023), after reports a 28-year-old man had suffered a stab wound to his abdomen.

He was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.

A 25-year-old man was taken to Mater Hospital under police guard.

A crime scene was established by officers from Newcastle City Police District, who commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The 25-year-old man was discharged from hospital late yesterday before he was arrested and taken to Newcastle Police Station.

He was charged with wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, hinder or resist police officer in the execution of duty, and possess prohibited drug.

The Bar Beach man was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court today (Saturday 15 April 2023).

A police officer has been charged over alleged sexual related offences.

In December 2022, an investigation commenced into reports of an alleged sexual offence involving a 17-year-old girl.

Following inquiries, a 27-year-old man was arrested yesterday (Thursday 6 April 2023) and taken to Singleton Police Station.

The probationary constable – attached to a command in the Northern Region – was charged with incite other to do a sexual act with them without consent and behave in offensive manner in/near public place/school.

He was granted conditional bail to appear before Singleton Local Court on Thursday 11 May 2023.

The officer’s employment status is currently under review.

City of Newcastle held three events at Fort Scratchley during the Newcastle 500, which is in line with what was done during the 2019 Newcastle 500.

Approximately 200 City of Newcastle employees and their guest attended an event on the Friday of the race weekend after being selected via an internal ballot. General Admission tickets were provided at no cost to City of Newcastle and our staff. Those attending were required to take a day of annual leave in order to attend. All costs (including food and drink) were paid for by the staff who attended.

Approximately 300 business and community leaders attended an event on the Saturday of the race weekend at Fort Scratchley, which also featured a fundraising event for domestic violence charities Got Your Back Sista and Nova for Women and Children. Just over $40,000 was raised for the two charities. Again, General Admission tickets to the event were provided at no cost to City of Newcastle.

An event held on the Sunday of the race weekend was a public event with more than 300 people purchasing tickets, with income from the event ensuring not only were all costs associated with using Fort Scratchley across the weekend covered but that a profit of $10,805.99 was made.

A comprehensive review has outlined a strategic path for the City to enhance and protect Newcastle’s five public swimming pools for the community over the next 20 years.

The ‘Inland Pools Strategy 2043’ sets out an investment plan for Newcastle’s network of public swimming pools to ensure they are fit for purpose in the long term, while noting more than $5 million has been spent upgrading and $2 million maintaining our public pools over the past five years.

The draft Strategy proposes the creation of an Inland Pools Reserve Fund to ensure that funding is set aside annually to enhance the City’s five public pools over the next 20 years. The investigation has also found that the condition of the public pools will enable them to continue to operate without replacement until at least 2043.

From next week, CN will seek feedback from the community and key stakeholders, including a newly formed Inland Pools Community Network, that sought nominations from members of the public who regularly use Newcastle’s five publicly owned pools.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the draft Strategy considered current and future user needs, along with the existing conditions of the pools, to guide future investment.

“City of Newcastle’s public swimming pools attract more than 300,000 visitors every year. Independent research shows public satisfaction with our pools is more than 80%, making them just as popular as the Newcastle Art Gallery and Museum,” Cr Nelmes said.

“The draft Inland Pools Strategy 2043 shows how our network of five swimming centres service the community in their own unique way and sets a strategic direction for each, including upgrading Wallsend Swimming Centre as our population in the western suburbs increases.

“We’re now encouraging the community to have their say on the draft Strategy to help us shape how City of Newcastle protects and invests in its five public pools over the next 20 years.”

The draft Strategy was top of the agenda last night amongst the Inland Pools Community Network, a newly formed group of passionate community representatives.

Representatives for Lambton, Wallsend, Mayfield, Stockton and Beresfield swimming centres in addition to a school representative and accessibility advocate were selected via an expressions of interest process to make up the Network.

Cr Nelmes said each community representative is an active member of a local swimming centre and will help share information, provide feedback and advocate on behalf of pool users.

“City of Newcastle looks forward to working together with the Inland Pools Community Network as we invest in these community facilities and ensure they are accessible to everyone,” Cr Nelmes said.

“We look forward to hearing what each community representative brings to the table to help us plan for the future of our city’s much-loved inland pool network.”

Colin Irvine spends most days at Lambton Swimming Centre and said he is committed to actively contributing to the way the facilities are managed.

“These days I coach both swimming and water polo at Lambton Pool and am there most days. I can see the challenges faced by those running swimming pools from many perspectives,” Mr Irvine said.

“I have been a swimmer all my life and have spent a lot of time at Lambton Pool. In my younger years I was an elite level competitive swimmer and water polo player. As an athlete, a parent, a coach, a business owner, and as a frequent user, I have an appreciation for the challenges faced by local and state authorities in balancing competing community needs with scarce resources.”

Consultation will open on the draft Inland Pools Strategy 2043 following the Easter holidays.

Beresfield netballers and pickleballers have been given a boost ahead of the new season with upgraded training facilities delivered as part of a $65,000 project to create a new multisport space for the community.

The revitalised community space has been upgraded with a dual netball and basketball court alongside a previously unused tennis court, which has been re-purposed to include facilities for Newcastle’s first pickleball court.

City of Newcastle completed the transformation of the Allendale Street facility in collaboration with the Beresfield and District Netball Club, which secured a $50,000 grant from the NSW Government with support from the State Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said local projects such as the upgrade to the Beresfield netball court offer important opportunities for the community to engage in active and healthy lifestyles.

“We are pleased to have worked with the Beresfield and District Netball Club to deliver this innovative multisport community space ahead of the upcoming netball season and in time for the school holidays,” Cr Nelmes said.

“The project has also created Newcastle’s first pickleball court, giving residents a place to try their hand at this inclusive, low-impact sport, which is now one of the fastest growing sports in the United States.

“This upgraded multisport facility will provide a great place for kids and adults to catch up with friends and enjoy some friendly competition.

“City of Newcastle is committed to enhancing our sporting and recreational facilities across the local government area, with plans to invest almost $20 million into new and improved parks, playgrounds, sporting and aquatic facilities as part of a record capital works program in our 2023/24 Budget.”

The upgrade of the Beresfield netball courts was designed to provide safer, high performance court surfaces for the local netballers as training for the upcoming season begins.

The project involved court surface repairs, top coating and a new anti-slip surface on the netball court, where the installation of reversible towers with both basketball and netball hoops and dual line marking extended the potential use of the space. New tennis netting on the adjacent court and line marking for both tennis and pickleball completed the multiuse upgrade of the facility.

Beresfield and District Netball Club Committee Members worked with City of Newcastle to come up with a plan for the multisport upgrade, making it a community facility that would be embraced by current and future players.

“Beresfield Netball Club are very pleased with the outcome of this project. We are beyond grateful to all involved for delivering important sporting facilities that will without a doubt drive our local community teams ahead of the new season,” Beresfield and District Netball Club Secretary Leanne Blackie said.

Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a man missing from Lake Macquarie.

Mark Walker, aged 45, was last seen leaving a hospital on Croudace Bay Road, Belmont, about 3am yesterday (Tuesday 4 April 2023).

When he could not be located, officers attached to Lake Macquarie Police Area Command were notified. A search was conducted of the area with the assistance of SES, Surf Life Saving, Fire and Rescue and Polair.

Police and family have concerns for his welfare.

Mark is described as being of Caucasian appearance, olive complexion, about 170 – 175cm tall, of medium build, with black hair, black beard and moustache.

He was last seen wearing dark grey track pants, dark jumper, white joggers.

Mark is believed to be in the Green Point Reserve.

Anyone with information into his whereabouts is urged to contact Lake Macquarie Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.