Category: Newcastle News

The future liveability, public domain and amenity of Wickham are at the centre of updates to the Newcastle Development Control Plan (DCP) adopted by the elected Council at tonight’s Ordinary Council Meeting.

Following a four-week public exhibition period, additional planning controls consistent with the Wickham Masterplan have been added to the DCP (Section 6.03 Wickham), including requirements for all developments in Wickham to upgrade their public domain frontages to CN’s specifications.

Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen said the amendments respond to community feedback to achieve a shared vision for the precinct’s urban renewal.

“This is welcome news for residents and the community of Wickham who have advocated for Wickham’s urban renewal with a clear vision from the start,” Cr Clausen said.

“Creating community infrastructure with upgraded footpaths and better-connected green spaces as part of all developments, to CN specifications, will maintain Wickham’s inner-city suburban character and protect the Village Hub atmosphere.

“The updates to the DCP are consistent with Wickham Masterplan, and Newcastle 2040: Community Strategic Plan for a liveable Newcastle with enriched neighbourhoods and places of enjoyment.”

Along with the adopted DCP relating to Wickham, CN is currently preparing a comprehensive public domain plan for Wickham. The plan will increase amenity and safety in the area and include traffic, transport and road configuration changes in line with the Wickham Masterplan.

Community engagement is scheduled to commence toward the end of 2022.

City of Newcastle Manager Regulatory, Planning and Assessment Michelle Bisson said CN is committed to delivering good planning outcomes for Wickham residents and the community.

“Wickham’s identity is continuing to evolve and take shape as it transitions from a semi-industrial suburban area into a thriving urban neighbourhood that supports the revitalisation of Newcastle’s West End,” Ms Bisson said.

“It is great to see CN’s shared vision with the community progressing and we look forward to the next stage in the planning pathway.

“Further community input into the public domain plan for Wickham will ensure we meet future growth associated with the precinct.”

A man will appear in court today charged following a pursuit and alleged attempted carjacking in the state’s Hunter Region.

About 11.30am yesterday (Monday 22 August 2022), police were called to O’Hearn Street, Tenambit, following reports of a brawl.

Officers attached to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District attended and located a man allegedly armed with a speargun, who immediately fled a Holden Commodore.

Police initiated a pursuit, during which the Holden collided with a caged police vehicle. The pursuit was terminated due to safety concerns.

A short time later, police were called to Melbourne Street, East Maitland, after the Holden reportedly lost control and the man allegedly attempted to carjack two vehicles while armed with a weapon.

Following inquiries, the vehicle was located parked at the rear of a unit block on Newcastle Street.

Offices forced entry to a unit and arrested the 36-year-old man.

He was taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station and charged with affray, police pursuit – not stop – drive dangerously, and two counts of aggravated assault with intent to take/drive motor vehicle – armed with weapon.

The East Maitland man was refused bail to appear at Maitland Local Court today (Tuesday 23 August 2022).

NSW Fair Trading, SafeWork NSW and the NSW Builder Commissioner have commenced “Anytime, Anywhere” inspections on residential apartment buildings in the Newcastle region.

The audits will take place over a two-day period and target multi-unit residential buildings that are currently under construction or recently completed, with a focus on looking for early signs of major building defects, non-compliance and safety.

Department of Customer Service Director for Building and Construction Compliance Matthew Whitton said the inspections were part of the NSW Government’s commitment to ensuring safe and compliant building standards in regional NSW.

“There has been an increase in the construction of multi-storey apartment buildings in the Newcastle region,” Mr Whitton said.

“These inspections help ensure people in regional areas have access to safe and compliant dwellings.

“The community should have confidence developers are being held to account for poor work such as waterproofing, fire safety and defective construction that can cause huge headaches financially and emotionally for consumers down the track.”

There have been significant reforms to the building and construction industry that have improved the design and construction of apartment buildings in NSW.

These included the introduction of the Design and Building Practitioners Act and the Independent Construction Industry Rating Tool (iCIRT), a five-star system to rate builders, certifiers and developers. 

A minimum benchmark average of three stars out of five was required for a builder to be deemed trustworthy. 

Further, the NSW Residential Apartment Building (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act has also transformed industry practices to deliver more trustworthy buildings to consumers.

“If defects are found, they have to be addressed under the law,” NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler said.

“NSW Fair Trading can order a builder to immediately rectify defects or even stop work until the defects are repaired.”

In addition to building defects and compliance, SafeWork NSW inspectors will assess work health and safety compliance on building sites and address any issues that affect worker safety.

For more information on the NSW Government’s building and construction reform program visit www.nsw.gov.au/building-commissioner

Popular television presenter Costa Georgiadis and MasterChef favourite Mindy Woods will join a special program of free events to mark the reopening of Wallsend Library following an extensive upgrade.

Celebrations kick off tomorrow with a family fun day, followed by a six-week program of special events designed to showcase the multi-use spaces provided by the new and improved library facilities and technology.

New mobile shelving, lightweight furniture and innovative book displays will provide broader use of Wallsend Library with flexible spaces allowing more events and programs that celebrate creativity, collaboration, culture, inclusion and diversity.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the upgrade of Wallsend Library forms part of City of Newcastle’s ongoing investment into its library network to enhance the overall customer experience and meet the changing needs of its members.

“It’s fantastic to be unveiling the reimagined Wallsend Library to the community this weekend as part of City of Newcastle’s continued investment into enhancing our much-loved library network infrastructure,” Cr Nelmes said.

“With more than 100,000 library members across Newcastle, we know our community values our local library amenities, which is why we have allocated around $7 million over five years of capital works programs, including almost $1 million in the 2022/23 Budget.

“Wallsend Library has undergone a major refresh delivering new ways of accessing library services, improved access to technology and the creation of more inclusive spaces for the community’s enjoyment.

“Newcastle Library members and the community are invited to come and experience the reimagined Wallsend Library with a special program of events lined up during the next six weeks.”

Families are welcome to attend the Wallsend Family Fun Day at the library this Saturday from 10am to 2pm or sing along with popular children’s entertainers The Quokkas Live at The Library on Sunday 28 August.

Join popular television presenter Costa Georgiadis’ talk on seeds, soil and gardening for the soul on Sunday 18 September and don’t miss MasterChef favourite and proud Bundjalung woman Mindy Woods’ Aussie Tukka afternoon tea on Sunday 21 August as she shares her passion for food, country and culture.

Visit Newcastle Libraries What’s ON Events Calendar for further information on Wallsend Library’s reopening celebrations.

The National Tertiary Education has today condemned the latest pay offer from University of Newcastle management as a massive cut to the real wages of university staff.

The NTEU and Uni management have been in negotiations for a new enterprise agreement for almost 12 months. Yesterday Uni management announced a pay offer totalling just 6% over more than three years. 

Dan Conway, NTEU Branch President said: 

“Management’s offer is insulting to hard-working Newcastle Uni staff. Their offer of 6% over more than three years doesn’t even match the inflation rate for the current year. 

“Over the life of the enterprise agreement it equates to less than 2% per annum. In the current inflationary environment, that’s a huge real wage cut. And this coming from a management that sacked hundreds of staff over the last two years.

“Earlier this year Newcastle Uni announced a record surplus of $185 million. The Uni can clearly afford a proper pay rise as well as deliver on job security and safe and healthy workloads.”

Dr Damien Cahill, NTEU NSW Secretary said: 

“Newcastle University management need to get serious about investing in their staff. It was the hard work of University staff that got the University through the worst days of the pandemic. 

“It is university staff who are now shouldering the extra work resulting from hundreds of their colleagues being callously sacked. And you can’t expect a quality student experience without giving uni staff a pay rise that keeps pace with the cost of living and without fixing the crisis of insecure employment and chronic overwork.”

The community has shown its support for a six-month trial to extend outdoor dining and improve pedestrian and cyclist safety within Newcastle’s renowned “eat street” precinct.

The positive feedback was received during consultation for the City of Newcastle project, which is designed to encourage increased visitation and trade along Darby Street.

Councillors will vote next week on the trial concept plans, which include the installation of a temporary raised outdoor dining area, relocatable “mini deck” outdoor dining, and traffic calming measures designed to reduce motorist speed and improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.

Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen said consultation with local residents and businesses had helped to inform the project, with further engagement planned throughout the six-month trial period.

“Community input is an important part of the planning process, so I’m pleased to see such strong public interest in and recognition of the benefits of implementing this trial within one of Darby Street’s busiest precincts, delivering safer and more inviting local places for Novocastrians to shop and eat,” Cr Clausen said.

“The trial is a much-welcomed boost for businesses following the pandemic. While this is only a six-month trial, it will provide valuable insights into ways we can activate and improve the precinct to positively impact local economies, community health, and wellbeing as part of a potential future upgrade of Darby Street, which is a high priority under City of Newcastle’s Local Centres Renewal Program.”

The raised dining area will be temporarily installed in the parking lane outside the most concentrated strip of eateries (between Sanctum and Goldbergs cafés), freeing up the footpath for pedestrians while more than doubling the current outdoor dining space in this area.

The “mini deck” will provide an additional mobile recreational and outdoor dining space that can be relocated for use by interested businesses, while new seating in the Darby Headphones Courtyard will provide additional options for people to sit and socialise.

Ben Richardson, Owner of Autumn Rooms cafe, is pleased to see City of Newcastle considering the needs of local business and the community through this trial project.

“Darby Street already has an eclectic mix of dining and shopping options that attract visitors to the precinct, however this trial will add to the visitor experience, which will help business owners understand how to evolve to continue attracting customers,” Mr Richardson said.

New paving, lighting and public art including murals will also inject new life into the Headphones Courtyard, with work in this area planned to commence next week. Proposed traffic calming measures including a raised pedestrian crossing will be presented to Council for consideration at Tuesday’s Council meeting.

To assist with increasing the available short term free parking in the area, for the duration of the trial 18 spaces in the Queen Street car park to the rear of the library will be converted to 2P free spaces.

The trial has been made possible with funding from the City of Newcastle Urban Centres Revitalisation Program and a $500,000 grant from the NSW Government through the Streets as Shared Spaces program (Round 2).

New footpaths, safety improvements and a vibrant community mural will breathe new life into Shortland’s neighbourhood shopping precinct as part of City of Newcastle’s Local Centres program.

The upgrade will reduce driver speeds and make it easier for residents to safely navigate the area on foot following the installation of a new pedestrian refuge and road cushions, as well as the introduction of a 40km/hr zone in areas of high pedestrian activity along the busy Sandgate Road.

A new light traffic thoroughfare will also remove heavy vehicle traffic over 10 tonnes between Wetlands Place and Vale Street.

The upgrade will be complemented by improvements to shopfronts along the shopping precinct, with three businesses receiving funding under this year’s Façade Improvements Scheme. The grants help fund repairs and building façade improvements to create active frontages and enhance the city’s presentation.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the upgrade delivers a safer and more appealing public space for the Shortland community.

“It’s wonderful to see this new space delivered for Shortland residents. This project, which was proposed in a notice of motion by former Ward Four Councillor Jason Dunn, has been well supported by the community, who told us that they wanted safer, easier access to support local businesses,” said Cr Nelmes.

“In earlier consultation we heard concerns about access to parking, particularly on mornings when bins are put out for collection, and the changes to parking delivered as part of this upgrade make it easier to get here and shop locally.”

A community mural celebrating Shortland’s unique character has been installed on the side of My Community Pharmacy on Hansen Place, while new landscaping and seating will also make the area a nicer place to visit and shop. The design of the mural was developed by local artists UP&UP in collaboration with students from Shortland Public School, Margaret Jurd College and Our Lady of Victories school.

My Community Pharmacy owner John Jones said the changes had been welcomed by the local community, who feel proud about where they live.

“The Shortland Local Centre upgrade consolidates a sense of pride within the Shortland community,” Mr Jones said.

“The mural, painted by UP&UP following consultation and workshops with local school children, reflects that sense of community, while changes in traffic conditions have helped people feel safer walking across the road and along the footpaths.

“It’s lovely to walk up the street and see all the improvements.”

The Shortland project was completed under City of Newcastle’s Local Centres program, which is delivering upgrades to suburban centres across the local government area. Previous projects have included James Street Plaza, Hamilton, Llewellyn Street, Merewether and Joslin Street, Kotara, while an upgrade is due for completion later this year at Mitchell Street, Stockton.

City of Newcastle’s plans to build a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre have been overwhelmingly endorsed by the community.

Ninety-eight per cent of residents surveyed indicated their support for the project during the first stage of community consultation.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle (CN) is committed to increasing its capabilities in recycling and reuse of materials.

“The Summerhill Waste Management Centre will play a key role in the region’s ability to address future NSW and Federal government targets on waste diversion and recycling,” Cr Nelmes said.

“Our Sustainable Waste Strategy, which is expected to be placed on public exhibition in coming months, focusses on increased diversion, circular economy and the co-location of waste assets in the Summerhill precinct, which will allow the contents of Newcastle’s red, yellow and green bins to be processed at the one location.

“The community has told us very clearly that they support measures to sustainably divert waste from landfill.

“Construction of the MRF at Summerhill, in addition to the planned garden and food organics facility, meets the expectations of our community and will help achieve our vision for a circular economy where recyclables can be processed and remanufactured into new products locally.

“As we move forward, the views of the community will continue to inform our approach for these important projects and our broader Sustainable Waste Strategy.”

CN is now preparing to call for tenders to design, construct and operate the MRF, which will allow plastics, paper, cardboard, glass and metals collected from kerbside recycling bins to be sorted at the Summerhill site. A separate tender will also be called for the collection of the city’s kerbside recyclable materials.

The MRF project received $5 million from the Federal and NSW Governments in August last year and is included in the adopted 2022/23 Budget as one of four city-shaping projects that will deliver key outcomes for the community.

Concept designs prepared by CN ensure the MRF is scalable to process up to 85,000 tonnes of recyclables per annum, creating a regional solution for recyclable materials from across the Hunter.

Recyclables collected from Newcastle households have been transported to the Central Coast since 2020 when the only MRF in the Hunter closed, affecting City of Newcastle and several other Hunter councils.

Newcastle Art Gallery’s collection has been independently valued at $126 million, an increase of $11 million since key works were last reviewed.

The $126 million value means the collection is now the most valuable of any gallery in Australia not located in a capital city.

The Gallery was closed in February 2022 to allow for the collection to be prepared for relocation to secure storage ahead of the building’s $40 million expansion.

As part of the decanting process, key works were revalued, with Joseph Lycett’s Inner view of Newcastle and Russell Drysdale’s The crow trap recording the most significant increases, with more than $1 million added to each of their valuations. Five other iconic paintings including William Dobell’s renowned Portrait of a Strapper rose by more than half a million dollars each.

Significant female artists in the collection were also among works whose values have risen substantially, with two of Cressida Campbell’s works on paper more than doubling in value. Notable increases were also recorded for works by important artists including Eugene von Guérard, Hilda Rix Nicholas, Brett Whiteley, Grace Cossington Smith and Arthur Streeton.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the long-awaited expansion of Newcastle Art Gallery would allow the community to view and appreciate even more of these iconic artworks.

“City of Newcastle is proud to be the custodian of one of Australia’s most significant public collections of art, however only 1% of Newcastle Art Gallery’s works were able to be displayed in any year due to a lack of space in the existing building,” Cr Nelmes said.

“The expansion project includes an additional 1,600 square meters of exhibition space with dedicated areas on the lower level for our collection, offering the ability to share more of these wonderful works with the community.

“By more than doubling the size of the Gallery and delivering a suite of modern facilities, this project will deliver an expanded and upgraded gallery of international standing that will offer a valuable cultural tourism opportunity for Newcastle and the Hunter.”

Newcastle Art Gallery Director Lauretta Morton OAM said the collection was significant and diverse, providing a time capsule of Australian art dating back more than 200 years.

“Thanks to the generosity of Dr Roland Pope, whose initial bequest in 1945 formed the genesis of the collection, and subsequent donations from major benefactors, artists, the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation, Newcastle Art Gallery Society and our community we are honoured to be the custodian of the city’s collection with works of art of local, national and international importance,” Ms Morton said.

“We are also proud to share this incredible collection with the rest of Australia through a touring loans program to regional, state and national institutions. During the past four years alone, many of our works of art have travelled to galleries around the country and have been viewed by approximately one million people, with 39 works of art currently involved in 11 exhibitions across Australia.”

The collection is also available to view online via the Newcastle Art Gallery website, while key works are represented in the Night Galleries project at sites throughout the city including Market Street Steps, Kuwumi Place and Pacific Park.