Known as the
"Fig Tree Pocket Act", it took away the rights of any
buyers of the land on the proposed estate, to object to, or take
actions against industrial noise from across the river.
Download
the Fig Tree Pocket Act in PDF format
So that this loss
of rights would not effect land sales, buyers were to be advised
of the Act on their first rate notices.
The development
decision was reversed and a tribunal set up to advise council on
the best way to use the land in question.
Department officials who were at
the meeting were not very impressed with the three million dollars
in land sales and future rates income that the decision cost the
council.
The tribunal
consisted of the strategic town planner Mr. John Butler, Alderman
Bob Mills and myself.
We called for submissions with
strict terms of reference from interested parties.
Most Association
battles are lengthy processes with slow drawn out successes,
failures, or compromises. This one ended in more spectacular
fashion at a mass meeting co-chaired by Lord Mayor Sally-Anne
Atkinson and myself.
Seven proposals that come within
the guidelines were on the final short list.
One of the
proposals would have been as bad for local lifestyle and land
values as the original.
Two others would have been much
worse.
With two of the
three voters on the committee being council representatives and a
lot of pressure from council to regain some or all of the lost
dollars, the final rejection of the Bond University was something
of a task.
Traffic and parking
problems around universities are well known and our feeder road is
hardly designed for heavy traffic.
After a written
vote and several meetings by residents, the M.P.A. decided on our
preferred neighbours and we managed to achieve the desired result.
Over two decades
there have been other major issues such as the proposal to build a
major traffic bridge across the river here, which has, for now,
been shelved. The Polo Club debate was a reasonably recent
skirmish and there have been others.
Most of the work
has been on less spectacular issues however. The day to day items
that develop a good living area.
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