At the ordinary meeting of Horsham Council on 25th November I endeavoured, without success, to achieve clarity on the number and validity of submissions received on the "City to River" project.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
I did this following widespread ratepayer concerns regarding the questions asked, the interpretation of the submissions as well as the acceptance of votes of children, in what is an extremely complex process.
A specific concern raised is that the responses sought do not relate to the draft Plan.
Approximately 265 of the 740 responses to City to River appear invalid (leaving 475 valid votes)
- 95 submissions have no valid name,
- About 150 submissions are from children aged 15 years or less, (See United Nations Charter on Childrens Rights - Article 12 (1) & (2),
- An estimated 20 submissions in the 16 - 25 age bracket are under 18 years of age.
Analysis of all 740 responses: There is no overall support for the draft master plan despite an unprecedented campaign. The "clear support" vote represents a mere 1 per cent of the HRCC population of 20,000 people.
City to River projects already cancelled or modified
- Community pushback has already highlighted the substantial lack of support for the project:
- The petition to save McBryde Street received 550 valid signatures and forced a Council backflip.
- The Facebook response (nearing 600 hits) and other criticism of the planned parallel and reduced parking in the CBD now has the Council stating that it did not suggest this!
- Community response to the disposal of long standing clubs (Lawn Tennis, Croquet and the Miniature Rail group - with no prior consultation) has forced a partial back-down.
There has been no community discussion nor mandate given to dismantle the Sound Shell and Sawyer Park, which seem to be inevitable consequences of the proposal to turn the City oval 90 degrees and expand it to the AFL size.
The planned Civic Square in the middle of the current police station has been abandoned.
Community confidence in the process is essential: The City to River process has been driven by the CEO and senior council staff working with consultants. Councillors and our community had no say in what projects our council prioritised for funding support in the lead up to the last election. No cost estimates were provided and in fact assurances were given that there would be no costs (associated with approving the plan).
Councillor Grimble sought to address the integrity issues with a motion to have the City to River process independently audited. This proposal was rejected and this now leaves the credibility of the whole process exposed. My earlier rescission motion to create the opportunity for further community engagement and for Councillors to more closely examine the whole proposal prior to public display was also rejected.
How can the community move forward: It seems to me that the first task is to remove all those projects that can never succeed, either because of technical, financial, historic or other valid reasons. This process has already commenced with the removal from the plan of the proposed City Square from the middle of the current police station and the removal of the artificial lake. We don't need to pay consultants to tell us the obvious.
To allow for community stability we need to re-affirm the tenancy of those groups, organisations and individuals that have been impacted and are clearly not going to be moved.
We can then genuinely focus and engage with the community on those projects that are achievable, have widespread community support and are incorporated in our Council Plan as part of our existing vision. Examples include riverfront improvements not just near the CAD but from the Riverside Bridge to the weir, enhancements to the CBD and encouraging but not building a riverside café. Horsham Rural City is much bigger than the CAD and a very short section of the Wimmera River. We may need to consider a Community Advisory Committee such as the Rates Committee to assist us in this endeavour.
John Robinson, councillor
Life spent out on the Wimmera plains
'On the Wimmera plains.
Building wind farms far and wide
I feel the dust passing by from way beyond.
...
On the Wimmera plains
A place so flat, wide and vast
the sun dry and hot you wonder why
all the plants don't die but
that is what it is like when you are on the Wimmera plains.
...
The farmer ploughs and hoes his crops
barley and wheat the favourite of the lot
all along, far and wide you know you are on the Wimmera plains
...
From dawn to dusk, dusk to dawn
we hoist our cranes and rig the blades to build the wind farms of the Wimmera plains.'
...
