YOUR SAY: Minns gets support for his 'caretaker' call

Councillors in caretaker mode should not be making decisions on reducing assets of the community they serve. In an era when obesity looms as a major health challenge, when population density is increasing in this LGA, precious exercise amenities such as the pool should be maintained. Not all newcomers to the area would know of it. This pool has provided a facility for the people of the LGA and adjoining areas who have had the good fortune to know of its presence. We cannot easily get more land for parks and recreation and deserve to at least maintain those we already have. Lynette Hoey, BRIGHTON LE SANDS

We now understand that when the TfNSW M6 Tunnel Group presented the council with the results of the required community consultations that the M6 Group had carried out on the council's behalf, the council expressed no interest therein-the impression the M6 officers received was that their extensive community consultation report was going directly into the waste paper basket.

We can only assume that not even the M6 Group was aware the council had, some months before, already determined the form of this redevelopment as a soccer-centric facility-no other sport-existing user or otherwise-need apply for inclusion!

The "like for like" requirement contained in the TfNSW agreement for the financing of this redevelopment-along with any community sentiments-were always going to be ignored, to the sole benefit of someone's favourite soccer club!

The fact is, the council is required to consult with the community before determining such community property matters; Council is not bound to take any notice of community sentiments but to disingenuously carry out these required consultations only after the council has already determined the matter is a flagrant abuse of that process.

The local community has three times in past many years organised to save this sporting field from redevelopment other than as a sporting field. We find it incomprehensible that the council appears oblivious to the possibility that the local community may become hostile when the council determines such community property without first giving the community the required opportunity to contribute to the debate before any determination is made.

The known facts of this matter then raise the question: Is this how the council generally manages such community property-make a determination first and then afterwards performs a sham community consultation? If so, ratepayers may be more professionally served by the appointment of an Administrator to this council.

Then, to this particular "Memorial Fields" problem, there is a simple solution. For the council to reincorporate the tennis courts into this redevelopment-such option still being practicable, there is still the time and the space to do so. Maybe the council should think seriously about that possibility. Philip Cohen, BRIGHTON LE SANDS

Edgbaston Reserve in Beverly Hills is set to undergo redevelopment thanks to a $450,000 grant from the Federal Government.

Bravo - but what happened to the developer contributions from all those units?

I was looked at with disdain when ALP Ward Cr Steve MacMahon noted the lack of facilities for incoming residents, saying it wasn't their fault when I quipped, "no, it's Council!"

So whilst it's nice that the Member for Banks has redirected our hard earnt PAYG dollars, his mates at the State level fail on planning and keep giving concessions and discounts to developers! Greg Briscoe-Hough, MORTDALE

On November 14, The Leader published an article titled "Georges River Council waives DA fees for home renovators". I thought this was a brilliant initiative, most probably because my husband and I were planning on some minor renovations. The only problem was that I lived in the Bayside Council area, a mere one suburb out of the range of Georges River Council and of this money-saving initiative we so desperately needed.

Equipped with the knowledge from this article, I used this precedence to now write to Rockdale Councillors and The Member for Rockdale for assistance.

On Sunday, November 22, I shot off several emails. Councillor Bill Saravinovski was the quickest draw answering back on the same day. A very close second was from Steve Kamper MP (Member for Rockdale), who wrote to me on Monday, November 23.

Mr Kamper forwarded a representation to the General Manager of Bayside Council for consideration and Mr Saravinovski put in a notice of motion to waive the fees as per George's River Council.

By December 9, the notice of motion had been passed. From January 1 2021, until December 31 2021, anyone living within the Bayside council area that plans on alteration and additions to dwelling houses costing less than $100K will have their DA fees waived.

I wanted to send a huge thank you to Mr Saravinovski and Mr Kamper, for their assistance with my request. The positive outcome gives me great faith in their dedicated leadership. Kaliopi Diamantis ROCKDALE

I feel that Roads Minister Andrew Constance's recent action to call for the clearance of a 40-metre wide tree-free zone on either side of roads has been ill-advised and overlooks a very much better solution.

Keep the 40-metre wide zone by all means, but Bonsai the trees instead. Instead of soaring 30-metre roadside giants, why not 3-metre gum trees, so much easier for koalas to climb, a better OH&S result when they fall off, and more easily extinguished if they do catch fire, not that Climate change has anything to do with it, of course. If Mr Constance cares to follow up on this idea, he could no doubt organise a Parliamentary 'Fact Finding' mission to Japan, to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics, perhaps.

The future roadside Bonsai forests of NSW could become a great tourist attraction, with all of our surviving endangered native fauna living in them being more clearly visible to Tourist filled Busses as they whizz past at great speed from Sydney to visit the clear-felled beauty of Mr Constance's electorate. Garry P Dalrymple, EARLWOOD