New Year Revolutions

By Duncan Horscroft on January 7, 2016 in Other

Happy New Year Waverley Council, may all your troubles be shared within the new merger. I hope it solves all of your problems of not being able to stand alone.

Many of us are still scratching our heads with the decision to become a so-called ‘Super Council’ with Randwick, but that was a decision we ratepayers really had nothing to do with.

During 2015 there were many decisions made by Council that left locals wondering what Council’s priorities were and the why massive amounts of money were suddenly being spent on seemingly inane projects.

Ripping up half of the Bondi Beach parkland prior to the beginning of the official swimming season was one of their best. But who are we to argue.

In Bronte, recent work was undertaken at the top of St Thomas Street with new roadworks and traffic islands being installed, eliminating quite a few valued parking spots.

Local residents successfully protested against a roundabout where Chesterfield, Trafalgar and St Thomas Streets meet, but instead traffic islands were put in place, which eliminated the many parking spots that were available.

Also included in the project was the resurfacing of the road inside Waverley Cemetery. Why?

A beautifully paved road inside an area that is bordered on the north by a tumble-down rotting fence, ‘temporary’ plastic fencing and unkempt graves seems a bit bizarre.

Oh, but wait, there was a new fence put in along the St Thomas Street perimeter of the cemetery, which is about five metres above the road and totally unnecessary.

But who are we to argue, especially when they replaced parts of the Trafalgar Street fencing with a few new pickets scattered among the rotting posts. Surely that must have been a priority.

Another fence that has taken forever and a day is the one on the Bronte Beach promenade, which replaces the old wooden one that was smashed by a storm in early 2015.

And where is the clock that had previously stood the test of time above the dressing sheds at the south end of Bronte Beach? How long does it take to fix a clock?

The coral trees in Bronte Gully also received a look-in last year, with the council finally admitting the trees were feral and needed removing. They even put up signs saying what good guys they were for running an eradication program.

Quite a few have been taken out, but one giant took it upon itself to self-destruct in December, smashing down across the well-used path. Not the first and probably not the last.

Last but not least is the Bronte RSL development.

Council originally supported the ‘Village People’ in their objection to the project, but a new DA was accepted last year with the developer complying with the new height restrictions.

The irony is that the vehicle access along Chesterfield Lane has been approved, which was one of the main objections in the initial proposal.

Lest we forget.