North Geelong Urban Forest Alliance

COMMENT ON REVISED PLAN BY 26 NOV

2010-11-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

URGENT! URGENT! URGENT!

PLEASE HELP TO PRESERVE NORTH GEELONG'S GREEN OPEN SPACE AND WOODLAND

Melbourne-based developers Links Living have lodged another lay out plan for the former Geelong golf course. Their revised layout plan has been lodged with the City of Greater Geelong.

Objections/comments to the City of Greater Geelong’s Statutory Planning Department must be lodged by Friday 26th November.

To make your comment on the revised lay out plan for the site, contact Melissa McBride, Coordinator Statutory Planning, by:

1. Logging onto www.geelongcity.vic.gov.au and going to the Have Your Say link.

2. Sending an email to mmcbride@geelongcity.vic.gov.au

3. Sending a letter to Melissa McBride, Coordinator Statutory Planning, City Development, City of Greater Geelong, PO Box 104 Geelong 3220 with your comments.

Hares grazing on the old Geelong golf course c 1968

2010-11-04T22:32:00.001-07:00

Painting by Viv Atherton

Objecting to the Proposed Subdivision of the Geelong Golf Course Help Sheet

2010-11-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

The City of Greater Geelong have still not made plans available for exhibition. This is an extraordinary viewing and consultation process that the city is providing.

This permit is to subdivide the land area as this area was re-zoned as residential in 2006. The purpose is to assess the plans against schedule 19 of the Geelong planning scheme.

Your voice is important.

Planning Permit ( Still Unidentified and will be updated)

Objecting

Go to COGG website www.geelongaustralia.com.au
Go to search area and type in planning
Go to left hand column – Current planning applications.

Objecting via mail: Write letter quoting the above reference number and send to

Attention Ms Melissa McBride
City of Greater Geelong
PO Box 104
Geelong 3218

An objection can be simple such as “ I object to the over development for the site , please register me as an objector and keep me informed of how the process is going”.

Please return to this area for further updates and example objections over the next week.

Open Letter to Ian Trezise MLA

2010-10-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

28th October 2010

Mr Ian Trezise, MLA Member for Geelong

69A Pakington Street Geelong West 3218

Dear Mr Trezise

I write to inform you that North Geelong Urban Forest Alliance (NGUFA) seeks to firmly place the issue of the former Geelong golf course on the election agenda. As a community action coalition formed to call for an increase in the urban open spaces in this municipality, we shall also inform the following of our intentions by way of copies of this letter: all local MPs, the Premier, our municipal councillors, candidates in the coming State election and concerned community organisations.

NGUFA believes that the Geelong community has been presented with a once in a century opportunity to buy-back inner urban land for the benefit of all Geelong residents. The Federal, State and Local governments must take this opportunity to show an enlightened approach to environmental leadership. By acting now to ensure the sequestration of these parcels of land for open space our governments will have safeguarded the land’s current biodiversity and will have bequeathed benefits to our community’s health, economic, social and environmental wellbeing for generations to come.

NGUFA proposes that this land be re-zoned and compulsorily acquired for development as urban woodland and community common to safeguard its biodiversity and act as a regional carbon sink. The City of Greater Geelong should assume stewardship of this community asset. Our vision for the future uses of this land include:

A centre for education & research in sustainable living (modelled on a CERES* type of development) and promoted as a tourist attraction and children’s farm
Revegetation as a native wild life habitat
Cycling and walking paths connecting the Linear Pathway from McCurdie Road and Corio Bay at Rippleside
Wildlife corridor
Development as a regenerative wetland.

Recent cutting-edge research led by Dr Mardie Townsend of Deakin University has demonstrated the positive health benefits of our interactions with nature ^1,2,3,4.

NGUFA will be actively working to ensure an increasing awareness in our community of this opportunity to improve Geelong’s liveability and environmental assets.
NGUFA representatives will be happy to meet with you to discuss this further. Please find attached our vision and mission statements.

Yours sincerely,
Neil Tolliday
Convenor NGUFA
0402817673

* See the following for more information about CERES: www.ceres.org.au

1. Mallar, C., Townsend, M., Pryor, A., Brown, P., & St Ledger, L. (2006) Healthy Nature Healthy People: “ Contact with Nature “ as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations. Health Promotion International (21) Issue1, 45-54.

2. Mallar C., Townsend M., St Ledger L., Henderson- Wilson C., Pryor A., Prosser,L. & More, M ( 2010) Healthy Parks Healthy People : The benefits of contact with nature in a park context.www.georgewright.org/262maller.pdf

3. Brown ,V., Grootjans,J.,Ritchie,J.,Townsend,M., Verrinder, G.( 2005) Sustainability and Health : Supporting global ecological integrity in public health. http://en.scientificcommons.org/45686571

4. Townsend ,M., ( 2006) Feel Blue ? Touch Green ! Participation in forest and woodlands management as a treatment for depression. Urban Forestry Urban Greening ( 5) Issue 3, 111-120.

VISION & MISSION

2010-10-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

VISION
We are local residents striving to create a community that nurtures urban forests, open spaces and natural assets.

MISSION
To encourage Geelong people to join us in making real the vision in these ways:
· Preserving the site of the former Geelong Golf Course from any proposed development other than as an urban forest
· Fostering awareness of the value of enhancing the site’s biodiversity and its links to nearby wildlife corridors
· Raising the understanding of this site and others as areas of vegetation which absorb carbon emissions
· Appreciating the site’s many tangible and intangible benefits to our community - past, present and future
· Building constructive relationships with all levels of government, business and the health and education sectors.

To join us, or find more information become a follower.
Email: ngurbanforestalliance @ gmail.com

Letter to Geelong Councillors

2010-10-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

There are many interested residents waiting to hear the outcome of the meeting between the City of Greater Geelong and Melbourne based developer Links Living.

A growing number of people are warming to the vision of the former Geelong golf course site as an urban forest, to benefit not only our neglected northern suburbs but the entire region.

It is a vision in which the parcels of land that make up this site remain a contiguous whole, and on which the only development is one that intensifies its biodiversity, increases its capacity as a carbon sink, and recognises its importance as site of oxygen production.

Private land which has, in the past, been restricted for community and recreational uses, can be compulsorily acquired if there is a will to do so. Privately owned parklands from the time of European settlement must remain so. This worthy goal can be achieved. It takes courage and the will to strive for a long-term benefit for all, rather than acquiescence to short-term gain for a few.

If we allow this verdant wedge to be sub-divided for development we shall be judged harshly by future generations who will deride our lack of will and ask in disbelief, "what were they thinking?"

It is salutory to note that 2011 has been designated the "International Year of the Forest".

Yours in fostering sustainable futures,

Guenter Sahr

OUR URBAN FOREST

2010-09-27T04:41:00.000-07:00

Some of the trees growing in the urban woodland that is the former Geelong golf course.

2010-09-15T03:14:00.000-07:00

North Geelong Urban Forest Alliance

invites you to an informal meeting

biodiversity of the former Geelong golf club site

Presentations by Geelong Field Naturalists and Geelong Environment Council

Thursday 23rd September at 7.30pm

Geelong Anglers Society Hall

9 Yuille Street Geelong West

Gold coin donation

Please RSVP to 0402 817 673

Media Release 16 August 2010

2010-08-16T05:07:00.000-07:00

North Geelong Urban Forest Alliance is working to protect and preserve the more than 44 hectares of urban forest formerly known as the Geelong Golf Course.

This green wedge is one of the oldest continuous open spaces in urban Geelong and has been a treed parkland since the golf club was founded in 1892. Since the closure of the golf course in 2003 there has been significant naturally occurring reforestation with its added biodiversity. The area, with its mature trees and abundant wildlife, is important from an ecological perspective but also as the northern suburbs’ only substantial carbon sink. Its large trees enhance air quality and provide significant carbon sequestration.

This green wedge in Geelong’s residential/industrial north is facing devastation by the proposed Links Living Limited “development”. Links Living’s hastily cobbled master plan fails to address the significant carbon release this land grab will deliver. It decimates North Geelong’s only substantial green lung and delivers only profound and irrevocable environmental degradation. For humans and wildlife alike, Links Living’s new proposed “master plan” is a disaster, resulting in loss of open space, habitat and visual amenity. And on Ballarat Road and Thompson Road there will be massive increase in traffic volume.

In an era when governments and councils are addressing environmental issues and daily announcing new initiatives, we urge both state and federal governments to work together to prevent the destruction of North Geelong’s unique and precious “urban forest” and further alienation of open space.

We urge the Minister for Planning and the Premier of Victoria to call a halt to Links Living’s flow of plans and proposals. We urge the state and federal governments to act together immediately to save a significant historic open space, its mature trees, wildlife, waterways and habitat. The people of Geelong and future generations can thus benefit from what was bequeathed to them. Geelong can be a leader in urban environmental responsibility.