Welcome to our week-in-review.
Deliberately LIt Fire at Lane Cove Market Square
A roving reporter notified ITC about a weekend fire at Lane Cove Market Square.
A spokesperson for Knight Frank – the Managing Agent, told ITC the following:
“There was a minor deliberately lit fire in the fire escape stairwell (off the carpark, not the toilets) at approximately 5:25 p.m. on Sunday night.
This triggered alarms, and the Fire Brigade (as did Knight Frank staff) attended at approximately 5.30 pm to make it safe and reset the FIP (Fire Indication Panel).
CCTV has been recorded and has been supplied to the Police.
The area has been cleaned, and some minor repairs are required.”
Vale Guy Wilkie Warren AM OAM (1921-2024)
Guy Warren was a Lane Cove local and often described as Australia’s oldest working artist.
He was also an Archibald Prize Winning Artist and the subject of a prize-winning Arhicbald painting.
Over the years, ITC has written a few articles about Guy, including when Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios held a retrospective of his work. Read more about Guy’s work and fantastic life here.
In 2022, we featured Guy after returning home from a hospital stint – read our story here.
Below is a picture of Guy Warren, the 2017 winner of the Guy Warren Prize, and the talented Dana Dion Artist.
Lane Cove Council Responds to Saftey Concerns Over New Speed Bumps on Longueville Road
As previously reported, the new speed bumps on Longueville Road are being mistakenly used as a pedestrian crossing. The Lane Cove Council has installed signage (see below) and posted the following:
Business Alert
A new Vietnamese restaurant will be opening up on the old La Provence premises on Burns Bay Road near BWS.
Lane Cove Council Car Park Upgrade
The Lane Cove Council Building’s Carpark is undergoing an upgrade.
Lane Cove Council’s contractors are undertaking car parking maintenance work, weather permitting. The works will involve relaying timber edging, milling the existing pavement, laying new asphalt, and reinstating line marking. As part of the upgrade, an additional accessible parking space will be allocated.
Lane Cove Council noted the following on their website:
“As part of the upgrade, two trees will be removed due to structural root defects combined with asymmetric tree canopy and structural defects with significant tree canopy dieback. Our tree canopy is important, and Council replaces every tree removed with another one if the site allows, and wherever possible with more than one. Both trees will be replaced within the carpark area however the exact locations will be confirmed upon stump removal being completed.
Council’s tree replenishment program is part of our Urban Forest Strategy, which can be found on our website.”
Sea Horses
From time to time, we like to inform people about articles that appear on other hyperlocal media sites. Mosman Collective is like In the Cove, part of the local and independent news movement, bringing local news back to the people.
ITC loves this article from our friends at Mosman Collective – White Seahorses being released at Balmoral Beach. Read more here.
Lane Cove Sports
The weather has not been kind to winter sports, but last Friday, the Lane Cove Junior Rugby Union Club Under 10 Blue team kept playing on as it bucketed down.
On Monday, the club received some good news: Jack & Co. is again sponsoring the club. The photo below is of Store manager Martin with club President Simon Johnson.
The Lane Cove Toy Library Now Open for Memberships
The Lane Cove Toy Library is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run library under the stewardship of The Sydney Library of Things. The Lane Cove Council has funded the set-up costs (thanks so much). The Lane Cove Toy Library is located at 47 Burns Bay Road opp Harris Farm.
Jacky Barker, founder of In the Cove, is handling the setup stage and hopes to make this a great community asset that helps save parents money and reduces the number of items in landfills when kids grow out of toys.
If you are interested in volunteering with the library, please fill out this form. All volunteers who volunteer four times a year receive free membership.
The toy library is for ages 0 to 18, and includes board games or other items that families can enjoy and try before they buy.
You can now apply for membership and the first day for lending toys is 29 June 2024. Apply for membership here
Check out the huge range of toys, games and puzzles here
Have your Say on 14 Gay Street Lane, Cove North
Residents must submit their comments on the options for 14 Gay Street Lane Cove North within a few days.
Lane Cove Council is seeking feedback on the three options for the potential future use and management of the property acquired at 14 Gay Street, Lane Cove.
In March 2023, the Council finalised its purchase of 14 Gay Street, Lane Cove, as part of its Bushland Expansion Program.
It is now time for Lane Cove Council to consider the future use and management of the property for the potential use of the northern end of the site – the southern end shall be retained as bushland.
None of the suggested future uses involve retaining the house in its current state, and therefore, it will be demolished.
The area along the western boundary was already owned by the Council as a drainage reserve. It is a natural linkage from Gay Street that provides public access to the southern end of this site. This would be retained and is currently classified as community land.
Have Your Say
Lane Cove Council has prepared a Community Information Package to help provide further detail on the three options provided
It is recommended that the Community Information Package(External link) is read before completing feedback on the three possibilities summarised below:
-
Subdivide the block and construct a best-practice sustainable home that can be used as a demonstration home before ultimately being sold to recoup part of the land acquisition costs
-
Subdivide block and build two ‘micro houses’ (dual occupancy) that can be permanently used for affordable housing
-
Dedicate the entire site to Bushland. i.e. rezone entire site to C2.
Provide your feedback by participating in the survey here.
Alternatively, you can lodge a written submission to the Council by quoting SU9252:
Email: [email protected] or
Post: Lane Cove Council, PO BOX 20, Lane Cove NSW 1595
The consultation closes on Wednesday, 26 June 2024.
Recreational Boating Fees to Increase
Lane Cove is surrounded by water, and there are a few boat owners in Lane Cove. The Boat Industry Association of Australia is concerned that Transport for NSW will increase fees for recreational boating on 1 July 2024. They issued the following Press Release:
“The boating sector is calling on the Minister for Transport to intervene and ask Transport for NSW to abandon its surprise plan to tax the boating public extra millions of dollars during a cost-of-living crisis.
Transport for NSW’s move to increase a wide range of boating fees from 1 July will deliver a windfall for the department in extra revenue, according to the Boating Industry Association Ltd (BIA).
BIA spokesperson Neil Patchett says there are concerns about the way that Transport is claiming that these increases will only be modest for the majority and that they are necessary to fund the departments work in safety.
“Transport for NSW already charges the highest fees in the nation for people to go recreational boating,” he said. “Claims increases are mostly no more than $35 masks the fact that, for example, a 3-year general boat driver licence will go up by 19 percent. This is more than triple what the CPI figure should be and some of the fee increases go as high as 88 per cent”.
“Compounding the concern is the lack of appropriate consultation. For the first time in more than 20 years, Transport for NSW has gone against its own policy, which is to adjust fees in line with CPI (5.89%). The new fees will result in 10s of millions of dollars in extra revenue from the boating public, made up of everyday Australian families trying to make ends meet in a cost-of-living crisis.”
When considering the above example, BIA notes that if the current number of boaters in NSW took up a 3-year General boat and PWC licence, revenue from these licences alone would climb to $53 million a year. These are just two fee items on a schedule of 13 fees changed to waterways users.
“The Boating Industry Association is the peak body which represents hundreds of small businesses across New South Wales. There are significant concerns coming from industry and public about the ramifications that these record-breaking fee increases will have on businesses and boating. The potential that people will be pushed out of leisure boating is very real. If families are priced out of this form of recreation, it will put jobs at risk across the boating sector.”
Read more here.
La Voce Community Choir Winter Concert
2 July 2024 @ 6:30 p6:30 pm0 p8:00 pm Voce Community Choir Winter Concert will be held at the Lane Cove Living and Learning Centre 164-180 Longueville Rd, Lane Covon, Tuesday, 2 July 2024 at 6.30 pm. The concert is free.
WhatsApp Dedicated ITC Channel
In the Cove publishes articles nearly every day about Lane Cove issues, events, businesses and things to do. Facebook and Instagram have changed their algorithms, and you will see less and less local news in your feeds.
To respond to this, we have developed a WhatsApp Channel. We will post all our articles and even some exclusive content to thank you for following us on WhatsApp. The good news is that sharing our articles with your family or street/apartment WhatsApp channel will be easier. We will soon be holding an exclusive comp for all our WhatsApp subscribers. So follow us here.
Another way to keep up to date with ITC is to sign up for our weekly news blast here.
Lane Cove Crime, Accident and Incident Report
Crime
The following suspicious activity was reported to ITC
“This man was checking out our unit block today in an inaccessible area of our private apartments in Lane Cove North and got stuck trying to leave, hence the photos.
He was also seen yesterday in front of the Acacia building on Mowbray with another person.
Police have been called and will come to take my statement.
Advising you as two days in a row of checking out properties in Lane Cove is very odd.”
Assault Hunters Hill
A man has faced court charged with an alleged assault in Hunters Hill on Monday, 17 June 2024.
At about 3.30 pm, emergency services were called to a unit complex on Joubert Street, Hunters Hill, following reports of an assault and found a 34-year-old man with serious head injuries.
He was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.
Officers attached to Ryde Police Area Command established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Following inquiries, at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, a 42-year-old man was arrested at a unit in Joubert Street, Hunters Hill.
He was taken to Gladesville Police Station and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in the company of others.
He was refused bail and appeared before Burwood Local Court on Tuesday, 18 June 2024).
Investigations are continuing.
Week in Review Sponsor – Sydney Speech Clinic
Sydney Speech Clinic
Sydney Speech Clinic offers personalised 1:1 therapy and group programs to help clients achieve their goals. Group programs enhance children’s learning by building on existing skills and promoting generalisation across situations. Children benefit from learning together, often becoming more confident and empowered. These programs provide an effective and affordable way to maximize learning through interest-based activities.
More information here – www.sydneyspeechclinic.com.au/ssc/group-therapy
In the Cove, WhatsApp
Join In the Cove on WhatsApp and make it easier to find articles or events and share them with your friends.
