Blue Mountains ‘City’ Council’s development approval process is organisation-wide, culturally mealy-mouthed and corrupted from one’s learned personal experience since 2001 and of records well prior, indeed since 1957 from damning local accounts.

 

I.    A Land-Use Development issue at hand

 

This non-complying third outbuilding development (being a current work in progress in December 2025) in a listed heritage area is set to become a sauna on a neighbour’s back fence, yet prohibited under various local Council planning rules. 

It is intended to be let out to Airbnb tourists for likely tourist group parties.  It will become number 13 of a trend of invading gourmet Airbnb-profiting investment owners in this heritage residential only conservation area. 

This regrettably sanctioned blind-eyed allowance by local Council continues to undermine and engulf our quiet heritage listed residential cul-de-sac listed as 1883 ‘North’s Estate’.  Local tenants, once prominent in this area have simply been priced out by greedy distant investors of residential properties around us.  Local tenants have nowhere to go but to relocate far flung from family way afar.  Indeed, its sad and bad times, all encouraged by government failure and lack of interest in their constituents and all three levels of Australian government – federal, state and local!

 

 

A case in point is an ongoing current over-development/overcrowding of a residential property In Katoomba situated close by us, situated within a designated heritage (historical) conservation area.  It is in breach of many Council development rules.  Yet, despite our expressed concerns, citing of legislative breaches (ignored), then our submitted complaint, Council has just turned a blind eye and wipes its hands, citing NSW state legislation supposed exempting legislation.   Council’s attitude, by some blow-in inspector from Sydney, is that property owners may do what they bloody well want, heritage be damned, neighbours be damned!

As a Conservation Consultant, this little black duck didn’t come down in the last shower!  

This is a non-public photo of the subject property, only to demonstrate the reality anonymously.  It is situated somewhere within a listed heritage conservation area and there exist multiple ‘rules’ regarding development for this area and this address. 

Firstly we know, because firstly we have ourselves gone through the property development rules, guidelines, red tape restrictions, respecting where we are, sensitive to the heritage amenity and to our neighbours.  We eventually succeeded in having our plans approved by Council way back in 2005 after much effort, research and personal cost.  Our renovation project is both a sympathetic restoration and quality classic home improvement to the long neglected cottage we purchased back in 2000. 

Secondly, Steven Ridd, this joint owner has spent many years since 2001 as a environmental/conservation activist  initially with The Friends of Katoomba Falls Creek Valley Inc.,  The Blue Mountains Conservation Society, The Colong Foundation for Wilderness Inc., and The Habitat Advocate – ongoing here since 2001.

 

---

 

II.   Disclaimer

 

1. This article herein expresses the concerns of this author. 
2. This article is yes, political. 
3. The views, assumptions and opinions expressed in this article are the author(s) own. They do not purport to reflect the official policy of The Habitat Advocate or associates. Data references (images, documents, links, copyright, sources, etc.) appearing in this article are not necessarily controlled or monitored by The Habitat Advocate.
4. The information provided on this [Website/in this Article/Document] is for general informational purposes only. 
5. This article and its author hold absolutely no malice towards the example property developer which is anonymously used in this article simply to highlight the ongoing systemic failures of the Blue Mountains local government to respect local heritage conservation. 
6. This article is purely intended as a critical commentary on the injustice of due process, using this property development example as a sample case study only.  The property owner is irrelevant, rather it is about the failure of due process.
7. All information is provided in good faith; however, we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability, or completeness of any information provided.
8. Under no circumstance shall we have any liability to any reader for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the [site/article/document] or reliance on any information provided therein.  A reader’s use of the [site/article/document] and/or reliance on any information is solely at the reader’s own risk.  This article  is citizen journalism.
9. The [site/article/document] cannot and does not contain [medical/legal/financial/etc.] advice.  The information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice.  Accordingly, before taking any actions based on such information, we encourage any reader to consult with the appropriate professionals. The use or reliance of any information contained in this [site/article/document] is solely at a reader’s own risk.
10. Due privacy is respected in this article.  No identifying information is provided in this article that a member of the public could recognise in any text or images included in this article.
11. The purpose of this article is not about any individual property owner, but to critique and challenged an example the systemic wrong/illegal land use development approval process by Blue Mountains (City) Council over many years, and clearly ongoing.

 

 

 

---

 

III.   Issue Background

 

So, how does Blue Mountains ‘City’ Council’s heritage hypocrisy persist?   

Well, here’s an extract map of part of  North’s Estate Conservation Area in Katoomba dating back to 1883, as registered by Council, yet only on paper for starters since Council’s filed it for a decade:

 

 

Council’s repeated actions fail to comply with its very own policies, planning documents, bi-laws, and PR gestures.   

That this local government Council (‘BMCC’ acronym) patting itself on the back about in its quarterly community newsletter is blatant propaganda about all the so-called good it is doing for the Blue Mountains – its oxymoronic slogan “A City within a World Heritage Area” boasted claim.   

Yeah?   Like how all its stormwater and unbunded rubbish waste tips (Blackheath | Katoomba | Blaxland) up on the plateau tops seep their toxic effluent into the surrounding groundwater to watercourses and water catchments through World Heritage?   

Check the mapping.  Council’s Katoomba Tip (with a fancy name), situated on a ridgetop off Woodlands Road, has for decades received household garbage and an array of toxic contaminants that have been allowed to seep into the ground water and down into nearby Yosemite Creek, over Minnehaha Falls (and swimming hole) thence downstream into Katoomba Creek, Govetts Creek and into the Grose River through World Heritage.   It is therefore not a wise move to swim in that swimming hole. 

The same has been allowed at Council’s Blaxland Tip to contaminate adjacent Cripple Creek (appropriately named in hindsight), thence into Fitzgeralds Creek and into the Nepean River.  Similarly, it is therefore also not a wise move to swim at Penrith Beach adjacent. 

  

 

And yeah?  Like how its five public swimming pools (all chlorine saturated) respectively at Blackheath, Katoomba, Lawson, Springwood and Glenbrook each drain their entire contents each winter into the surrounding watercourses.   So is that why all the native aquatic wildlife (fish, eels, freshwater crayfish and macro-invertebrates) – no longer subsist in the Blue Mountains World Heritage creeks and rivers downstream? 

 

 

Long dead are all downstream creeks and the Kedumba and Grose Rivers of our World Heritage Blue Mountains.  Why are we still “World Heritage” listed with UNESCO if it’s just a political ruse to fuel a megalopolis snowballing Sydney’s drinking water supply?   Labor’s former Member for Blue Mountains Bob Debus never answered that question.  I wouldn’t drink the stuff, well knowing what goes downstream into Lake Burragorang above Sydney’s survival Warragamba Dam.

Council in its aloof chambers perched in a high rise away from the Katoomba community has thought of itself as running a “city” moreso than a regional municipality well beyond the big city high-rise and sprawl that is the metropolitan city of Sydney.   Most councillors, management, staff (the ‘Council mob’) and of course the plethora of senior management’s ring-in consultants have emanated from Sydney, muchly with an urban big city mindset.  

Quote: “Suburbs“?   So is NSW Tibooburra a quote “suburb” as well?   Wikipedia:  “Tibooburra is a town in the far northwest of New South Wales, Australia, located 1,187 kilometres (738 mi) from the state capital, Sydney.”  [read more]

 

 

Katoomba, for those not familiar, is not yet a suburb of megalopolis Sydney.  It’s just an equivalent well distant remote village like that of Shelby in Montana, USA ain’t yet a suburb of New York City!  [read more about Shelby]

Meanwhile, property investors across Australia are cashing in with Airbnb outsourcing and the NSW Government lets ’em… Check this in this subject area of North’s Estate Conservation Area in regional Katoomba, which confirms no tourist accommodation exists.  Crap! … Try more that 500 Airbnbs taking over the regional Blue Mountains !!!  Here’s an example…

 

 

 

“The average rent for a house in the Blue Mountains is around $600 – $650+ per week, with specific suburbs varying, but showing strong demand and low vacancy rates, meaning it’s a tight rental market with prices generally trending up, especially for larger homes“. 

[Source:  Google AI (2025) – so anonymous, so frankly who knows the truth online these days.]

 

Sydney is far from being an ideal city, so not an appropriate role model for any regional community.   The Blue Mountains village of Leura would be a far better role model, but visitors note, the streetscape and garden plantings down Leura Mall are not the work of Council, but rather by volunteer efforts and funding by local Leura residents and Leura small retailers.   

Whereas, Council loathes knowledgeable long-time locals because ex-Sydney council staff are blow-ins reaping self-interest paychecks.  Council prevails in its bubble mindset in ‘north Katoomba’ conjured up tarting up the footpath in nearby Katoomba and Bathurst Streets (‘south’ Katoomba).  That brain snap cost $3 million and did squat.  Of course Council outsourced it to some Sydney contractor again.  But it directly shut down many retailers retail for nearly a year causing many to go broke.  Nice one, lower Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill!

More recently, self-anointed Blue Mountains councillors (100% Labor Party obedient disciples) have ramped up the ‘ECO’ zealotry thus…

 

 

Pull the other one, Council!  

This Council mob continues to remain aloof to the interests of locals and chronically blasé in attitude to respecting local Mountains heritage in all its genres.  The bureaucrats are so overpaid (out of local ratepayer rates and their NSW Labor mates’ NSW government grants) and so happily unaccountable, especially the higher echelons to a salary of $300,000+ per year.  Where’s the helicopter and helipad to fly in Council’s GM’s ring-in commute from Sydney to Katoomba chambers to show up for the odd (“yeah, we need you”) meeting?

As a long-time resident of the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney, The Habitat Advocate (read about us) has become accustomed with this local council’s ongoing contempt for heritage.  Heritage conservation in all its genres – natural/environmental, historical, built/architectural, village streetscape, Aboriginal, you name it.   

A case in point is comparing the ground-truthing reality with Council’s webpage entitled ‘Heritage Conservation Areas’ (Go to this link and read: ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/heritage/heritage-conservation-areas).

 

The spiel starts off as follows: 

“The Blue Mountains is well-known for the historic character of many of its towns and villages.  In some towns and neighbourhoods buildings from the Victorian, Federation, Edwardian, Inter-War and Post-War eras create visually interesting and layered streetscapes.  Many streetscapes are enhanced by mature street tree plantings and established exotic gardens. 

Council has established ongoing recognition and protection for the many early houses and the generally traditional streetscapes found in most towns and villages of the Blue Mountains. These important historic areas are protected as heritage conservation areas. The full list of heritage conservation areas is listed in Schedule 5 of the Blue Mountains Local Environmental Plan 2015 (LEP).

The boundary and inclusions for each heritage conservation area are defined by an accompanying map, and the reasons for listing explained in the heritage inventory sheet for each area. 

On 19 July 2019, areas of older housing, formerly protected as Period Housing Areas, were converted to new heritage conservation areas as part of Amendment 6 to LEP 2015. Subsequently, the Period Housing provisions of the LEP were superseded by Clause 5.10 of LEP 2015.  Full details and timelines from start to finish on this planning proposal are under ‘related sites’.”

 

‘Propaganda‘ is generally defined as “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a particular cause, doctrine, or point of view.”   That is what the above  extract is – Council propaganda.  Council says one thing yet does another.  Council is hypocritical.

So, why do Blue Mountains councillors seek out Sydneysiders as consultants so repeatedly?  Political links? Favours?  Bias?  Corrupt conduct?  All the above?   It is because the management are culturally fearful that by Council staff learning such skills, that the Council staff will gain more knowledge that the management.  So by Council management engaging distant contractors for one off research tasks, at ratepayers expense of course (else funded out of NSW Government grants) the management incumbent management cannot be replaced by more knowledgeable and competent staff.  Jobs for life.  Like, Council’s General Manager Dr Rosemary Dillon (not a medical doctor, and elevated in government to corporatised ‘Chief Executive Officer’) has been on management for 30 years, and now gets paid $421,535 per year.  Australia’s prime Minister gets $622,000 per year.

We note the tabulated list of these branded ‘Heritage Conservation Areas‘ and surprised to note that these are grouped under the tabulated heading of “Villages”.  Good!  This is correct!  It is in contrast to many amongst the Council mob (ex-Sydney) terming the villages as “suburbs” as if the Blue Mountains is a city.  It is that city-centric mindset being propagated to the Mountains locals.   

We focus specifically herein on Katoomba’s ‘North’s Estate‘ listing midway down the table.  By then clicking on that table’s Map and Inventory Sheet hyperlink  ‘K171‘ for North’s Estate, one is directed to another Council webpage to enable one to download a PDF document.   The full name of the North’s Estate “item” is ‘North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area‘ (Local ID: K171).  That document is eleven pages long in PDF and we supply a copy link, since it is in the public domain.

 

 

[SOURCES:  Not Blue Mountains own, but yet again more of Council’s outsourced ring-in consultants from Sydney – the likes of: 

1. 1. Paul Davies Heritage Architects Pty Ltd (of Drummoyne, Sydney)
   2. (Robyn) Conroy Heritage Planning (of Surry Hills, Sydney)
   3. Croft & Associates Pty Ltd (of Baulkham Hills, Sydney)
   4. Meredith Walker (of Rockdale?, Sydney),
   5. Tropman &Tropman Architects, of 55 Lower Fort St, The Rocks, Sydney.

 

Blue Mountains Council’s heritage knowledge resides not within its management nor staff.  Over the years as long-time employees leave or are asked to leave, no-idea ring-ins typically escaping Sydney take on responsible roles such as in heritage yet with no local knowledge and no handover nor training.  It’s like Council’s new recruit orientation going like this:  “Welcome aboard, there’s your seat and your shared desk, any questions?”  Indeed, we know of one of its legendary former employees Local Studies Librarian and Blue Mountains local historian, Mr John Low OAM who got ‘retired’ way too early by Council management in 2007.  

“John Low was Local Studies Librarian at the Blue Mountains City Library 1982-2007.  [Note: some 25 years]  An active member of the Blue Mountains Historical Society, he received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2012.”

John had more local knowledge about Blue Mountains history than anyone else at Council.  John has over the years written history books on the Blue Mountains and has delivered public presentations on various topics of Blue Mountains history.  He researched and prepared a history of this author’s house and street back in 2001.

The reason why we are writing this article is to cite yet again another example of Blue Mountains Council’s city-centric organisational culture of ignoring and acting contrary to its own policies, planning, rules particularly as they related to Blue Mountains heritage respect, conservation and sympathetic restoration.   This deals with a land use development within North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area  (Local ID: K171).   

 

 

This article’s writer, and The Habitat Advocate’s founder and Conservation Consultant, Steven Ridd, continues to be based in residence within the North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area since 2001. 

This area is also within what we refer to as ‘The Gully Water Catchment‘, otherwise more broadly known as Katoomba Falls Creek Valley for many decades.   Within this catchment is the small natural bushland valley, termed ‘The Gully Aboriginal Place‘.   In recognition that many locals (immediate locals) will not know or even be aware the specific location we are to focus upon, for introductory reference, given that we reach a wide audience, for clarity we supply the following maps zoom-in sequence to identify where we are: 

 

---

 

IV.   Topic Location

 

[A]   A Global Location Map:

 

[B]   Katoomba- Sydney Location Map: 

 

[C]    Katoomba Falls Creek Valley Map: 

 

[D]   ‘North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area’ extract historic cartilage map (within):

 

 

So hopefully now as a reader to this article, you can find the location of where we are talking about.  

Prices per night under San Francisco based Airbnb…

 

 

---

 

V.    Critique of Blue Mountains Council’s mistreatment of ‘North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area’

 

[AUTHOR’S NOTE:  A ‘critique’ is not just criticism, but also evaluation and judgment, with some constructive recognition of content of merit.  Whilst we do criticise certain aspects of this Council documented report, we also constructive when we consider content to be apt, based upon our own insight and research.   Such critique comes from this author’s personal background (academically, professionally, research, local knowledge and reasonable longevity from living in the subject area.   The author of this article is an Analyst by qualification and experience.  This article aims to provide thoughtful insight and feedback of the report (the oddly entitled ‘Draft Heritage Data Form‘).  We encourage a deeper understanding of the concept and details of what comprises a ‘Heritage Conservation Area’, that it be formally completed, enhanced to best practice standards, then displayed as a comprehensive draft #2 publicly freely, consulted publicly, before being legally gazetted and thereafter legally enforced.]

 

Here we focus on ‘North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area‘, being where we are based and reside.  Again, this is Council’s ‘Draft Heritage Data Form‘ pertaining to this heritage ‘item’:

 

This enclosed document, Council’s ‘Draft Heritage Data Form‘ pertaining to this heritage ‘item’ (or really ‘area’) warrants a few critiques, as follows:

 

[Our Critique #1]   The form is in 2025 dated 2016, making it in December 2025 being a decade old, so sending a message that it has been since ignored by Council.

 

[Our Critique #2]   The form is in 2025, remains a “Draft” a decade later.   Why?   Council does not care.  Council only prepared this document (or rather was legally required to do so because of NSW Government legislation in 2015 re-branding what was zoned ‘Period Housing’ to be ‘Heritage Conservation’.  Cynically, this effectively was just a tokenistic name change. 

 

[Our Critique #3]    Council has overlooked its own website concerning heritage conservation across the Blue Mountains local government area.  How so?  Well, its Development Control Plan of 2015 still continues to use the long obsolete term ‘Period Housing‘ (circled below).   This reflects Council’s disregard towards updating its heritage management records and rules.

 

Source: ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/development/planning-rules/development-controls-for-land-zoned-under-LEP-2015/DCP-2015

 

[Our Critique #4]    The form was not written by Council.  As highlighted above, it was researched and compiled by outsourced ring-in consultants from Sydney – the likes of  Paul Davies Heritage Architects Pty Ltd (of Drummoyne, Sydney), (Robyn) Conroy Heritage Planning (of Surry Hills, Sydney), Croft & Associates Pty Ltd (of Baulkham Hills, Sydney), Meredith Walker (of Rockdale?, Sydney), Tropman &Tropman Architects, of 55 Lower Fort St, The Rocks, Sydney.

 

[Our Critique #5]    The Statement of Significance at pages 1 and 2 requires factual historical correcting.   

Yes, we note that the ‘Level of Significance’ for North’s Estate is at both ‘Local’ Level (Blue Mountain Local Government Area and at ‘State’ Level (New South Wales).  So this is not insignificant.

The North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) in fact dates to 1876 when the then Government of the colony of New South Wales sold a large bushland parcel of the Blue Mountains plateau (western part of today’s Katoomba around the Katoomba Falls environs) to English immigrant, stockbroker, miner then property developer John Britty North (1831-1917).  North subdivided the northernmost part of his property for residential development in 1883 and it became known as North’s Estate, the very first (and so oldest) housing subdivision in the Blue Mountains region.

 

 

 

 

This is where The Habitat Advocate base resides.   It is also especially why, one takes a special interest in this matter.  We are here, home long located in North’s Estate of 1883 ‘SEC IX‘. 

Yes, we after 25 hard-working and costly investment renovation years, take a focused interest in what happens in our neighbourhood that could try to ever undermine it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

VI.  Our correspondence with Council concerning a specific over-development within North’s Estate

 

In 2006, an immediate neighbour of ours within North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area (HCA) ‘SEC IX’ (per the mapping above) had purchased a residential property having a pre-existing heritage detached residential dwelling, so at the time of writing, close to 20 years ago.   Extensive renovations over the years in sympathy with the colonial cottage style character of the property and the HCA were undertaken, likely at substantial cost.  For ethical privacy reason, we choose not to identify the property herein, since the issue we raise is of a failed process by Council.

We became aware of a new third outbuilding being constructed in the backyard in November 2025 – an outdoor backyard sauna.  But by Sunday 6th December 2025, the scale of that build and its 350mm close proximity to our fence seemed to be an over-development of the site.  We’re talking about an under a 700m2 block in a low density residential zone in a designated heritage area. 

We’ve also learned subsequently that the property is to be yet another Airbnb-style holiday let investment, so no longer to be owner-occupied.  It will add to the more than an dozen holiday lets within the tiny (HCA) ‘SEC IX’.   None of this this was previously communicated to us as an immediate neighbour.  We phoned and left a non-contextual voice message just for the owner to call one back.  Ignored.

Frustrated, here are the subsequent photos from our side of the fence of this new build in progress at the time of writing:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So,  inquisitive, one wrote to Blue Mountains Council (BMCC) by email on the Monday morning thus:

 

Correspondence #1:

Monday 8th December 2025, one phones Council and reports the matter to the Council’s Customer Service Department.

A CSR (Customer Service Request) is requested by self from Council for the record: #634961.

 

Correspondence #2:

Same day, one sends a followup email to Council with the details and including four relevant photos as evidence of work in progress, thus:

 

Attention: [Council’s Health & Building Surveyor]
Blue Mountains City Council
Locked Bag 5
KATOOMBA NSW 2780

8th December 2015

 

Dear Mr XXXXXXXX,

I wish to enquire with you at Blue Mountains City Council whether a current backyard construction adjoining my residential property has BMCC approval and is appropriate.

Currently, there is a building construction underway at (SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT SITE)  Katoomba over my back fence adjoining our property that has just become obvious to me, yet it would appear to be perhaps excessive?  I attach a few current photos of the work in progress from our property for your information for clarity.  This is a heritage residential precinct.

My property is located at (SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT SITE) Katoomba and in recent weeks I have noted that a sizeable building development is underway that is very noticeable and comes to being measured just 350mm from our back fence and looks to become well above our fence line once completed.  Our neighbour, whom we are otherwise amicable with, is currently in the process of having this construction become a new backyard sauna.  Of late we have noted that it is very dominant and close to and rises above our rear fence line.  It is unclear whether this will entail an associated noise impost once operational.

Is Council aware of this new construction development and does this have Council permission and approval?  Since I have received no such written notice of this development.

Kind regards,
Steven Ridd

 

Correspondence #3:

Two days later, on Wednesday 10th December 2025, one phones Council to followup the Monday request.

Council advises that as yet no ranger or investigator has been assigned to this matter.  One requests a documented ‘Customer Service Request reference number (CSR) and is advised of CSR #634109 about of this raised neighbourhood concern.

Council advises that the Health & Building Surveyor addressed in one’s email is not with Council (presumable he must have resigned and Council has deleted all records of his senior staff role existence).  One had dealt with him co-operatively for over a decade regarding one’s own legitimate and approved development application.

 

Correspondence #4:

On Friday 12th December 2025 four days later, one received its first reply from Council on this reported matter, thus:

 

“Dear Mr Ridd,

Council do not hold records of the development you have described at (SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT SITE) Katoomba.

The State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (‘Exempt Code’) outlines development that can be undertaken without requiring development consent.

The photographs you have provided show the structure will likely largely meets subdivision 9 of Part 2 of the Exempt Code when built, except perhaps the distance to the boundary.

Would you like this structure investigated for distance to the boundary? If so, please let me know.
Please be aware that Council does not disclose to a person who complained about them, but it may be very obvious to you neighbour that it was you.

Regards,

Judy Le Breton | Senior Investigations Officer | t:  02 4780 5000 |  e:  council@bmcc.nsw.gov.au
Blue Mountains City Council  |  council@bmcc.nsw.gov.au   |  www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au  |  Locked Bag 1005 Katoomba NSW 2780 ”

 

Some relevant observations at this juncture:

(i)  One’s presumption had been correct, that the owner had not sought nor obtained Council approval for the third outbuilding – the sauna;

(ii)  There are no plans or design drawings for the sauna.  As an immediately adjoining neighbour to this construction development, one is entitled to be notified in advance of such a development;

(iii)  How can this development (over-development) be exempt from planning controls such as the HCA  and Council’s rules – its Development Control Plan 2015, DCP 2015 Amendment 8 Part D – Heritage Management, and that this residential area is zoned ‘R2: Low-Density Residential’?;

(iv)  Why should one as a resident be required to research and interpret State Environment Planning Policy?  This is the task of Council;

(v)  Is this person Judy Le Breton, a supposed Senior Investigations Officer in any way qualified to assess this development for its compliance with Council’s planning rules? 

 

Correspondence #5:

Same day, on Friday 12th December 2025, one phone’s Council requesting to speak with Ms Le Breton, but she is not there and so leaves a message.

Another Customer Service Request number is issued to Mr Ridd: ‘CSR 634961‘.

 

 

Correspondence #6:

Same day, on Friday 12th December 2025, one emails Council referencing CSR 634961 and attaches a copy of the North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area document, obtained from Council’s very own website.  This is because Ms Le Breton in her email reply did not mention this very relevant document, nor mention Council’s relevant zoning requirements, nor Council’s the DCP 15 Heritage Management, but only state policy.

 

Correspondence #7:

 

Then on Friday 12th December 2025,  Mr Ridd emails Ms Le Breton as follows:

 

RE: (Subject address) Katoomba – new development adjoining (CSR 634961)

Hello Ms Le Breton,

Thank you for your email reply.

However, I reported this to Council by phone last Monday 8th December 2025, so some four days prior. It is disappointing that this is the first that I have had Council contact me about this. Had the weather not been rainy this past week, the neighbour ‘Wayne’ may well have finish the build by now.

I follow with Council by phone on Wednesday 10th December and was told that a ranger had not yet been assigned to the matter.

Yes. I wish to check due process and the legalities concerning this new development. I don’t mind in the slightest about the owner knowing it is me (over the corner side fence) raining my concerns.

I have known the previous owner (SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT SITE) for over the past 15 years on a very amicable basis, not just as adjoining neighbours but as good friends.
I have today followed up again by phoning Council after receiving your email reply below.

 

My Concern that should be addressed by Council in this matter:

(1)  I am concerned that you seem to be fobbing me off to research some state legislation online. Is that not your task or that of Council’s Development Monitor Team to check? This would seem lazy?

(2)   My wife and I had our own land use application submitted and approved by Council submitted back in 2005 (Reference X/XXX/2005). It subsequently gained substantial commencement status. We had to comply with the many rules for the renovations and extensions and the conditions of consent. So we are aware of the rules and restrictions for our own development which after many years remains ongoing.

(3)  One of the rules is that our building may not extend to within 1400mm from any boundary on the property land site. However, this new outdoor building measures just 350mm from our boundary.

(4)  I note that you say Council is not aware of this development at (SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT SITE) Katoomba (literally adjoining part of our back fence).

(5)   I point out that the fabrication is being made using pine timber, however this is in breach of the bushfire regulations since both properties are situated within a bushfire high risk zone (<50 metres) , so demanding non-combustive construction material (not pine) for all exterior cladding.

(6)   This build is a second one that adjoin this, (The “pavilion”) probably also in fabricated in pine.

(7)   In contrast, all our exterior materials are in approved Merbau hardwood or concrete sheeting (on a temporary basis). It has thus far cost us a considerable outlay over the years
trying to do the right thing by Councils rules and the legislation.

(8)  This residential area is a designated heritage conservation area known as North’s Estate heritage Conservation Area (Reference K171) (see attached copy and link to Council’s website ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/documents/map-and-heritage-inventory-sheet-k171 ) The heritage conservation assigns a high value to the amenity and streetscape to this rare purely residential area. It seems you are not aware of this special heritage conservation classification that include both xxxxxxxxxxx and xxxxxxxxxxxx Streets.

(9)  It is not supposed to have any tourism development, yet over recent years numerous homes have been converted to permanent Airbnb’s. It is my understanding that this is planned with (SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT SITE), with this new build become a outdoor sauna and shower in the garden.  Others include 4, 7 (x2), 10, and 8 Kundibar Street – none with local resident notification and probably nor Council notification, awareness, nor approval.  So they would thus be each in breach of the classification.  Quote at page 7: “it does not provide tourist accommodation or facilities.”

(10)  We have received no plans or written information from the owner about what is proposed in this “sauna” – such as a potential fireplace, noise, perhaps amplified music, hours of use. As such this would seem to be an illegal development.

(11)  I wrote to (Council’s Health & Building Surveyor) on this , however he seems to have retired or moved on from Council. We’ve dealt with him for many years he was very knowledgeable about development matters and quite helpful and responsive.

Please investigate this onsite ASAP and not after Christmas and New Year break, since the thing will likely be operational by then. Feel free to contact me to arrange access to our property for inspection from our side of the fence.

Yours faithfully,

Steven Ridd

 

Correspondence #8:

 

[On Friday 19th December 2025, Mr Ridd from his backyard happened to observe the subject owner talking with an unrecognisable man close to the back fence – presumably an inspector from Council.   Then on Monday 22nd December 2025,  Mr Ridd received to following email from Council]

 

(Subject Address) Katoomba (CSR 634961)

Dear Mr Ridd,

I have inspected the structure being built at the rear of (SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT SITE) Katoomba. I am satisfied it meets the provision of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (‘Exempt SEPP’), and no action is to be taken by Council.

These codes relate to development that can be undertaken without requiring the consent of Council. I have addressed your noise concerns with the owner of 5 Warriga Street. I am satisfied with the noise mitigation measures that will be employed, however should noise become an issue, you are able to seek a Noise Abatement Order via the Local Court.

The structure being built, whilst within a Heritage Conservation Area, is not a Heritage Item. This means that many of the Exempt SEPP development provisions (including those that apply to the structure being built at (SUBJECT DEVELOPMENT SITE) can be applied without seeking the approval of Council.

Assessing compliance with state legislation is a major part of my job. The legislation largely determines what is allowed and what is not.

In relation to your Airbnb concerns, the Department of Fair Trading changed the rules around short term rental accommodation and it is no longer regulated by Council.

Regards,

Judy Le Breton | Senior Investigations Officer | t 02 4780 5000 | e council@bmcc.nsw.gov.au
Blue Mountains City Council | council@bmcc.nsw.gov.au | www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au | Locked Bag 1005 Katoomba NSW 2780

 

Our Critique:

 

(1)   The sole person observed by Mr  Ridd who inspected onsite the Friday prior to Ms Le Breton’s email decision of the following Monday, was not female.

(2)   For a Council development compliance inspector to firstly admit that Council had not been notified of the development and then to approve it anyway is tantamount to incompetent conduct, if not corrupt conduct, in our view.

(3)   We deal with Ms Le Breton’s obfuscating reliance upon State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (‘Exempt SEPP’) further on, but frankly what is her job and is she doing it?  So Mountains backyarders don’t require the consent of Mountains Council these days?   Hey, well that sends a message!   May be I should build meself a backyard moonshine still – surely give Mountains Culture Brewing a run for its money, I reckon.   Got the room and all.

 

So, what a slack job Council Senior Investigator Le Breton as a compliance inspector quoting exempt State legislation by default.  Having the shallow interest of a politician and the skills of a Grade 3 school student in …our view.

 

(4)   Noise?  Council Senior Investigator Le Breton dismisses noise issues. Back on me:  She again cops out and quotes: “however should noise become an issue, you are able to seek a Noise Abatement Order via the Local Court.”  Her cost? Her involvement?  Nuh!  

 

(5)  Senior Investigator Le Bereton quoted response:  “The structure being built, whilst within a Heritage Conservation Area, is not a Heritage Item.”  Yes, so is that not a breach of the HCA?   What if thsi property owner does another six outhouses and houses a dozen holiday makers on his residential site.  Council to reckon: nothing to see here?  All EXEMPT?

 

(6)  Quote:   “In relation to your Airbnb concerns, the Department of Fair Trading changed the rules around short term rental accommodation and it is no longer regulated by Council.”

So no limit?  What does heritage management mean Senior Investigator Le Bereton?   Nothing, a free for all?   Go back to megalopolis Sydney!

 

---

 

VII:  State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008

 

2.17 Specified development

 

The construction or installation of a cabana, cubby house, fernery, garden shed, gazebo or greenhouse is development specified for this code if it is not constructed or installed on or in a heritage item or a draft heritage item, on land in a foreshore area or in an environmentally sensitive area.

 

2.18 Development standards

 

(1) The standards specified for that development are that the development must—

(a) (Repealed)
(b) not have a floor area of more than—

(i) on land in Zone RU1, RU2, RU3, RU4, RU6 or R5—50m2, or
(ii) on land in any other zone—20m2, and

 

(c) be not higher than 3m above ground level (existing), and

(d) be located at a distance from each lot boundary of at least—

(i) for development carried out in Zone RU1, RU2, RU3, RU4, RU6 or R5—5m, or
(ii) for development carried out in any other zone—900mm, and

 

(e) if it is not on land in Zone RU1, RU2, RU3, RU4 or RU6—be located behind the building line of any road frontage, and

(f) not be a shipping container, and

(g) be constructed or installed so that roofwater is disposed of without causing a nuisance to adjoining owners, and

(h) to the extent it is comprised of metal components—be constructed of low reflective, factory pre-coloured materials if it is located on land in a residential zone, and

(i) if it is located on bush fire prone land and is less than 5m from a dwelling—be constructed of non-combustible material, and

(j) if it is constructed or installed in a heritage conservation area or a draft heritage conservation area—be located in the rear yard, and

(k) if it is located adjacent to another building—be located so that it does not interfere with the entry to, or exit from, or the fire safety measures contained within, that building, and

(l) be a Class 10 building and not be habitable, and

(m) be located at least 1m from any registered easement, and

(n) in relation to a cabana—not be connected to water supply or sewerage services.

 

(2) There must not be more than 2 developments per lot.

 

SOURCE:  ^https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/epi-2008-0572#sec.2.18

 

---

 

References and Further Reading:

 

[AUTHOR’S NOTE:   Most references are publicly available at the time of publishing this article.  Each reference below was accessed by this article’s author at the time of publishing so the date of the reference is accurate of as that date.  Given that governments habitually change their websites, the included online links may die over time; in which case, where possible, we have also included a copy of the relevant document as an imbedded PDF document that is downloadable by readers of this article. ]

An example:  

SOURCE:  ^https://yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/periodhousing/widgets/190457/documents

 

[1]   ‘Draft Heritage Data Form – Blue Mountains Heritage 2016‘, 2014, external consultant report on North’s Estate Heritage Conservation Area, Local ID K171, by Paul Davies Heritage Architects Pty Ltd (Sydney), and by Conroy Heritage Planning (Sydney), 11 pages (file size 476KB), ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/documents/map-and-heritage-inventory-sheet-k171, a PDF copy embedded and downloadable below. 

 

[2]   ‘Heritage Conservation Areas‘, Blue Mountains Council website, 2015, ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/heritage/heritage-conservation-areas), 5 pages

 

[3]   ‘DCP 2015 Part D Heritage Management – Guiding the development of heritage properties‘, Revision: Amendment 8, November 2015, Blue Mountains Council, ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/documents/dcp-2015-part-d-heritage-management, copy in PDF embedded below for download and printing,  88 pages

 

[4]   ‘Development Control Plan 2015‘, 2015, Blue Mountains Council website, ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/development/planning-rules/development-controls-for-land-zoned-under-LEP-2015/DCP-2015, Full Version (916 pages) ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/documents/dcp-2015-full-version

 

[5]   ‘Fact Sheet – Period Housing Areas conversion to Heritage Conservation Areas‘, 2018-06-29, Blue Mountains Council website, ^https://yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/periodhousing/widgets/190457/documents, 2 pages

 

[6]  ‘Fact Sheet – Developing in a Heritage Conservation Area‘, 2018-06-29, Blue Mountains Council website, ^https://yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/periodhousing/widgets/190457/documents, 2 pages

 

[7]   ‘Blue Mountains Heritage Strategy 2021-2025‘, (undated), by Blue Mountains Council and probably mostly scribed by its external consultant from Sydney, 60 pages, ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/advanced-search?keys=The+Blue+Mountains+Heritage+Strategy+2021-2025

[Author’s Note:  Hypocrisy in an aloof bubble on steroids – Blue Mountains would do better run from New Zealand.]   

 

[8]   ‘blue mountains shed development setback rules neighbours‘,  (an Internet web browser search phrase typed by yours truly in ‘Google Chrome’ software), Result per Google AI Overview):   See above article section.

 

[9]   ‘Property Map Search‘, Blue Mountains Council’s website, ^https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/property-search

“Search for information about a property:

Use our interactive maps to identify the zoning and site characteristics of land. This property search tool is useful in establishing site constraints and development opportunities.

• • • Click on the link below and add the property address.
    • Click the ‘layers icon’ in the top right of the webpage, and then tick the maps to view.
    • More information is also available by clicking on the three dots to the right of the Lot and Plan number, on the left side of the webpage.
    • For the best user experience, please use Google Chrome to browse this website.”

View Our Interactive Maps:  ^https://emapping.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/connect/analyst/mobile/#/main?mapcfg=Locality&lang=en-au

 

[10]  ‘State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008‘, 2008, NSW Government,  ^https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/epi-2008-0572#sec.2.18

 

[11]   ‘Pictorial Memories – Blue Mountains‘, (book) by John Low OAM, 2ED, 1994, published by Kinsclear Books, 135 pages.

 

[12]   ‘Blue Mountains Council’s ‘love local’ hypocrisy towards small business‘, 2021-05-21, Nature Trail website (click link below)

 

Blue Mountains Council’s ‘love local’ hypocrisy towards local businesses

 

[This article’s publishing last updated:  29th December 2025]

 

We have decided to publish on this website the short series of ‘The Pulpit Post‘ newsletters that we authored, published, printed and hand-distributed to residents of Pulpit Hill from nearly two decades ago.

 

 

Pulpit Hill is geographical feature with an historical 19th Century naming. 

This hill is situated 2.4 km westward of the Australian regional township of Katoomba along the Great Western Highway in the Blue Mountains.   It was once clearly identifiable from miles around by having a geologically tall sandstone pagoda atop its summit. 

So its eponym was applied by then New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie [1810-1821] in 1815 as he then journeyed to inspect the continent’s first ever inland route over the otherwise impenetrable Blue Mountains barrier then via Mount York and further westward to his to be thence named ‘Macquarie River’ and its rich and fertile river valley’s hope of the future vital agricultural lands as promise survival of the fledgling colony back at Sydney Cove. 

The Pulpit Post newsletter was established by The Habitat Advocate in 2006, borrowing the concept from observing a pre-existing physical metal post hand-painted ‘Pulpit Post’ by a local resident for the benefit of immediately relevant news updates for local residents of this small rural community, outlying of Katoomba.  We have photos of this.

From a first Winter 2006 edition, we managed at the time to sustain just six issues all up on what we had hoped would be issued on a seasonal basis of sorts.  

These herewith are those six issues of The Pulpit Post.  They were originally intended for the few dozen of so local residents of this small rural community around Pulpit Hill, but now in 2025 one considers that their content and concept deserves sharing with all, always free of charge, as is our principle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many further draft issues of this newsletter were prepared at the time.    We may consider completing them.

We may also consider continuing to publish further issues ongoing but instead only online on this website. 

Such decisions depend upon what supportive feedback we receive.

 

 

 

‘Cancel Culture’ is leftist Greens globalist fantasy of there being no homeland. It’s just hateful humbug!   In Australia’s native English, “humbug” is used to describe something or someone that is dishonest, misleading, or nonsensical.

The Habitat Advocate, after half a year ‘ground-truthing’ Pulpit Hill’s heritage, then intensive researching, and authoring; back on Friday 1st August 2011 submitted the following nomination to the New South Wales Government’s Office of Environment and Heritage in Parramatta. 

It’s 245 pages. It’s not copyright protected, because it’s a compilation of work by others who’ve valuing this place over years.  It’s of public land and of significant very early Australian heritage value from 1813.   We made the effort to research, document and try to protect this heritage precinct; yet one had nor sought any financial, personal gain nor has any  ancestral connection to this particular place.    We just learned and recognise the heritage value from association with older wiser historians and from our dedicated historical research.

This document report we offer up freely public and freely downloadable to all Australians and anyone in the World in perpetuity.   What happened in the past, happened in an older time in human evolution.  

Pulpit-Hill-1813-2013-A-Nomination-for-Heritage-Recognition-20110726

The timing of our submission happened to be two years prior to the then forthcoming celebratory bi-centennial of 2013 of the first successful was the first successful crossing of the Blue Mountains (previously named the “Carmarthen Hills”) in New South Wales by European settlers.  The expedition was led by Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth in 1813.

Ahead of our formal submission, The Habitat Advocate sought support from government, local leaders, political parties and historical societies, thus:

• Blue Mountains {city} Council Major and councillors
• Premier of New South Wales
• Liberal Party
• National Party
• Australia Labor Party
• The Australian Greens
• Blue Mountains Historical Society
• Royal Australian Historical Society
• Colong Foundation for Wilderness

 

However to our disappointment, none of the above was supportive nor interested.

We subsequently approached the fringe nationalist/patriotic Australia First Party, and its President Dr Jim Saleam expressed his keen enthusiasm and support for this Australian heritage recognition cause; such that he even accepted our invitation to visit this nominated site at Pulpit Hill in person on Saturday 27th November 2010.   

However, sadly a decade hence, on 21st February 2021, Blue Mountains [city} Council Mayor (a Labor Party man) Mark Greenhill authorised the total removal of the iconic and symbolic Explorers Marked Tree at Pulpit Hill – an unnecessary politically motivated act of heritage hate.   Party politics?

 

Previously, The Habitat Advocate from 2005 as part of our SAVE ELPHINSTONE PLATEAU CONSERVATION CAMPAIGN sought nomination for the official inclusion of the nearby large plateau of bushland atop the Blue Mountains Western Escarpment long called ‘Radiata Plateau’ (also ‘Elphinstone Plateau’) , to be incorporated into the contiguous Blue Mountains National Park (since 2004).   

 

However, similarly that was rejected by the then so-called NSW Minister for Environment (1999-2007) and NSW  Member for Blue Mountains Bob Debus (1981-1988, 1995-2007) (another Labor Party man) on the spurious basis that it was somehow not contiguous.   

 

Yet, same plateau was in 2019 out-of-the-blue acquired by a subsequent NSW Liberal-Coalition Government for $2.8 million and added to the NSW national park estate, and in 2020 renamed and unpronounceable newly made up name ‘Ngula Bulgarabang‘??   Another Jim Smith PhD. construct?    The name translates to ‘very large forest‘ in the Gundungurra language.  Yet this is not traditional local Aboriginal heritage.  The plateau has no very large forest.  It is dominated by escarpment low heath and woodland.  The plateau certainly does not have any very large forest.  Whereas such forests are indeed naturally found in the valleys below like Nellies Glen, the Jamison Valley and the Gross Valley. 

Let the truth be known.  Radiata Plateau is the eponym of a small ‘Radiata Pine‘ plantation that planted a portion of the plateau back in the 1950s.  That plantation subsequently failed.  The tree plantation was stunted due to being planted on the rocky thin soil.  One of the plantation workers was Ron Fletcher, a local of local Aboriginal ancestry (left below chatting with the then nearby residents).   We interviewed Ron back in 2007 at Pulpit Hill at the historic piggery (shown behind).  Ron explained that he recalls as a young man working to plan the Radiata pine plantation.   

 

 

This is all spiteful Aboriginal separatist politics again, like cancel culture renaming of Ayers Rock and Fraser Island.

The Habitat Advocate has acquired the full campaign archive of the campaign to Save Elphinstone Plateau from local legendary campaign Glen Humphreys.    This archive will be eventually sorted and digitised and is provided publicly freely available on this website. 

 

References:

 

[1]    ‘The Marked Tree – Fact or Tradition?‘, 1933-05-27,  by G.A. King, article in the  Sydney Morning Herald, archived on TROVE (Internet digital archive website), by the National Library of Australia, Canberra, ^https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16985384

 

[2]   ‘Opening up the continent – 1813: Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth cross the Blue Mountains‘, (undated), (no author disclosed), published online by the National Museum of Australia,  ^https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/europeans-cross-blue-mountains

 

[3]   ‘Bicentenary of the Crossing of the Blue Mountains‘, by Monument Australia,  Actual Monument Dedication Date: Sunday 19th July 2015, ^https://monumentaustralia.org.au/search/display/112797-bicentenary-of-the-crossing-of-the-blue-mountains

 

[4]   ‘Blue Mountains crossing 200 years on‘, 2013-04-13, by  Jennifer Stackhouse, ^https://gardendrum.com/2013/04/13/crossing-the-blue-mountains-200-years-on/

 

[5]   ‘Blue Mountains crossing cemented colonisation‘, 2013-03-15, by David T. Rowlands, (Greens Left “extremist-hate politics“), Issue 958,  ^https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/blue-mountains-crossing-cemented-colonisation

 

[6]  ‘Goodbye to the Explorers’ Tree at Katoomba‘,  2021-02-25,  by Pauline Conolly, ^https://paulineconolly.com/2019/the-explorers-tree/

GOODBYE TO THE EXPLORERS’ TREE AT KATOOMBA

 

[7]   ‘Crossing The Blue Mountains‘,  (a Blue Mountains information website – bluemountainsaustralia.com ) ^https://www.bluemts.com.au/info/about/history/history-detail/#:~:text=In%201788%20the%20Blue%20Mountains,by%20oil%20bearing%20Eucalyptus%20trees.

 

[8]   ‘The Pulpit Post‘,  by Steven Ridd, Conservation Consultant, The Habitat Advocate, six local newsletters compiled and published by The Habitat Advocate between 2006 and 2008 as part of a heritage conservation campaign combining Pulpit Hill’s historical colonial heritage,  Pulpit Hill’s historical stories, and the Save Elphinstone (aka Radiata) Plateau Campaign led by Glenn Humphreys for 20 years, ^https://habitatadvocate.com.au/the-pulpit-post-a-pulpit-hill-local-resident-free-newsletter-series-since-2006/ 

 

[9]   ‘Elphinstone Plateau deserves World Heritage‘, 2017-07-26, by Steven Ridd, Conservation Consultant, The Habitat Advocate,  Katoomba, ^https://habitatadvocate.com.au/tag/elphinstone-plateau/

 

[10]   ‘Blue Mountains (New South Wales)‘, by Wikipedia (website), ^https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mountains_(New_South_Wales)

 

[11]   ‘Ngula Bulgarabang Regional Park‘  (was Radiata Plateau) ^https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngula_Bulgarabang_Regional_Park

 

 

 

We live and work from home in a quiet leafy area on the edge of The Gully on the edge of Katoomba. 

Yet on a semi-regular basis different neighbours, unannounced, choose at times to suddenly start up loud machinery to break that peace and quiet.

Due common courtesy would be for a neighbour to inform nearby neighbours of pending machinery racket, but instead they couldn’t give a rats about imposing their noise pollution on neighbours.

Here are a few example snippets:

Monday · 24 Feb 2025 · 08:20…

 

 

Thursday · 20 Mar 2025 · 13:22…

 

Tuesday · 22 Apr 2025 · 08:36…

 

And, all this unwelcome noise culture is not just from selfish discourteous neighbours and their contractors.

Also, we cop similar machinery noise outside our window from:

• Blue Mountains Council – roadworks, footpath works
• NBN Internet concrete sawing for trenching optical fibre
• Sydney Water
• Electricians and other trades
• Endeavour Energy’s – vegetation contractor Asplundh or Active Tree Services
• Even RAAF low-flying its Hercules and Globemaster transport aircraft from Richmond Airbase at a close 500 feet directly over our home  
• And other private aircraft thinking they can flout the 1000 foot minimum altitude over built-up areas like ours  (we know the low altitudes since we hold a commercial helicopter license)

 

All unannounced.

Perhaps Richmond Air Traffic Control Tower wouldn’t mind if one was to buzz the tower unannounced?

 

 

Postscript:

‘Iceman’ recognition:

 

 

Within just a minute’s walk from The Habitat Advocate base we happened upon some wonderful local wildlife. 

It was a native Blotched Blue Tongue Lizard in this case (scientific species name Tiliqua nigrolutea).   It was 10th February 2025 (summer) in the late hot afternoon around 6:30pm AEDT, so the sun was still up in the western sky; this given sunsets in late summer at this time of year are as late as 8 pm, some two hours hence.   So, this happenstance timing made sense, but a rare sighting these days.

 

 

Upon our initial sighting, this lizard had been laying in the middle of the footpath sunning itself – being a cold-blooded lizard (‘ectothermically’ that is; not the human malice variety).

This one we think is female – telling from the comparatively small head size and its thicker tail root.  It was not a native Shingleback Lizard (scientific species name Tiliqua rugosa) since such species has a stubbed tail land prefers the habitat plains inland from the Great Dividing Range, and are not found in the Blue Mountains region, whereas Blue Tongues are. 

The location was on The Gully’s urban periphery, yet wholly environmentally within the broader Gully Water Subcatchment, where The Habitat Advocate is based.  So nice to see wildlife in one’s neighbourhood – we share local wildlife’s neighbourhood.  

We provide hyperlinks below to further information and clearer images about this lizard species.

Anyway, it was a pleasurably welcomed and encouraging sighting.

Such sightings however are increasingly rare around these parts these days due to Council’s habitat destruction – pretty much since Council has existed since its origins in Katoomba in 1890, then in 1947 re-branding itself Blue Mountains City Council from being a two adjacent regional municipality/shire councils.   Then from November 2000 after the Blue Mountains region was declared an international World Heritage Area, this local Blue Mountains Council has bizarrely extolled its contradictory perceived virtues of being a city within a World Heritage Area – what espousing urban sprawl development and high-rises amongst Eucalyptus habitat?

We bought our house in 2000, which had there since the 1920’s.  So, we did not build into bush, but rather it was long existing ‘in-town’, and so technically we just recycled and renovated it.  It had had only lawn back and front, but since 2001 we have created an onsite forest and restored much local habitat on site, So, no more grass and we then gave away our lawn mower!

One also recalls that on 13th February back in 2017 around 5:30 pm during a 47^o Celsius unseasonal heatwave weather event across New South Wales, observing a large native Eastern Brown Snake (scientific species Pseudonaja textilis) of almost 2 metres in length scurrying across the scorching road surface of our street into the cooler shade of our forested front garden.  Well, we chose not to garden or water there for a week afterwards and warned our neighbours.  However, we immediately reported this snake sighting to the volunteer-based Wildlife Rescue Service (WIRES) for safety guidance and we spoke to one of their trained snake catchers who gave us helpful and reassuring advice over the phone.

Also, when we first moved in where we are, one had to contend with a native Blue Mountains Funnel Web Spider (scientific name Hadronyche versuta) ground nest in our then unkempt backyard, also unfortunately the native Brown Broadfooted Marsupial Mouse (scientific name is Antechinus stuartii) family over the back fence that we observed, eventually sadly perished.

But it beats living in increasing sprawling concreted, treeless sterile Sydney human megalopolis.

 

---

 

References:

 

[1]   ‘Blotched Blue-tongue Lizard‘,  2020-11-20, by Australian Museum (Sydney), ^https://australian.museum/learn/animals/reptiles/blotched-blue-tongue-lizard/

 

[2]   ‘Shingleback Lizard‘,  2025-04-14, Australian Museum (Sydney),  ^https://australian.museum/learn/animals/reptiles/shingleback-lizard/

 

[3]   ‘Blue Mountains Reptiles‘,  ^https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/12346

 

[4]   ‘Blue Mountains City Council‘, by Data.NSW, 2020, NSW Government, ^https://data.nsw.gov.au/data/organization/about/blue-mountains-city-council#:~:text=In%20May%201946%20Katoomba%20was,the%20Blue%20Mountains%20City%20Council.

 

[5]   ‘Snake Advice‘, Tuesday, 2017-10-10, WIRES, ^https://www.wiresmembers.org.au/seasonal-animal-advice/snake-advice

 

[6]   ‘World Heritage places – Greater Blue Mountains Area‘,  Australian Government  (its departments change like the wind),  ^https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/heritage/places/world/blue-mountains#:~:text=History%20of%20World%20Heritage%20listing,session%20on%2027%20June%202013.

 

[7]   ‘Fauna Watch – Winter is not the time for hunkering down for Antechinus!, 2019-08-19, by Anne Carey, Bushcare Blue Mountains (Fauna, Natives), ^https://bushcarebluemountains.org.au/fauna-watch/

 

Blue Mountains native nursery eviction threat…

by Steven Ridd

 

 

The Habitat Advocate has sadly learned about a governmental threat to evict this much loved and valued local community volunteer-run nursery business in Katoomba in the Australian Blue Mountains region, successfully operating onsite since 1999.

This author learned about this from off the grapevine, else we should have otherwise learned about this news development from reading our local Blue Mountains Gazette newspaper.   Yet, that valued weekly newspaper informing locals about Blue Mountains goings-on has been denied us for some years.  The paper has not been distributed to our Katoomba Falls Creek residential precinct since long before COVID – like for the past 5 years or so!   

An unviable newspaper business model for these times?   One notes that the newspaper’s distribution statistics have been removed from this newspaper’s print masthead for some time (Read a harbinger of the Gazette’s pending closure)

Moving on… a few weeks back a Blue Mountains friend informed us about this news of the nursery, then kindly dropped around his copy of the Gazette issue dated Wednesday 15th January 2025. 

This is the front page article with the legendary Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Service (‘Wildplant Rescue’) on the front page we read:

 

‘Eviction day looms for Wildplant Rescue nursery’ 

 15th January 2025, by Jennie Curtin, BMG journalist) 

‘Time is running out for the Wildplant Rescue nursery at Katoomba.

The volunteers have been told they have until the end of April to find a new home, after the owner, the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), cited maintenance costs and fire safety issues.  (Author:  aka the landlord’s wanton neglect of this bushland site for decades, and a rubbish slack ulterior motive excuse to flog off the site for profit to a developer for housing – truth telling!)

The department wants to sell the site, which used to be adjoined to the now-closed and re-purposed Clairvaux Children’s Home adjacent and which is in need of repair, restoration and safety features. 

 

The entire Clairvaux Community Services site has long been neglected by the NSW Government for decades.   Dozens of abandoned and vandalised buildings by ACRC snuggled in nativve bushland, now warrant demolition.   They contain asbestos interior fabrication wall lining from the 1970s.

 

 

The cost of setting up elsewhere is beyond the means of the volunteer-run nursery, which rescues local native species from building sites and propagates them as well as other rare and difficult natives.  It sells the plants to home gardeners as well as council, landscapers and Bushcare organisations, providing the income to keep going.

The volunteers are desperately hoping the department changes its mind and gives them a permanent lease on their small section of the site.  The only alternative, said president Verity Harris, is to find a benefactor with deep pockets.   “If there’s a good millionaire out there with a plot of land …” she said hopefully.

The group had talks with council about a possible site during the planning of the old Katoomba golf course precinct. But a spokeswoman for council said “a plant nursery is not a permissible use on this site under the current zoning, and an amendment to the LEP would be required to include this and other additional uses.  That would be a lengthy process including making a submission to the state government and further public consultation.”

The DCJ said it recognised the important service the nursery provides in protecting threatened species but a land condition audit of the site in 2020 found that it was not fit for purpose and was not safe for long-term use because of its fire zone.

DCJ:

“Tenants of the site were notified of the need to vacate the site in 2021 and since then almost all have relocated.  DCJ has not provided formal notification to the nursery to leave the site whilst we continue to assist them to find a new home.”

The nursery has operated at the site since 1998.  Although it receives no funding, Ms Harris acknowledged that DCJ did not charge them for rent or for water and electricity.

One of the difficulties with an unknown future is that no forward decisions can be made.  The group recently spent money on new benches for the plants but don’t want to install them in case they have to take them down.  There is also a greenhouse which is lying unassembled for the same reason.  “The uncertainty is really quite crippling,” Ms Harris said.   Volunteer Frances Scarano said the group only propagates native plants from the Mountains to ensure genetic purity.  “We extend the diversity” of plants grown in Mountains gardens as well as giving wildlife more food and shelter sources,” she said.’

 

 

There’s a local Blue Mountains community story in this.

The above news item conveys more than a harbinger of pending closure; rather it tells publicly (about time, frankly) of an existential threat to the future of the Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Service (Wildplant Rescue) not just from its current site, but because it has nowhere else to go, from its very existence – termination of the whole not-for profit business, of its local volunteers and of its support base membership – the lot facing oblivion!   

[NOTE:  An “existential threat” refers to a danger that could lead to the complete destruction or a permanent and severe degradation of something.  It’s a threat to the very being or future potential of something – aka Wildplant Rescue in this case.]

Wildplant Rescue continues to be a long-established successful not-for-profit local business very popular in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains of Australia and founded and run by its volunteers, and with a strong long-standing membership backing. 

Wildplant Rescue photo gallery:

We reckon this eviction threat to Katoomba’s much loved native nursery is yet another example of the distant NSW Government’s bureaucratic insular mindset and its ongoing anti-social culture of destroying local small businesses for the greed of selling off public land (native bushland) that it controls on a entrusted custodial basis on behalf of the community.  This eviction threat is bureaucracy selfishly seeking to profit from more bushland asset sales for inevitable housing development.  It is not good government.   

This closure threat to this unique endemic native plant nursery is unnecessary, unfair, contrary to the departmental landlord (DCJ’s) community focuses, and down right politically motivated by the incumbent NSW Minns Government bureaucracy and his politicians.  The NSW Government’s eviction threat is wrong and unjustifiable.  It’s threatened eviction of Wildplant Rescue is for non-genuine grounds.   Yet hypocritically, the incumbent NSW Minns Labor Government publicly has stated: 

“Landlords could be fined for making up a “non-genuine reason” for punting a tenant under NSW laws to scrap no-grounds evictions”.

[SOURCE: https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/8709944/landlords-face-fines-for-non-genuine-eviction-reasons/ ]

 

This has been an election policy of Labor Chriss Minns before the NSW state election on 25th March 2023.   Subsequently, as Premier, Minns is overseeing his own government department, DCJ  as landlord using non-genuine reasons for punting Wildplant Rescue as tenant at the Clairvaux Community Centre site. 

 

DCJ’s Eviction Threat Facts:

(from our research)

1. Wildplant Rescue has been an active nursery business tenant at the site since 1998, so for a continuous 27 years;
2. DCJ has/does not charge(d) Wildplant Rescue for rent, for water nor electricity.  Yet this has been a mutual agreement between landlord DCJ and tenant –  since DCJ has from the outset acknowledged that Wildplant Rescue is a local not-for-profit organisation providing a highly valued community service – rescuing Blue Mountains native plants from development sites, propagation local native plants (including threatened species) and participating in key roles in the local Blue Mountains bush regeneration industry.  Further,  DCJ has over the years seconded the community support of Wildplant Rescue to ’employ’ youth offenders under undergoing criminal rehabilitation within the community, and WildPlant has obliged (although its petty cash box went missing a few times – subsequent measures are that no cash it kept on premises such that so little of it ever was);
3. DCJ for decades has chosen not to maintain its Clairvaux site in outer Katoomba.   It is this systemic bureaucratic failure by DCJ which underlies how now the dilapidated state of the buildings across its owned Clairvaux property site in outer Katoomba has been continually neglected and allowed to deteriorate by DCJ.  (See our recent ACRC photo gallery below); 
4. That DCJ’s outsourced site audit in 2020 reported that many buildings were not fit for purpose, remains wholly the responsibility of the DCJ as ongoing landlord for its systemic neglect of the buildings across the site.  It is no way any fault of the long standing good tenant, Wildplant Rescue;
5. The site is dominated by bushland, so it is in a bushfire zone, but then this is an ideal site for a native plant nursery – juxtaposed next to native bushland.   It  is not an appropriate site for social housing, which would  necessitate many hectares of intact native bushland to be first bulldozed, and considerable environmental harm and cost to DCJ;
6. DCJ’s eviction reasons to Wildplant Rescue are on spurious, non-genuine and unreasonable grounds.   So much for Labor Chris Minns’ no grounds eviction ban election promise.
7. On 24 October 2024 the NSW Parliament passed the (NSW) Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2024. The legislation is now the (NSW) Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024.  Relevant to Wildplant Rescue’s tenancy eviction threat, despite it being a business tenancy and not a residential tenancy, we raise pertinent sections of this new (NSW) Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024.  Why should not the same principles apply to a not-for-profit tenant?  That analytical article is pending on this website.   We thank readers for their patience.  We believe that no other website of journalist is covering this details issue as we are.  We seek the truth in such topics always.

 

 

Aboriginal Cultural and Resource Centre derelict – photo gallery:

And who seriously, would turn on the ACRC’s private fire hydrant and leave it running for weeks…months to waste precious drinking water?

We took a video of this upon our visit to the DCJ’s Clairvaux Community Centre site on Sunday 30th March 2025.

 

 

 

---

DCJ’s eviction threat of Wildplant Rescue is a conjured bureaucratic notion for an impractical social housing estate white elephant in bushland some 2km outside Katoomba

 

It’s all a political ruse!

Wildplant Rescue’s nursery site occupies a very small parcel of rural bushland covering less than half a hectare.   The nursery is situated on a western boundary off Oak Street Katoomba as part of the quite sizeable 8 hectare DCJ Clairvaux bushland site. 

The Clairvaux site is geographically located within The Gully Water Catchment on the western edge of the regional township of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains region of Australia.   The nursery site is within native Eucalypt bushland and is some distance from Katoomba’s high street, which is more than 2 km away and an uphill walk. 

 

 

So, the Clairvaux site location is not exactly convenient to shops nor amenities and the only public transport an hourly bus service into town along Oak Street.  So the site suits being a place to propagate native plants, which is what Wildplant Rescue does and has been doing successfully on a shoestring budget consistently since 1999, so now twenty-six continuous years. 

 

A recent walk around of Wildplant Rescue’s current site by this author:

 

---

 

Yet management has known about this eviction threat since before May 2020…

 

Let the truth be known – the founder of The Habitat Advocate and as Editor of this website, Steven Ridd, is a local of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains since 2001, so far, here for 24 years and going nowhere.    

Consistent with the conservation tenets of The Habitat Advocate organisation, Steven had been a committed and active member of Wildplant Rescue on and off since 2009, having first initiating contact with committee member Alison Hatfield back in April 2008.   Steven’s association included volunteering in various capacities and then joining the management committee.  It was an on-and-off participation as work and family priorities permitted such volunteering contributions, as many juggle with.

 

 

 

 

Back on Thursday 26^th February 2009, Steven attended his first meeting of Wildplant Rescue’s Management Committee Meeting, as a guest.   Minutes of that Management Committee Meeting of Thursday 26^th February 2009 are provided below. 

Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue is a community group and nothing herein is personally private, but only about this community-based not-for-profit organisation.  It’s website is appropriately in the public domain.  The Habitat Advocate Editor, Steven, remained a member of Wildplant Rescue on and off for more than a decade.   

However, Steven’s association with Wildplant Rescue abruptly ended upon him initiating his email letter of membership resignation from Wildplant Rescue to the management committee on 1st July 2020.  His reasons are twofold, as follows: 

 

ACTION 1:   Previously, on 24 June 2020, this author, at the time continuing to be on the Wildplant Rescue Management Committee had responded in an email to the committee thus:

“EVICTION THREAT

Importantly as well, Wildplant Management Committee needs to immediately respond to the notification of the imminent threat of eviction from its ‘lease’ at Clairvaux Community Centre 14 Oak Street Katoomba as warned by the NSW Department of Community & Justice (so-called) on 7^th May 2020, per Verity’s email.

It would be responsible to inform the membership of this threat ASAP.

Kind regards,

Steven”

 

However, the management committee decided NOT to follow Steven’s advice to issue a “broadcast’ email of this existential threat to the membership.. “until they had more definite information from the DCJ.” 

 

(2)  Two days later on 26th June 2020, Steven added in another email to the management committee:

“I re-emphasise that waiting for a governmental department formal response in writing may just well be an eviction notice.

This will place Wildplant Rescue in an invidious position with little wriggle room to negotiate or to seek a delay to consider options.

I have recommended to the Wildplant Committee they need to seek legal advice and to utilise the current government grant funding to finance such legal advice so as to be on the front foot, rather than waiting for the inevitable so to speak.

I do not see a reason for keeping this critical news from the Wildplant membership, who may well be able to assist the Committee somehow, or at least given an opportunity to do so.

As volunteer representatives of Wildplant Rescue, the committee should not feel compelled to take on this burden of the threat of eviction themselves and with it the likely folding of Wildplant with it, given no alternative site has been so far found viable.  I wish to add…as a committee member my dissent in not informing the membership of this predicament. They would be shocked to learn and if it were to eventuate without their knowledge, hold the committee to account and condemnation.  I am prepared to be a whistle-blower on this to the membership by July 14.  Surely the committee can come up with a responsible announcement to the membership that is informative without being alarmist.

I have the future viability of the Wildplant organisation and spirit foremost in my mind; whereas committee members can come and go.”

 

Steven Ridd as Founder, Conservation Consultant, and Editor of this website realised the existential threat by the governmental landlord to the very viability and future of Wildplant Rescue.  For the Management Committee members not to alert the membership and fight the government eviction went against the craw – against the very raison d’etre of The Habitat Advocate – publicly challenging ‘Government Greenwashing‘.

 

(3)  So, on 27th June 2020, Steven emailed his broadcast email to the 66 active members of Wildplant Rescue thus:

“Hello Wildplant Membership,

As a current voluntary member of Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Service and serving on the management committee, I wish to express my repeated concerns since receiving an email from the President on May 8^th 2020 about a serious risk to the viability of our organisation.  I have tried my darndest multiple times within the committee communication that the broader Wildplant membership be made aware of this situation, but I have been unsuccessful, and only accused of “bullying” by the President, which I totally reject.

I refer you to the President of Wildplant Committee to explain.
My commitment and heart is with the conservation spirit and viability of Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Service Inc.”

Sincerely,
Steven Ridd”

 

(4)  After then receiving a threatening email response from the president alleging “data breach” of Steven’s broadcast emailing to the members, Steven reflected upon his membership of Wildplant Rescue and on 1^st July 2020 emailed the committee stating he would not be renewing his membership.  (All email correspondences are retained on file).  

So that episode is approaching five years ago now.   Yet sadly, the same threat of governmental eviction by the same NSW Department of Communities and Justice still looms dark over Wildplant Rescue’s very existence.

 

(5)   This disturbing experience has affected us.  So we write this truth telling to share…

 

---

 

This nursery’s landlord?  …NSW Department of Communities and Justice – seriously?

 

As mentioned above, the Clairvaux Community Centre overall property site is owned by the New South Wales (state) Government (through its delegated and so-called ‘Department of Communities and Justice‘ (DCJ). 

We remind readers that the ‘NSW Government’ essentially translates to being the authorised custodian on behalf of the citizens of New South Wales.  Australia is a democracy.  Assets of this state government are indeed the assets of the State and thus belong to this states citizens.   

 

Eviction for social housing out ‘woop woop’..?

This much valued Blue Mountains community run not-for-profit venture frankly threatens to unjustifiably cause its permanent demise.   Bloody why?!

Yet the current incumbent NSW Minns Labour Government’s Department of Communities and Justice has threatened designs on the site to flog it off for ‘social’ housing development. 

What a ridiculous notion!   The site is over 2km from Katoomba’s high street, so not exactly accessible for social housing such as like dilapidated northern Lurline is adjacent to Katoomba High Street. 

The site is not suited to planned housing development and certainly not for government so-called ‘social housing‘ concept. 

There are more sites in town near shops and the railway station far more suited for such government-funded social housing.   Whereas Wildplant Rescue is located over 2 km from town so every resident would need a car for starters.  It would require considerable costly demolition of many buildings, the killing hundred of native trees and bulldozing bushland to replace it with a conurbation of unneeded new housing – so another white elephant for the Blue Mountains.

The DCJ claims that the centre tenanted by the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Cultural Resource Centre has significant accessibility and bushfire safety non-compliance issues that are not able to be remedied under the property’s existing land zoning.

“The Department of Communities and Justice is committed to funding Aboriginal community controlled organisations to provide programs and services for the local Aboriginal community,” a spokesperson told the Gazette.

“DCJ recognises and appreciates the important work that the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Cultural Resource Centre undertakes in the community, and has been working with the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Cultural Resource Centre to assist in sourcing and transitioning to a more appropriate property.

“DCJ remains committed to working collaboratively with the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Cultural Resource Centre to assist them in their goal of providing services to their local community.”
At the Blue Mountains council meeting, the mayoral minute was supported unanimously. The council intends to write to the Department of Communities and Justice; Stronger Community Ministers; the Minister and Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs; and Trish Doyle, state member for the Blue Mountains, advocating for investment in the renovations required so the NGOs can continue to operate from the DCJ’s Clairvaux Community Centre.

Since 1999 our nursery has been located at the Clairvaux Centre, which is Govt property in the portfolio of the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) The property was surplus to their requirements since the children’s homes closed in 1988. It was abandoned and derelict until Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre (KNC) got a licence from DCJ in 1998 to use the site for community groups. We moved in in 1999. KNC withdrew from the licence in 2009 and since then we have just remained on site developing the nursery, being totally ignored by the DCJ until they suddenly appeared in 2020 threatening eviction. While departmental decisions were still ongoing, we secured an official short term licence (lease) to continue operating on site for a further 15 months. This lease expired in September 2024. We have sent several requests for this term to be extended but now we have been verbally informed we will definitely be evicted soon, probably at the end of April.

 

The situation….

The DCJ have advised they wish to divest themselves of this property since they have determined that we are not a community organisation they can support and so they wish us to vacate by April this year. They tell us they have already offered the property to BMCC who have declined to accept without substantial accompanying funds to upgrade the premises, fair enough. KNC did massive work to upgrade the site for all the community groups to move in. Since then the residents of Clairvaux have done their best to keep the place operational but it definitely is in need of a major upgrade.

BMCC have indicated that we could be included in the Planetary Health Initiative on the old Katoomba Golf Course, but all we have so far are words, no action, and now we are running out of time! Moving a nursery is a huge endeavour and would take so much of our time and resources that without major assistance we may not be capable of achieving this!

Why bother to save us?….
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how valuable our nursery is to the whole Blue Mountains community. We are a unique nursery growing and supplying real local natives which are mostly not available anywhere else. By supplying genetically sound local plants for thirty years to gardeners, council and bush regenerators, we have helped to connect our community to the bush and increase indigenous biodiversity. We also provide an opportunity for all our volunteers to find companionship in worthwhile and fulfilling volunteer work. We work with local schools and join in all the local environmental education events.

(Given all that, one wonders how we don’t fall under the auspices of the Department of “Communities”?)

It is a fact that we receive no regular support or funding from any source at all for this important work! We have been serving the community and our environment since 1995 by our own efforts only.

In 2015, the NSW Parliament’s Member for Blue Mountains Trish Doyle MP, wrote a letter to the Minister for Communities on our behalf asking for the Minister’s help to find a permanent home for us.

We had a meeting with representatives from the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) yesterday and they have allayed our fears of sudden eviction by stating that we will not be just ‘thrown out on the street’ come the end of April, but that we MUST relocate from the site “as soon as an alternative is found”. They have assured us they are still working hard to find a solution. (So this is the same situation since at least 2009!)

I hope the DCJ and the Minister may have more influence than us to come up with an alternative site, since in the more than 20 years we ourselves have been looking none has so far been identified. If no other site at all is identified we may still be forced to close.

So the situation is still grim for us as no other locations can be identified at this stage. If you have any solid ideas or any sphere of influence to help us find our forever home, (or have a spare billionaire in your pocket?) then please send us an email to bmwrskat3@gmail
And please keep sharing our petition and watch here for updates
We are all hoping for a miracle!

Yet, this is government hypocrisy, since directly across Oak Street from where Wildplant Rescue’s nursery has been for 26 years at number 14, is Blue Mountains Council’s bankrupted golf course.
Who plays golf in 2025?

In the process this same DCJ department has given no consideration to the future of this long-standing successful not-for-profit nursery business.  Wildplant Rescue since 1999 continues to It provide a much valued native plant service to the local community.

The Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Service nursery and its office building occupies just a relatively small portion of the overall old ‘Clairvaux’ site situated on the southwestern bushland outskirts of Katoomba township site.   

The nursery is amongst a few other community-focused small business tenants.  However, over the years many of the former tenants have long departed and many of the remaining buildings are long abandoned and have been left to become derelict and vandalised.   There is no indication that the governmental landlord (DCJ) maintains the site or the buildings.

 

 

---

 

A brief history of this ‘Clairvaux’ site – ‘Home’ of Horrors:

 

The overall old ‘Clairvaux’ site is an asymmetrical odd squarish shape between Oak Street and Cliff Drive bounded by Hall Street (street access), Cedar Street, Violet Street, Ficus Street and Cliff Drive.  See recent aerial photo map below.   

It is estimated that the overall area approximates 80,000 m² ( 8 hectares).  [NOTE:  113 Cliff Drive, Katoomba, NSW 2780 has a land size of 69,662 m² (^SOURCE) – so this raises the question that entire land parcel ownership between Oak Street and Cliff Drive remains is unclear.  Was a portion sold off?]   

The overall site (shown below) is characterised as being half remnant bushland and half sports fields and from researching Google Maps and onsite ground-truthing also dotted with about two dozen dispersed dwellings. 

The original building of the fibro-cement/asbestos clad NSW Government ‘Clairvaux Children’s Home‘  would seem to date back to the 1960s.  Various other brick and tiled dwellings of different but consistent style seem to date to the 1970s.   Many of the 1970s dwellings appear unkempt, else abandoned, derelict and indeed a few have been vandalised and left open to the elements.  There is also signs of illegal squatting. 

Clairvaux photo gallery:

 

There are currently multiple tenants, dominated by the Katoomba Christian Convention (KCC) over about three quarters of the site.

 

Clairvaux Children’s Home had been established at this site outside Katoomba NSW by the then NSW Government’s Child Welfare Department in 1969.  At the time, other state institutions like Mittagong, Brush Farm and Werrington Park were becoming overcrowded, so Clairvaux was opened (outside remote Katoomba) to house another 24 ‘wards of the state‘. 

In the beginning, the Home provided accommodation for boys who were described as having “intellectual disabilities”.  However, over the years, regrettably paedophilia rape stories emerged about the boys’ mistreatment and horrific sexual abuse.  Clairvaux Children’s Home had been allowed by the NSW Government to become an “offending institution”…

 

“Clairvaux Childrens Home was ultimately closed in 1990, remembered only by the boys (now men) who lived there.  In 2014, the grand old building was repurposed into the Clairvaux Community Centre and now serves as the operations centre for a wide range of community-based charities.”

[SOURCE: ‘Offending Institution: Clairvaux Children’s Home’,  ^https://kelsolawyers.com/au/institutions/clairvaux-childrens-home/]

 

We reproduce the published article of Kelso Lawyers herewith:

 

“Offending Institution: Clairvaux Children’s Home”

SOURCE:  ^https://kelsolawyers.com/au/institutions/clairvaux-childrens-home/

 

“Clairvaux Children’s Home was established at Katoomba NSW by the Child Welfare Department in 1969. At the time, other state institutions like Mittagong, Brush Farm and Werrington Park were becoming overcrowded, so Clairvaux was opened to house another 24 wards of the state.

In the beginning, the Home provided accommodation for boys who were described as having intellectual disabilities.
Clairvaux was closed in 1990, remembered only by the boys (now men) who lived there. In 2014, the grand old building was repurposed into the Clairvaux Community Centre and now serves as the operations centre for a wide range of community-based charities.

But what happened behind closed doors between 1969 and 1990 was disturbing, to say the least — but you won’t hear about it in the news. The boys’ complaints were brushed off by their houseparents and other members of staff on-site.

As wards of the state, they had nowhere else to turn. They lived out of sight of the community. They didn’t have a voice.
In this article, we share the story of one individual who suffered at the hands of a cleaner who worked at Clairvaux.

Active paedophiles roamed the grounds

Image: Care Leavers Association

 

A former resident of Clairvaux (who remains unnamed for privacy) was only six-years-old when he arrived at Clairvaux as a state ward. For the next 10 years, he was sexually abused weekly by a cleaner named “Darryl” who the victim remembered had red hair — a recognisable, memorable feature.

The victim was often sexually abused in Darryl’s work shed, located near the Home’s pool.

Darryl subjected the child to anal penetration every single time.

Believing that someone would help him or at least send Darryl away, the victim told his houseparents, Mr and Mrs Brady, about what was happening to him. Rather than reporting Darryl to the police, they ignored the complaints and the cleaner continued to work there… and continued to abuse the vulnerable child.

The victim then tried to report the abuse to the woman who cooked in the kitchen. She at least sent the child to be checked over by the nurse but again, nothing was done to help him.

With nowhere left to turn, the victim ran away many times but was caught every time.

Eventually, the Department removed him from Clairvaux and sent him to Reiby Youth Justice Centre, followed by Mt Penang Training School. This was a common practice for boys who were considered “difficult to manage”.

Reiby and Mt Penang are known for their harsh discipline and rampant sexual abuse. For this particular victim, moving to Reiby and Mt Penang was not a “light at the end of the tunnel”. Safety was not a luxury enjoyed by the boys who lived there.

If you were abused at Clairvaux, we want to hear your story

So little information is known about Clairvaux and the boys who lived there. Their stories have been lost in time — many are too scared to come forward and tell their stories. This is not uncommon; around 60% of survivors never disclose their experiences with abuse. Many are ashamed and fear they will not be believed.

There are many grown men who still haven’t spoken about their abuse by Darryl the red-haired cleaner, other on-site staff or by their own houseparents.

At Kelso Lawyers, we want to hear your story. Our specialist lawyers have helped hundreds of survivors achieve compensation across Australia. We will lend a sympathetic ear and most importantly, we will believe every word you say.

From here, we will make the compensation application process as simple and stress-free as possible. It is our goal to ensure you achieve the best possible outcome and achieve your own personal breakthrough.”

 

---

  

The home buildings have been abandoned ever since.  They are situated off Cedar Street, at a quite separate location to the Wildplant Rescue nursery which is accessed off Hall Street over 250m around the corner.

Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Service is wholly a community service.  It is the first of its kind in Australia, conceived and founded by local Blackheath village residents Mikla Lewis and Naturalist Wyn Jones in January 1993 to be a community driven, not-for-profit organisation, based in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales to help protect and promote the natural values of the Blue Mountains.   It operates to rescue and re-home wild native plants, and to propagate these in its  substantial dedicated in order to supply a range of locally endemic plants to local community bushcare groups, landscapers and to the local Blue Mountains Council for ongoing native habitat rehabilitation projects. 

Copy on an early newsletter to members ‘Wildplant Press:

The Blue Mountains region, despite being mostly world heritage listed in 2000 continues to come under housing land use development pressures from hundreds of building permits issued every year, with most of the development affecting unspoiled native vegetation.   

“Block by block, the bushland nature of the Blue Mountains urban area was being slowly but steadily lost, replaced by exotic gardens which deprive native wildlife of food and habit and create huge weed problems in surrounding bushland and National Park.    As the group evolved, the original idea of rescuing native plants developed into a bigger plan. The group became aware of the importance of protecting wildplant and wildlife communities in the Blue Mountains on a broader scale than solely rescuing condemned wildplants.  The collection of seeds and cuttings for propagation and on-selling to the local community was added to the concept.  The facilities at Mount Tomah Botanic Garden were used for propagation of rescued seeds and cuttings, which were then cared for by group members in their own gardens.”

[SOURCE:  ^https://www.wildplantrescue.org.au/about]

Indeed, the website of Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Service was made possible by the Federal Government’s Stronger Communities Grant.

As well as engaging dozens of local community volunteers, the nursery also employs disabled young people as well as youth offenders undergoing rehabilitation and community re-adjustment through various governmental programmes.  These would all cease if the DCJ bean counters get their way. 

So what the hell is the Minns Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) thinking by destroying a community project – seriously?

DCJ’s website motto:  “We work with children, young people, adults, families and communities to support vibrant, sustainable and inclusive communities.” 

Is this seriously hypocritical or what?  DCJ’s threat to shut down this community nursery. 

What a hotch-potch of disconnected public service functions the DCJ is!  It combines a legal justice type portfolio with community services.  Cop this disparate mixed bag of its portfolios in DCJ’s Executive Structure:

1. Social Housing
2. Disaster Welfare
3. Courts and Tribunals
4. Victims Services
5. Child Protection
6. Disability
7. Seniors
8. Women’s Safety
9. Youth Justice
10. High Cost Emergency Arrangements
11. Law Reform
12. Volunteering
13. Sentencing
14. Disease Testing
15. Jury Service
16. Domestic Violence
17. Anti-Discrimination
18. Custodial Services (Prisons)
19. Legal Services
20. Public Defenders Office
21. Solicitor General
22. Aboriginal Outcomes
23. IT Services
24. Financial Performance and Transformation
25. Compliance
26. Anti-Slavery
27. Infrastructure and Assets

It’s a miscellaneous bucket list, and may as well be badged ‘Other’.

The last one here is managed by  Katherine Tollner.  She’d be the one going after  WildPlant Rescue in cahoots with Financial Performance and Transformation’s Bronwyn Roy and Social Housing’s (Homes NSW) Rebecca Pinkstone.   And how is Wildplant Rescue not recognised given that DCJ has a Volunteering programme?

Combined, DCJ’s has a bloated army of staff currently numbering 24,000 with a annual spend of $17 billion according to its 2024 annual report!  That is 13% of the NSW Government’s annual spend of $130 billion according to the Audit Office of New South Wales website.  It spends more than it earns.  Its accumulated debt is $137 billion, with official forecast annual interest payments on debt to be (conservatively) $8.6 billion for 2027-28.   So, Macquarie Street under the Liberal-National Coalition or Labor/Greens spends half of DCJ’s budget on interest repayments.

Well, Macquarie Street knows how to spend taxpayers’ money like proverbial drunken sailors.  It has programme sub-departments to conjure up new programmes to ensure it spends all it gets annually, so its budget doesn’t fall in subsequent years.  [NOTE:  One is familiar with the NSW governmental bureaucracy, having contracted as a management accountant for multiple NSW Government departments for over a decade].

In the case of the building that houses Wildplant Rescue’s administrative office and other separate outbuildings on the old Clairvaux site, the DCJ has neglected building maintenance and proper upkeep for many decades. 

DCJ’s current so-called Executive Director for its Infrastructure and Assets portfolio since Sep 2019 (less lockdowns),  Katherine Tollner, has three months governmental experience in a property portfolio as Executive Director Property, Fleet & Procurement at NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure  (Jul 2019 – Sep 2019).

 

The NSW Minns Labor Ministry includes this Department Communities and Justice, so-called (DCJ).   But under Premier Minns, it is a mish mash mega department of unrelated portfolios as follows:

1. Attorney General: The Hon. Michael Daley SC, MP
2. Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Disability Inclusion: The Hon. Kate Washington MP
3. Minister for Youth Justice: The Hon. Jihad Dib MP
4. Minister for Corrections: The Hon. Anoulack Chanthivong MP
5. Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness, Minister for Youth: The Hon. Rose Jackson MP
6. Minister for Veterans: The Hon. David Harris MP
7. Minister for Seniors, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault: The Hon. Jodie Harrison MP  

So not one minister is accountable.  Which one is in charge of the eviction threat?  This mega department is supposed to be about ‘communities’ as its name suggests. 

The three non-government organisations that are the tenants at the Clairvaux Community Centre are:

1. Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue Service, the native plant nursery
2. The Blue Mountains Aboriginal Culture and Resource Centre (ACRC), which has been at Clairvaux for 27 years and claims “to provide crucial support services to the local First Nations community”
3. Leura Day Options, a disability support service provided by Greystanes Disability Service

These are each COMMUNITY based services.  Hello!

It’s website About Us page reads:

“We work with children, young people, adults, families and communities to support vibrant, sustainable and inclusive communities.”

 

 

 

 

SOURCE:  ^https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/about-us/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/about-dcj.html

At Clairvaux COMMUNITY Centre, the tenants facing eviction are a COMMUNITY nursery, an Aboriginal COMMUNITY centre and a disability support centre for disabled members of the local  COMMUNITY.

What hypocrisy!   The DCJ is also supposed to be about justice, as the name suggest – but it seems it’s more like ‘injustice’.

 

---

 

Council’s Centre for “Planetary Health” – seriously again?

 

In 2022, Blue Mountains councillors voted unanimously to oppose the eviction of the community groups that use Clairvaux by the DCJ!  The mayor will support Trish Doyle’s appeal to the Minister to reconsider.

That same year, the Blue Mountains Council purchased the adjacent defunct Katoomba Golf Clubhouse situated on 30 hectares of public land (long controlled by Council), Council decided to re-branded it a ‘Centre for Planetary Health‘…whatever that means. 

 

We point out that Blue Mountains Council had over previous decades, owned the public land of the Katoomba Golf Course, in its entrusted capacity as a custodian on behalf of the citizens of the Blue Mountains local government area it represents in trust.  But the various golf course club operators had gone bankrupt and ‘sympathetically connected’ councillors had bailed them out using ratepayer funds. Say no more.

During the time of 2022, as part of Council’s community consultation outreach invitation, Steven responded to Council in writing proposing that a small portion (1/2 hectare) of the old golf course site be considered by Council allocated to Wildplant Rescue’s nursery, given the imminent threat of the nursery’s eviction from its current site.  The current nursery site directly across the street from the old golf course at 14 Oak Street covers about that size. 

This relocation literally just across the street, would be the most convenient option for Wildplant Rescue out of other flagged site options considered, if eviction became imminent and unavoidable.  Other considered options had been Planet Ark’s former site in Wentworth Falls (north side) off 321 Blaxland Road and the original proposed site for the nursery at the old and disused Blackheath Tip (2 hectare) site off Ridgewell Road, situated about 600 metres along the road from the Great Western Highway, just east of the locked road gate for the Hanging Rock Parking Area.  See map below. 

 

 

 

Recall the lead newspaper article above:

 

‘The group had talks with council about a possible site during the planning of the old Katoomba golf course precinct.  But a spokeswoman for council said:

 “a plant nursery is not a permissible use on this site under the current zoning, and an amendment to the LEP would be required to include this and other additional uses.  That would be a lengthy process including making a submission to the state government and further public consultation.”….

 

 

In 2022, Blue Mountains City Council has voiced its concern over the threat of eviction for three community non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from the Clairvaux Centre in Katoomba.

At the council meeting of February 22, Labor mayor Mark Greenhill introduced a minute that detailed how the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) intends to end the lease of the Clairvaux Centre-based NGOs because of renovation costs.

“We need to stand up for those affected NGOS, they operate significant community support services to the Blue Mountains,” said Cr Greenhill. “When I heard about this I was horrified.”

Ward 1 Labor councillor, Suzie van Opdorp, who has an association with the Clairvaux Centre that extends back to the 1980s, also voiced her concerns over the eviction threat.

“These groups are feeling very anxious about their future,” she said. “As anyone would know who has lived and worked in the Mountains, there’s a scarcity of affordable office space for community organisations … These groups are really going to struggle if they’re put out to the open market to look for accommodation – some of them may not survive.  It’s clear the facility is worth a lot of money. Our state government has gone about selling lots of publicly owned assets, and I can imagine it would be very tempting to sell this off.”

Ward 2 Greens councillor Brent Hoare and Ward 1 Greens councillor Sarah Redshaw also expressed their disappointment with the proposed eviction, Cr Hoare accusing the state government of “demolition by neglect”.

Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) have finally answered our questions regarding our suggested involvement in the Planetary Health Initiative on the old Katoomba Golf Course.

BMCC have now clearly stated that this is not a viable option for us because of zoning and other issues which would take years of process to remedy, if at all.  They have also confirmed they have no other suitable site available within their portfolio to which the nursery could be relocated. Despite expressing their concern and saying they really value our contribution to the community, they say they can do nothing more to help us.

Yet local Blue Mountains Council has its new ‘Centre for Planetary Health‘ notion situated immediately across the road from Wildplant Rescue’s current site!

This relocation option beckons – more anon.

 

---

 

References:

 

[1]  ‘Eviction looming‘, 20250115, Blue Mountains Gazette newspaper, p.1, ^https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/8863682/wildplant-nursery-in-katoomba-faces-uncertain-future/?msg=login

 

[2]  ‘Eviction Update‘, Blue Mountains Wildplant Rescue (website), ^https://www.wildplantrescue.org.au/blog/eviction-update

  

[3]  ‘NGOs may have to leave Clairvaux Centre due to renovation costs‘, 2022-03-18, by A.B.M. Smith, ^https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/7651440/clairvaux-eviction-threat/

 

[4]  ‘Plans still afoot to fix Blackheath tip‘, 2021-07-27, by Jennie Curtin, Blue Mountains Gazette newspaper, ^https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/7352079/tip-clean-up-still-pending/

 

[5]  ‘Eviction Threat for Wildplant‘, 2025-01-08, ^https://www.wildplantrescue.org.au/blog/eviction-threat-for-wildplant

 

[6]   ‘Landlords face fines for ‘non-genuine’ eviction reasons‘, 2024-07-28, by Jack Gramenz and Callum Godde, Australian Associated Press, ^https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/8709944/landlords-face-fines-for-non-genuine-eviction-reasons/

 

[7]  ‘Heritage for housing‘,  2021-09-13, Blue Mountains Gazette newspaper,  ^https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/7413951/heritage-for-housing/?msg=login

 

 

[9]   ‘Offending Institution: Clairvaux Children’s Home‘,  Kelso Lawyers website,  ^https://kelsolawyers.com/au/institutions/clairvaux-childrens-home/

 

[10]   ‘Landmark Win For Renters: NSW Rental Reform Bans No-Grounds Evictions and Caps Rent Increases‘, 2024-10-25, by Christine Lai, CityHub, ^https://cityhub.com.au/nsw-rental-reform-no-grounds-evictions-capped-rent-increases/

 

[11]   ‘Changes to rental laws‘,  NSW Government  (Minns Labor), 2024-10-24,  ^https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/fair-trading/changes-to-rental-laws

 

 

When we bought our 1920’s cottage bungalow in The Gully Catchment (Katoomba Falls Creek Valley) back in 2000, it was run down and surrounded by lawns front and back. 

Since then over the past nearly 25 years, we removed all the lawn, renewed the dilapidated fences, annexed the verge with a fern rockery, terraced the front and planted many trees (including a Mountains Blue Gum), hedging and what has now become a micro temperate rainforest with now 17 tree ferns under an established canopy.  The image above is one of a number we planted in Spring.

The birds have come back – crimson roselas, king parrots, magpies, currawongs, a few sulphur crested white cockatoos, bower birds, wattle birds, seasonal koels, New Holland honey eaters, thornbills.

Whilst we have not sought to re-establish the local forest ecology, our small plot is contributing to  the ecology fringe buffer between The Gully and the surrounding township of Katoomba.

Welcome to Australia.

We are not about inculcating divisiveness of this local, national and global conservation cause.  That’s for nasty politics with ulterior motives – we stand well clear of such lot.

 

 

So, following the loud noise disturbance from the Katoomba Carrington Hotel on Saturday 26th October 2024, and from our failed attempt to chat with the hotel’s festival organiser, who immediately ordered us off his premises, we notify local Blue Mountains Council on the following Monday 28th October when Council is back at work.

We lodged a Customer Service Request (CSR 514828) to Council and request a dialogue about this matter. 

This Carrington’s owner had setup some brass band with additional amplified music situated in the guest car park that played over towards adjoining residences, rather than having previously utilised their approved festival space (of equivalent size) on the other side of The Carrington’s grounds in the more suitable bustling retail heart of uptown Katoomba just off high street Katoomba Street.

We received no response from back from Council by Wednesday 30th October.   So we emailed out complaint to Council in writing as follows, and this isn’t the first time we’ve raised this intrusively loud amplified noise issue with this Carrington owner. 

 

 

Attention:  Council’s Programme Leader for Health and Compliance

 

RE: Noise Complaints – Carrington Hotel amplified music | CSR 514828/13 Feb 2024 | CSR 558418/28-Oct-2024

I hereby again complain a second time to you about the amplified noise coming from The Carrington Hotel premises…

PLAY:  >Brass Band Playing from Carrington Car Park

 

Last time, on 13th February this year I had previously raised this noise problem with both The Carrington management via its Reception and then local Council.   A day later I happend to then receive a phone call from one of the joint owners of the Carrington Hotel identifying himself to me as Michael Brischetto.   I explained to him about my genuine concerns about the very loud amplified music audible from my place and our conversation then was amicable.

Now we have another noise disturbance incident. 

All I seek in this matter is a right to quiet enjoyment of where I live in an historical and typically quiet residential neighbourhood. I am concerned about this new noise becoming a precedent and a more frequent occurrence if not nipped in the bud.

My records and expressed concerns support my real worries about what this ‘new noise’ pollution could lead to, to risk destroying our peaceful home environment:

 

1.  I refer to my email to you 7th March 2024 about the loud amplified music noise at The Carrington Hotel car park off Parke Street in Katoomba, and also from last Saturday 26th October 2024.

 

2.  This loud noise was clearly audible to me at my home, being situated three streets away to the west in Kundibar Street. The noise started in the morning, and on and off, continued into the night. The first I heard it, it was a loud small brass band playing with a heavy bass guitar reverberating deep sound that was audible from inside my home. I happened to have been ill that day and I was asleep in bed, and this noise woke me up.

 

3.  This amplified noise could be heard as far away as Waimea Street in The Gully, more than 250 metres away westward through this residential precinct.  I had a walk around the block that day and I confirm this. [See attached ‘Residential Proximity to Noise Map’]

 

 

4.  I then went to inspect where the noise from coming from and found it emanating from The Carrington Hotel’s car park off Parke Street, used again for a music festival – this time The Carrington’s own ‘Oktoberfest’ festival involving live bands (amplified music) and selling beer in The Carrington’s car park.

 

5.  Again, as a local resident, I consider it highly inappropriate and disrespectful that amplified noise be allowed to occur adjacent to residential homes and audible into the back streets beyond.

 

6.  Generally, The Carrington Hotel’s owners permit public access on site to the Grounds, Front Verandah, Reception, the Cocktail Bar, its adjoining toilets, Lounge and Dining spaces. On this particular Saturday, public access was granted to the car park’s upper level where the festival was taking place under a large marquee. So as a member of the public I was free to walk around the grounds and the upper level of the car park and to freely take ‘tourist’ photos.

This I did.

 

7.   I noticed the event’s signage on the day read that it was open to general public. I also read the event promotional banner above the car park lower-level eastern entrance read ‘Free admission’.

 

8.   As supporting evidence, I attach photos I took last Saturday on foot as well as my audio recording (software of which does not reflect the true loudness of the actual volume).

 

9.   For your reference, also as supporting evidence I attach copies of excerpts of The Carrington’s public website specific to this event ’Oktoberfest’. SOURCE: ^https://thecarrington.com.au/whats-on/oktoberfest/ [Accessed: 30-Oct-2024]

 

10.  My understanding is that The Carrington a few years back (perhaps 2015) gained Council approval to double the size of its car park by converting it into a two-storey car park. But this car park second-story development was surely not approved as a venue for holding festivals, concerts, serving alcohol and encouraging large crowd gathering, nor for playing loud amplified music. Is this the case?

 

11.   The Carrington’s website advertised this event to occur between 11am and 9pm on the Saturday. Did Council give approval to The Carrington Hotels owners for this event and amplified music?

 

12.   The juxtaposition of this car park is directly across the street from residential homes.  Indeed, these homes at situated in a heritage housing conservation precinct dating back to the 1870s.  It includes heritage listed ‘North’s Estate’ which pre-dates The Carrington Hotel opening of 1883.  This Norths Estate’ is where I live and have done so in residential quiet enjoyment continually since 2001.

 

13.   The current owners of The Carrington Hotel date their ownership to 2004.

 

14.   I request a copy of council’s consent conditions for this car park development, since I am an adversely affected neighbour to this development use.

 

15.   Did Council approve the use of the car park for festivals including loud amplified noise that could be audible into the adjoining residential area many streets away?

 

16.  On this occasion, I walked up to the pedestrian entrance to this festival in the car park and met a man in a silly pixie hat and costume wearing sunglasses (my photo attached) there gatekeeping the festival’s entrance, who then identified himself as one of the joint owners of The Carrington. It was Michael Brischetto again.

I expressed my concerns to Mr Brischetto politely about the loud amplified noise, pointing out that I live just a few streets away.

But he was quite rude to me, refusing to listen to me, and recalled my previous complaint from the February festival and realised I was the same person who had complained then.

Mr Brischetto then immediately ordered me to “Get off my property!”  So I immediately did so.

 

17.  So, having tried to reason with Michael Brischetto unsuccessfully, I now complain to Council about this noise.

 

18.  As before, I request such loud festival events not be staged in The Carrington’s purpose-built car park off Katoomba’s Parke Street, but rather at the dedicated grassed lawn area (below), which has been successfully used previously for such festivals as the Lady Luck Festival (of the past 14 years) , which is more appropriately located off Katoomba Street in the heart of retail Katoomba, some 200 metres east of the car park.

 

 

I am sure that both The Carrington Hotel owners and Council could readily work together toward a mutually suitable arrangement for such ongoing festivals, so as not to upset local residents like me and my family by it using its unintended car park near homes.

 

19.  This time, I request Council actually contacts the owners of The Carrington about this matter, notifies them of my complaint and that Council does something to address it, ideally prohibit such loud amplified music from being played from its car park off Parke Street please.

 

20. I am prepared to go public on this matter, and indeed pursue this matter legally.

 

Sincerely,

Steven Ridd
Conservation Consultant

W: https://habitatadvocate.com.au/
T: 02-4782 1300