Mosman is ‘an oasis of boredom’ according to one Willoughby councillor
MOSMAN councillors have defended their patch after a Willoughby councillor said Mosman’s “sleepy hamlet atmosphere” made no sense in a proposed merger.
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“JEALOUSY is a curse,” Mosman councillor Simon Menzies quipped after hearing Willoughby councillor Nic Wright label Mosman “an oasis of boredom”.
The North Shore Times reported on Friday that Cr Wright criticised Mosman during a Willoughby Council meeting in which Willoughby rejected any idea of merging with Mosman.
“All Mosman brings is a dilapidated shopping strip and traffic on Military Rd which makes Chatswood traffic look good,” Cr Wright said.
Cr Menzies suggested Cr Wright “should really get out more”.
“Mosman is paradise,” he said.
“Balmoral is the Pearl of the Pacific. We have Taronga Zoo, harbour views, a national park, fine dining, vibrant shopping, great pubs, magnificent homes, a proud history and a community spirit the envy of others.”
Mosman deputy mayor Carolyn Corrigan said Cr Wright’s criticism reinforced Mosman’s stance against forced mergers.
“Mosman is unloved and unwanted by Warringah, Pittwater, Manly and now Willoughby,” she said.
“We are happy to be boring and cop the criticism on the chin, if it means Mosman can remain independent and stand alone.”
Cr Corrigan also said the Pacific Highway at Chatswood was recently named number one by the NRMA as having the worst traffic congestion hotspot in NSW.
“Traffic congestion is already disgusting in Mosman and it will only get much, much worse when developers are given the green light to develop Military Rd into another Chatswood,” she said.
“This will undoubtedly occur under a forcibly amalgamated Mosman.”
Mosman councillor Roy Bendall said Mosman also rejected the proposal to merge with Willoughby.
“We have nothing in common,” he said.
“Mosman has no debt; why should our ratepayer income and assets be used to prop up the indebted Willoughby Council?
“The state seems to be kicking Mosman around as a political football to empower neighbouring debt-ridden councils.
“We are happy to be described as boring if parks, beaches, natural beauty and low density housing is the criteria.”
The Mosman Daily asked Cr Wright to elaborate on his comments from the council meeting.
He said Mosman’s Military Rd shopping strip was, “a mess, a hodgepodge of activewear stores and haberdasheries” which were seemingly unsupported by any policy to activate the strip.
“Stores lie empty for months, persistently overlooked by shoppers stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic desperately making their way towards the retail and cultural cosmopolis of Chatswood,” Cr Wright said.
“Military Rd and Spit Rd are in desperate need of a makeover.”
He said traffic in Mosman was “presumably people just trying to escape.”
“Traffic in Chatswood is difficult but understandable, tens of thousands of people come flooding in every day to work and take advantage of our world-class shopping, eating and cultural events,” Cr Wright said.
“Mosman evinces the kind of boredom and ennui that would make the town in the movie Footloose seem sprightly. Willoughby Council has undertaken huge projects, most notably the Concourse and Vivid.”
Cr Wright said Mosman had “plenty to be proud of”, including an undeniable beauty in its natural environment, but Mosman’s “sleepy hamlet atmosphere” made no sense in a forced merger with North Sydney and Willoughby.
Meanwhile, Mosman councillors have slammed the government’s invitation for them to reapply for their jobs. Cr Roy Bendall said “sycophants” would replace democratically elected councillors.
Mosman Top 5
1: Taronga Zoo is one of Sydney’s top tourist attractions and features a fun new wild ropes adventure course. The zoo also supports species conservation and habitat preservation.
2: Shop from leading fashion designers whose boutiques line Military Rd, including Australian brands Anna Thomas and Camilla and Marc.
3: Balmoral Beach is extremely popular with families. Children love playing on the island and in the baths area.
4: Take an interesting tunnel tour at Headland Park which reveals Sydney’s buried military history or try the Taronga to Balmoral walk which is another beautiful tourist attraction.
5: Enjoy getting fit in the great outdoors. Fitness experts the Rancan sisters of Mosman host fun-filled exercise classes including “doga” which is yoga with your dog.
Willoughby Top 5
1: See cute, cuddly and unique creatures with a free council bat tour at night. You will trudge around the bush in the dark looking for microbats.
2: Enjoy the confines of the Chatswood Westfield and Chatswood Chase car parks before you enter shopping centres that could be anywhere in Australia.
3: Fancy a swim on a warm summer’s day? Then head indoors and swim in the pristine, chlorinated waters of Willougby Leisure Centre.
4: Stroll along the Frank Channon Walk which takes you from Chatswood’s Graden of Remembrance to the Ausgrid power depot near the Pacific Hwy. Enjoy the wonderful vistas of back fences and the North Shore rail corridor.
5: Play in one of two playgrounds that cost $200,000. One is a frog-themed playground in Castle Cove and the other is a king of the castle-themed playground in Northbridge.
North Sydney Council-commissioned report discusses merging with “Mossman”
It looks like things are not going well in the budding romance between the lower north shore councils.
One of the key rules of dating is remembering your potential partner’s name — an essential that a new report on council mergers has not quite got the grip of.
North Sydney Council commissioned an investigation into the proposed three-way coalition with Willoughby and Mosman.
But an amusing interloper wormed its way into the mix: Mossman.
The report namechecks Mossman 13 times with the unusual spelling even featuring in financial tables.
“Given the fact that a great majority of North Sydney residents do not want to merge with Mossman, Willoughby or any other council, it is unacceptable to force them to transfer net wealth to Mossman and Willoughby residents by way of local infrastructure pooling,” the report warns.
However, the report got the name right most of the time, with more than 100 correct versions.
The independent report was prepared by Professor Brian Dollery on behalf of New England Education and Research for North Sydney Council.
It claims that “severe fiscal inequities” would flow from the merger between the three councils.
“After the end of the post-merger four-year ‘rating trajectory freeze’, North Sydney residents will face an exponential increase in rates as part of the process of ‘rate harmonisation’,” the report states.
Prof Dollery did not respond to a request for comment.
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