Traffic, tourism, ambience concerns of objectors in Windsor Bridge replacement inquiry
MORE than 150 submissions into the Windsor Bridge Replacement Project inquiry have revealed traffic, tourism and ambience concerns.
Rouse Hill
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rouse Hill. Followed categories will be added to My News.
MORE than 150 submissions into the Windsor Bridge Replacement Project inquiry have revealed traffic, tourism and ambience concerns.
In November, an Upper House committee started an inquiry into the Windsor Bridge Replacement Project following objections surrounding the significance of the bridge to the Hawkesbury community.
National Trust branch chairman Frances Perkins spurned the proposal for the “catastrophic and irreversible impacts on the heritage significance, tourism potential and public amenity of the oldest town square in Australia”.
“It is disappointing that, despite expert and community opposition … and clear evidence of the long-term economic benefits of historic precincts like Windsor for income and employment growth, the NSW Government has continued with a plan which would force industrial vehicles through historic residential, recreational and retail urban precincts,” he said.
“The main new approach road to the proposed new bridge would run along one side of the historic town square, permanently introducing heavy traffic to the square and hence destroying its ambience and character.”
“One of the most damning aspects of the Windsor Bridge Replacement Project is the misleading and deceitful presentation of alternative options,” a spokesman said. “Options appear to have been generated simply to demonstrate that alternatives were considered.
“However, each seems to have been deliberately designed to be inadequate and unacceptable.”
Roads and Maritime Services did not make a submission, claiming a government submission was provided to the inquiry this month. A RMS spokeswoman said mitigation to reduce heritage impact was a key consideration in the project.
Historic drain to remain in Thompson Square
A 214-YEAR-OLD historic brick barrel drain discovered at Thompson Square will remain intact following months of rallying from heritage action groups.
Thompson Square is one of the oldest public squares in Australian history — leading to significant concerns from residents following the discovery of the brick barrel drain.
An RMS spokeswoman said the department engaged professional archaeologists to carefully excavate the north eastern section of Thompson Square to record any heritage artefacts found in the area.
“During the excavation exercise, archaeological crews discovered a brick barrel drain dating back to 1814 in a hand-dug test pit,” she said.
“Investigations continued and crews recently located the end of the brick barrel drain near the river.
“Although most of the brick drain has been found intact, the end was found to be eroded and partially washed away.”
The spokeswoman said the RMS had developed a design to preserve the brick drain, opting to design the project around the heritage item.
“The NSW Government has listened to the concerns of the community and will not be removing the brick barrel drain,” the spokeswoman said.
“Further archaeological studies are under way to record the finds and preserve the historical significance of the site.”
Hawkesbury City Council records show information about the square dating back to as early as 1809.
“The Thompson Square heritage listing describes it as the only public space remaining from the original town that has played an important part in the history of the town,” a submission to the government inquiry said.
“It is the only remaining civic space as laid out by governor Macquarie and is a vital precinct in the preservation pf the early colonial character of Windsor.”
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE OCCUPATION
PAT SCHWARTZ
“People with social problems, homeless people, they will come to the tent, and, yes, sometimes at night drunk people asking for help because they’ve lost keys or need help. It has become a bit of a spot. It makes me think about the times policemen would walk the beat. It adds quality to the community to have people out on the streets like us, so it’s been nice from a community point of view. Sometimes we are like a little tourist bureau — I think it will be quite a loss to the area when we do eventually pack up and leave.”
PAUL EVANS
“I have ancestors who came here as convicts and settled in this area, not because they wanted to, but they made a go of it. People like Andrew Thompson, who this square is named after, epitomised that sort of early spirit of getting on with things and I think it’s just wrong that they want to put through a piece of infrastructure that will destroy that heritage value.
One quarter of the square would have to go if the planned bridge goes through. It’s a huge concrete monstrosity driven right through the middle of the square which is unreasonable when traffic could be taken out of the square with a bypass.’’
ELAINE LALLY
“Sometimes people do shout out, ‘get a job’ but I laugh at that because I’m a retired academic and I’m here because I care passionately about this situation.
It’s a statement, a very clear statement that there is a strong community sentiment against what’s being proposed. I think it’s part of a long game. We probably didn’t realise at the beginning that we’d be here this long but we’ve seen out governments, we’ve seen out Premiers, we’ve seen out roads ministers, we are seeing a gradual turning of the broader opinion in our favour, I think.”
CLAUDIA KHOURI
“There are a lot of people I never would have met if I hadn’t been involved and it’s a diverse group of people too. A couple of times we’ve been described as dirty unwashed ratbags, well most people aren’t and have all come from good occupations and some people are still working and some are retired, so quite a variety of people involved. People who are new to the area can see that bridge is not any kind of solution. I would like to see our local member (state Treasurer Dominic Perrotet) at least come up here and see why we are on a campaign here for five years. As far as I know he’s never even been here to see what’s going on.”
‘Overheating’: price falls imminent in once trendy suburbs
Home prices are on the brink of falling in a range of areas that had soared in popularity when interest rates were higher.
Named: Accused elite uni hacker arrested hiding in dirty apartment
From an unkempt unit in Sydney’s west, police allege a woman masterminded a sophisticated cyber hacking scheme to access university’s databases and sell staff and students’ personal information on the dark web.