Harbour Bays To Keep On Working
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday June 5, 1999
Rozelle and Blackwattle Bay, home of Sydney's fishing fleet, will be preserved as Sydney Harbour's first major maritime precinct.
The old Glebe Island Bridge will remain open to marine traffic, recreational boating sheds are planned for west Rozelle Bay, and public access will be guaranteed along the working wharves at the feet of Anzac Bridge as part of a draft master plan to ensure Sydney remains a working harbour.
Details of the plan, prepared by Devine Erby Mazlin and released at a community meeting this week, came as the Department of Transport acknowledged the two bays would not cater for all maritime industries displaced by residential development on Sydney's foreshore. It said action would be needed to identify and secure other sites.
The Sydney Harbour Maritime Forum, representing boat repairers, marina operators, charter boats, yacht clubs and waterfront contractors, has warned that the lack of a co-ordinated government plan risked 5,000 jobs and could turn the harbour into a "one-dimensional housing estate".
The master plan is intended to provide guidance to developers on the type, scale and form of development that will be acceptable on the site. A final draft will be submitted to the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning for assessment. It will then go on public display before being presented for ministerial approval.
Key elements include: * The old Glebe Island Bridge to be opened permanently to marine traffic with the opportunity to return it to a working bridge if funding permits; * Recreational boating at West Rozelle Bay, linking with Bicentennial Park; * Public access to the working port in daylight hours, and the creation of six viewing corridors, with unobstructed views of the bay from vantage points on Anzac Bridge and residential areas in Glebe and Annandale; and* Preservation and "re-adaptive use" of the coal loader near the Pyrmont Fishmarkets.
The forum chairman, Mr Mal Hiley, general manager of Waterway Constructions, said the master plan recognised the need to preserve maritime industries and should be used as a model to establish other marine precincts on the harbour foreshores.
As part of a wider strategic plan, sites which could be investigated for maritime use include Jones Bay Wharf, opposite the casino, Woolwich Dock and Cockatoo Island. Tenders for Jones Bay Wharf close next month.
© 1999 Sydney Morning Herald
Share This