Beverley Park residents walk to show opposition to Beverley Park Golf Course Fence DA
Almost 100 residents participated in a community walk around Beverley Park Golf Course to express their objection to the amended plans submitted by Beverley Park Golf Club to the Land and Environment Court for a prison-like style security fence around the perimeter of the golf course.
The Fence DA, originally submitted by the Beverley Park Golf Club in 2017, was refused by the Georges River Local Planning Panel in July 2019. Beverley Park Golf Club appealed the refusal decision in the Land and Environment Court. A Land and Environment Court conciliation conference took place on 16 November 2020, with a site inspection attended by the Land and Environment Court Commissioner and experts from the applicant and Council.
‘The community has been fighting this battle for three years. We were shut out of the onsite inspection for the conciliation conference due to COVID-19. And now solicitors have been appointed to conciliate on behalf of the Council, a council that is meant to represent the community’s interests. In this instance Council is aligning its interests with the golf club instead of the residents of Beverley Park, who have made it clear that they are opposed to any fence proposal and that the applicant should seek genuine alternate security measures.’ says Elise Borg, Beverley Park resident and Hon Secretary of the Kogarah Bay Progress Association.
Residents received a letter from Council’s external solicitor on 7 December which stated that the applicant agreed to make several changes to the plans to address Council and their expert's concerns with the development.
However, residents are concerned that Council’s external solicitor will negotiate a compromise and approve the amended plans as part of the S34 conciliation, based on the fact that the only one tree would be removed, and that part of the style of the fence has changed.
‘Council’s solicitor is missing the point. The community doesn’t object to only the removal of trees or the style or location of the fence. The community objects to the construction of any fence that will have long-term, irreparable damage on the amenity of the suburb and that shuts the public out of the open green space. The golf club is a short-term tenant of a publicly owned asset, and supposedly in this court process Councillors, elected to be the voice of the community, and the community themselves, have no say on the future of that public asset.’ Elise said.
Member for Rockdale Steve Kamper MP joined the community walk in solidarity with the community and addressed the crowd.
‘We fought this battle a number of years ago. We thought we’d won this battle. We thought it was dead and buried.’ Steve said.
‘The concern I have is how serious an effort Georges River Council is making to represent you, the ratepayers and people of the community. I’ve got grave doubts that this is happening. That’s my greatest concern. They’ve got to put their shoulder into the representation. They’ve got to represent this matter all the way through the Land and Environment Court. Because there is no compromise. When they say the concession is they are not cutting down 100 trees. They should never have been cutting down 100 trees. That was never an issue. That was something that should never have been considered. That’s not a win for us. A win for us is no fence.’ says Steve.
‘This is a public golf course. It's not a private golf course. They don’t own the land. They have it on concessional rental terms. And they should not be exploiting those concessional terms to damage you, the community. And we need to stand up and we need to keep fighting.’
‘I’m here with concerned community people who are not looking to be exploited by their own council. I asked the Council, put your shoulder into this issue. Represent the people, the ratepayers of this community properly and get the result we need to get. That’s no fence.
Both Council and the Club Board have misjudged the depth of community opposition to a fence of the magnitude that is being proposed. The community is calling on Georges River Council to take all steps to strongly oppose any development on Beverley Park Golf Course that would have negative long-term impacts on Council’s premium asset and the amenity of the suburb. The community wants the matter to be determined by the Commissioner in the Land and Environment Court. There should be no fence. Residents ask that Georges River Council represents the people it’s meant to support and instructs its solicitor not to negotiate a compromise on the design of the fence and not to permit any fence at all. Instructions should also include keeping the beautiful open green space accessible to the community as it has been for decades. Locals use the golf course as passive green space when the golfers are done for the day and this shouldn’t change when there are alternatives available to the Club.
