In May 2010 Eurobodalla Council decided that it no longer wanted to mow a little reserve on the corner of Tuross Boulevarde and Beach Street and would prefer to sell the land, even though it was a public space. At the time the Council referred to the sale as "disposal" The THPA noted with interest at the time that the term "disposal" was used on both the Tuross Boulevarde land and the Trafalgar Walkway as well as being used in regards to the “disposal” of the Tuross tennis courts that Council was also considering. (that choice of words, in regards to the Tennis Courts, came crashing down on Council like a ton of bricks with a very public and very embarrassing backflip) When questioned on April 30th, 2010 at a public meeting in Tuross Head Council’s Lindsay Usher confirmed that the decision to reclassify the Tuross Boulevarde land for sale would see the land rezoned and under that zoning a two story home could be constructed. Council were advised that traffic is entering Tuross Boulevarde from Beach St there was difficulty in sighting any vehicles coming from the left due to a rise in the road. If a house was built on this reserve it will greatly exacerbate this problem. The THPA wrote to Council in May 2010 saying: "We would also like to make comment to the statement contained in your Draft Recreation Open Space Strategy (DROSS) on page 9 that says: "This area (Tuross Head) has an excess of recreational lands that need to be rationalised to allow resources to be allocated to enhancing existing facilities." The Progress Association advised Council that this statement implied that there is an unwritten ratio of recreational lands to population and that, being such, Council has a right to consider rationalising the excess and allow “resources” derived from the disposal of the excess to be allocated to enhancing existing facilities. The THPA clearly informed Council that this notion of having an “excess” was an outrage and the audacity of presenting it as a justification for proposal of “disposal” with NO prior consultation showed a complete lack of regard or respect for the Tuross community and to offer that its “resource” might be allocated to enhancing existing facilities was equally as outrageous. Council assured the Association and members of the community at the public meeting that any money raised from reserve and sales in Tuross Head would be kept in Tuross. The Council staff and attending Councillors to the mmeting were clearly told from the floor that that was "bullshit" and that "Council couldn't be trusted as far as you could kick them". Tuross Head is a peninsular that fortunately retains a dedicated buffer between its urban developments and its lake foreshore and seashore. Included in the Council map of recreational space shown to Tuross residents in the slideshow presentation of April 30th,2016 was a considerable piece of land that comprises the Coila/Bingie sand dune system as well as the lands referred to as the Kyla Grazing Lots. The THPA also pointed out that due to the height of much of the land on the peninsula the stormwater drainage lines are steep and require vegetated gullies put aside as reserves so that the flow will be slowed down and filtered before it reaches our waterways. In other words most of our "excess" reserves have a specific purpose besides being used for recreation or pedestrian access. The reserves within the urban areas were dedicated as part of the subdivision requirements for the provision of open space and these areas were mandatory as a planning requirement of the day and were put in place to serve the community. No doubt the developer at the time could well have sold this corner block with its uninterrupted views of the Tasman Sea several times over if Council hadn't insisted at the time it be dedicated as public space. As a declared public area the adjacent properties were then valued accordingly based on their aspect and views and homes were designed and built accordingly. The home directly adjacent to the reserve in Beach Street is an absolute example of this in terms of design and aspect.Then in 2010 Council decided it wanted money and decided to dispose of public reserves. They also advised the Council that the underhanded way Council used to advise the public of its intent to recategorise the land from Community to Operational to enable them to sell it off was "piss poor" as the Council made scant reference to the location and chose instead to describe it by Lot and Deposited Plan number in a list of other reserves throughout the shire earmarked for sale. Whilst on the subject of the Draft Recreation Open Space Strategy (DROSS) the Tuross Head Progress Association offered advice to Council that it might reconsider the acronym pointing out that DROSS (Draft Recreation and Open Space Strategy) might be not have been the best choice dross (drs, drôs) (n.) 1. Waste or impure matter: discarded the dross after recycling the wood pulp. 2. The scum that forms on the surface of molten metal as a result of oxidation. 3. Worthless, commonplace, or trivial matter: "He was wide-awake and his mind worked clearly, purged of all dross" (Vladimir Nabokov). Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dross Council's determination to sell that block of land has not waivered and it has recently been pegged out by surveyors. Council has also continued to ignore the community saying the decision was made and that is that. Council has chosen to ignore countless letters from neighbours on the issue and to ignore follow-up status questions from the Tuross Head Progress Association on the matter. A meeting, called by Mayor Liz Innes, is proposed later this month with Council, councillors and affected neighbours to discuss the status of the proposed sale. The outcome of those discussions will be made available once known.
The above image is from the ESC GIS and reproduced here for the purpose of news under the Copyright Act of 1968
