Ingleside Archives - Elanora Heights News

A Win For Locals: Massive Ingleside Housing Plans Scrapped

A controversial housing development scheme for Ingleside has been cancelled, leaving residents relieved that the proposal has been finally scrapped.

Read: Plans Released for 980 New Residences in Ingleside

In an announcement on its website, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) said they have completed the planning work for Ingleside and will not be proceeding with the Ingleside Place Strategy.

Under the scheme, there would be approximately 980 additional dwellings south of Mona Vale Road in an area of about 180 ha along with a new local shopping centre, sports fields, parks, and open spaces.

Locals, particularly Ingleside and Elanora Heights residents, were concerned that the increase in population brought by the housing project would increase commuting times and worsen the traffic situation along Powderworks Road.

The plan received over 900 submissions during the exhibition period from 25 May to 23 July 2021.

“This unique area provides a small corridor of countryside between city suburbia and the Northern Beaches that will be decimated by such a development. The only winners will be the developers. How can 980 dwellings in such a small area ‘maintain the semi-rural’ feel of the area. I have a back yard; I do not classify that as semi-rural,” one local wrote.

Aside from increased density and environmental sustainability, locals raised bushfire and evacuation concerns, especially regarding traffic management during an emergency.

Mona Vale roads (Photo credit: planning.nsw.gov.au)

Based on the draft plans, the public land owned by the NSW Government and Council in the centre of the precinct has been identified for a community centre and playing fields whilst a small amount of State-owned land is proposed to be rezoned for low-density housing.

The NSW Government stated that the Ingleside area has been identified as a potential location for new housing since the 1960s and the place strategy “provides a pathway to provide growth in a sustainable, bushfire-safe way for the community.”

However, after years of dispute with residents, the State Government surrendered the Ingleside development.

ingleside place strategy — Photo credit: planning.nsw.gov.au

“The department acknowledges the cost of providing infrastructure and acquiring land for water management, flooding and riparian corridor protection affects the viability of delivering homes in Ingleside,” DPIE stated.

Regarding the announcement, mayor Michael Regan said the Planning for Ingleside will be handed back to Council and that they will consider it as part of the development of their new Local Environmental Plan which they are working towards for the whole Northern Beaches area.

Ingleside’s Peninsula Senior Citizens Toy Repair Group Still Going Strong at 45 Years

Every day for the last 45 years, a group of volunteers comes to the workshop of the Peninsula Senior Citizens Toy Repair Group in Ingleside to repair and restore used toys that may still be of use for other children around the world.

Terry Cook, the current president of the Ingleside toy repair group, has been spending his free time at the workshop for more than 20 years. He said he still gets the same joy and satisfaction each time he completes a repair.

Mr Cook is proud of the fact that the toys repaired by their volunteers have been distributed at various community organisations, especially domestic violence shelters, in Australia and schools or churches in places like Zimbabwe or Cambodia. He said that nothing compares to the feeling of knowing that the toys restored back to life are comforting impoverished kids, children with disabilities, and those who need something to play with for their learning and entertainment.

The Peninsula Senior Citizens Toy Repair Group is not only helping charities and families but the volunteers are also reducing the number of waste that would otherwise fill up the landfills.

Donations of pre-loved toys from the public are welcome anytime and organisations who need toys for their children’s playgroups, for example, may request some of the repaired items.

The toy repair shop was the brainchild of Warringah Toy and Trophy Pty. Ltd. owner Don Jackson, who started out the seniors group with just four members. In 1998, the original workshop next to Narrabeen Sports High School burned down but the community raised money to rebuild the facilities at its present site.

Mr Cook, who was in construction, helped with the new building and has since become a regular volunteer.

Today, the Peninsula Senior Citizens Toy Repair Group needs more volunteers as heaps of toys can still be distributed to many communities.

For those interested, email terrycook@gotalk.net.au about volunteering.

Plans Released for 980 New Residences in Ingleside

Did you know that plans are in the works to create 980 new residences to accommodate an additional 3,000 people in Ingleside?

According to the Ingleside Place Strategy released by the NSW Government in May 2021, an estimated 40 per cent of these proposed dwellings will be low rise townhouses and apartments that make up a modest new village surrounded by bushland.

The plan intends to transform Ingleside into a resilient and sustainable suburb ready for future growth, all while enhancing the identity and character of the suburb by creating new homes and opportunities, as well as new infrastructure. The project serves as a cut down version of a 2016 rejected proposal that pushed for the creation of 3,400 new residences in the area.

The initial proposal was scrapped in 2018 after the NSW Rural Fire Service had pointed out that bushfires would have devastated the entire area, and that residents would not be able to evacuate quickly enough given the locations of the proposed houses.

“During consultation, we heard loud and clear that bushfire risk and mitigation was a key concern to residents in the area. We listened and responded to these concerns, by going back and relooking at the way we were planning for bushfire protection in Ingleside,” said Brett Whitworth, Department of Planning and Environment’s Acting Deputy Secretary, Planning and Design.

After undergoing several changes, the new proposal includes an all-new shopping centre, parks, and an open and public space for sports to accompany the 980 new homes that would be built in a 180-hectare urban release area in a patch of land south of Mona Vale Rd. 100 of these new homes will be affordable to the general public.

In order to address the threat that bushfires pose, planning authorities worked closely with the Northern Beaches Council, the NSW Police, the Rural Fire Service, as well as the local community and came to the conclusion that the number of houses would have to be reduced, hence the sharp decrease from 3,400 to 980.

Though community consultation has since ended, Mayor Michael Regan had remarked that revisions will be made to the plan based on the feedback provided by the local community. Those interested in learning more about the Ingleside Place Strategy can do so here.