Rozelle Bay Community & Native Nursery Wisdom Street Saga

Local Provenance Plants are those that have evolved to suit a location's natural unique conditions. Lots or little rain some years, every year or throughout the year or just when it is cold or hot. Levels of sunlight and temperature variations. Alkaline or acidic, clay or sandy soil with an abundance or low levels of phosphate, iron, calcium, nitrogen, humus, rocks, underground water reserves. Plants may rely on a particular insect, bird, possum or the wind for cross polination, heat to open pods and wood ash, rain and light to germinate (propagate). Plants have adapted to live in shady gullies, or salty tidal wetlands or Sunny well drained spots.

Since 1995, the Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery has collected seeds and cuttings from the closest remnant bushland, to propagate and reintroduce Local Provenance Plants to Annandale and the Inner West of Sydney.

Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery Wisdom Street Saga

The nursery is currently located at the end of Chapman Rd. Enter Chapman Road from the roundabout at intersection of Nelson St and the Crescent and it is just past the self storage. The nursery has operated here since the mid 1990s but hopes to eventually move to a permanent home in Wisdom Street Annandale....

construction site 20th March 2012 - two blokes were on the site working on concrete brick wall

construction site 16 March 2012 - Construction Begins.

demolition site surrounded by green mesh fence December 2011 - Work Begins!!!

Work on Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery Site in Wisdom Street has finally started, with demolition and excavation, for remediation. Photo Marghanita da Cruz 6 December 2011

ITEM 13 MINUTES OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE TASKFORCE 5 OCTOBER 2011
C568/11 RESOLVED KOGOY/ PLATE
That Council adopt the minutes of the Climate Change Taskforce meeting held on 5 October 2011 with the accompanying recommendations subject to the following changes;
'That Council hold a Christmas picnic at Whites Creek Valley Park in conjunction with the Bushcare groups in December 2011 to celebrate the demolition of the Nissan Hut (which will occur in December 2011) and thank the Rozelle Bay Native Nursery for their significant contribution to the local community over a number of years.
That the picnic include a planting of native provenance plants along Whites Creek canal in line with Council’s plans for the corridor.
That Council hold the official opening day celebrations for the new Rozelle Bay Native Nursery at Whites Creek Valley park in March 2012' (Source: page 24 of the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Council held on the 18th day of October, 2011 and presented for confirmation this 22nd day of November, 2011. October%202011%20Minutes.pdf)

Daniel Kogoy (8 September 2011)The latest update from council at last night's Environment and Rec is that demolition of Nissan Hut will be completed by the end of this calender year and completion of the new nursery will be early in the new year.

Annandale Precinct, Leichhardt Council Questions for Mayor 5th September 2011

6. Relocation of the Rozelle Bay nursery to Wisdom St land. What progress and timing? Has the Dept of Planning and Infrastructure transferred the land to council; when was this? How much funding is allocated?

Council again experienced some delays in obtaining a sign-off from the Department of Planning but the Department has now advised Council's Manager Property and Commercial Services that these are now resolved.

The Remediation Action Plan for 22 Wisdom Street is one that was commissioned by the Department of Planning. The Agreement between the Department and Council says that Council has to remediate the site in accordance with that RAP and then obtain a Site Audit Certificate that the site is suitable for use as a public park etc. Council's Property Manager negotiated to include in the agreement a proviso that if remediation in accordance with that RAP would not be enough to get that Site Audit Certificate, then the RAP is to be amended or extended accordingly. It is obviously better to find out up front if the work to be done will be enough to get the Site Audit Certificate, rather than do the work and then find out it is not enough. Therefore, the Site Auditor was appointed and has reviewed the RAP and identified some additional matters that need to be attended to in order to ensure that the Site Audit Certificate will be for use as a public park and not some lesser use such as industrial. The Site Auditor's advice has been returned to the firm which prepared the RAP. It is also proposed that that firm will be the environmental consultants during the remediation work and then provide the Validation Report to the Site Auditor. (I should add that the Site Auditor must be a different person / firm from the ones who prepare the RAP and the Validation Report.) These dealings with the various environmental consultants did take time, but as stated above, it is better, faster and cheaper in the long run to have this input from the Site Auditor now to ensure the correct work will be done, rather than do work which may turn out to be insufficient and more work then having to be done.

Council can now seek prices for the demolition and remediation of the site. As the estimated cost for the works is under the statutory limit for tendering, Council can obtain prices via the three quotations method. Both Council and a representative from the Department of Planning will be be on the assessment committee to choose the contractor for these works. Anticipated cost of these works is $90 - $100k, paid by the Dept Planning

Suitably qualified firms will be sent the works package, specifications and a copy of the latest RAP as the basis on which to base their price and on which the assessment will be made. These documents will be distributed next week. Council would have liked to have had this part of the process already completed however modifications to the RAP set the manner in which the works are undertaken and it would not have been possible for the chosen firms to provide accurate costing without the final work method being agreed upon.

Once the prices are received and the firm chosen demolition and remediation can be undertaken and the building works commenced. Quotations for some of the key components to the project such as the irrigation have already been obtained and over the next couple of weeks a programme for the building will be formulated and timetable developed for this facet of the project. Council has allocated $178,000 for construction of the new nursery

Due to the delays in obtaining the final RAP, it is unlikely that the project will be completed by Xmas however a substantial amount of the project should be well underway by then. Once I have the full project mapped out I will provide an update to Council and the community including the Rozelle Bay Community Nursery group and the other bushcare volunteers

Question from Shirley, asking Planning Minister to sign off on Wisdom Street site (Recorded at Footprints Festival, 28 August 2011)

(acknowlegement from Minister's office 29 August 2011) RE: Rozelle Bay Community Native [Plant] Nursery Site, Wisdom Street, Annandale
Email Acknowledgment
29/08/11 16:38
Thank you for your email.
The Minister appreciates your contacting him regarding this matter.
Please be assured that your correspondence has been referred to the appropriate staff member for all necessary action.
Yours sincerely,
Office of the Minister for Planning & Infrastructure
Minister assisting the Premier on Infrastructure NSW

This page www.ramin.com.au/annandale/rbcnn-history-of-wisdom-street-nursery.shtml last updated 20 March 2012

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