Manly Council's plan for a car park under Manly oval has taken a hit after the Office of Local Government raised seven major issues for the Council to address.
The Office has just released its initial assessment of the Council's capital expenditure plan for the $34M car park. It lists seven major concerns about the plan, which is already questioned by the Manly Chamber of Commerce, and opposed by all of Manly's precinct groups, a growing number of Manly residents and the four independent (out of nine in total) Manly councillors. Council is required to respond to seven key issues before the Office can complete its assessment. They are: 1. Geotechnical risk. Council's claim that building the car park - a multi story structure under Manly's heritage oval and in an area known to flood after heavy rain - is a low risk enterprise. The Office notes that the Council's own technical report does not support that claim, based on initial geotechnical work. 2. The car park operating costs. The Council has been criticised for not taking these costs into account, as required in plans of this nature. This tallies with concern by residents and independent Manly councillors, who note that Council's one underground car park - in Wentworth St - is by far the most expensive of its four car parks to maintain. This contrasts with the Whistler St car park - slated to be pulled down - which is cheap to maintain and brings in $700,000 a year. 3. Interest rate assumptions. The Office questions Council calculations, which are based on an unchanging rate of interest of 4.3%. This is despite the fact that the rate is floating, not fixed, and the term of the loan runs for 50 years. The Manly Chamber of Commerce has already questioned this claim - understood by them as "an average cost of funds of 5% over the life of the project"- 4. Public support. The Office of Local Government didn't buy the Council's claim that Manly residents were right behind the car park plan. "It is apparent to the Office that there is a growing level of community concern and opposition to this project", it wrote. That's no surprise to the 400+ Manly residents who recently attended a Car Park opposition public meeting, or to Local MP and State Treasurer Mike Baird who has publicly aired his own concerns about the car park project. 5. Project management expertise. The Office also didn't believe the Council's claim that it was experienced at managing large projects, noting that previous Council projects have not been as large or as complex as the oval car park. Residents, who remember Manly Council's recent botched job of repaving the Corso, would agree. 6. Cost to fix Whistler St Car Park. The Council has been asked to explain its wildly varying estimates for this job. Council says $5M is needed to fix the car park, and gives this figure as a reason for pulling it down and building under Manly oval instead. But the Office points to the Council's own 2012/13 financial reports, where the car park is listed as being in "average" condition and "requiring no maintenance expenditure". 7. The sale of Whistler St Car Park. The Council was criticised for not taking into account the risk of the sale not going through. While the Office of Local Government does not have the power to stop Manly Council going ahead with the oval car park plan, Mayor Jean Hay is on the record as saying she won't proceed unless the plan is assessed as financially viable.
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Manly Council has acted to shut down debate on its controversial Manly 2015 plan, by gagging independent councillor Candy Bingham. The move came just days before the March Council meeting, and was repeated again for the April meeting, with the rejection of a motion for the agenda which simply covered a number of procedural matters in relation to the proposed carpark under Manly Oval. The council firstly claimed that Cr Bingham's role as president of the Good For Manly residents' group, which has opposed several aspects of the Manly 2015 plan, constitutes a conflict of interest in relation to the plan. As a result she was banned from participating in, or even listening to, any debate on Manly 2015 and notified that she must leave the council chamber whenever the Plan is discussed. Clr Bingham thought she had resolved the matter by resigning as President of Good For Manly, however the same notice of motion was rejected again. Why? "it is considered you have a pecuniary and non pecuniary interest in the subject matter"..... "As an advocate who has no financial ties with any business in Manly, can someone please explain to me how I could possibly have a pecuniary interest in whether or not the Council builds a carpark under the Oval?" Cr Bingham asked. In an attempt to rectify the matter, Cr Bingham's motion at this week's Council meeting requested that a number of sections of the Council's Code of Meeting practice be amended to bring them back in line with the Local Government regulations, which by law, over-ride the Council's Code. It became clear during the debate that a number of other Independent councillors have also had motions rejected on the basis they were 'out of order' and that this practice was in fact systemic in Manly Council. Stating that "this is the way we have always done things" and "Our Code was approved by the Division in 2011" the Liberal Councillors voted 5-4 against amending the Code of Meeting Practice. “Frankly, this is an outrage,” Cr Bingham said. “The political views of a councilor do not constitute a private interest and therefore cannot constitute a non-pecuniary interest, which is what Manly Council is saying.” “There is no conflict between my views and my public duty. As a councillor I am required by the Local Government Act to ‘represent the interests of the residents and ratepayers and to facilitate communication between the community and the council’,” Cr Bingham said. “Just because the council does not like the fact that there is now major opposition to the Oval Car Park proposal does not give them the right to shut down the debate.” (A copy of the rejected 2015 Motion and the Motion in relation to the amendment to the Code of Meeting Practice are below).
The entire Ivanhoe Park site including Manly Oval is listed as a Heritage item in Manly Local Environment Plan (LEP) 1988, yet this has not been considered by Manly Council as part of its Oval car park development. This listing prohibits any excavation or development unless a proper assessment of the impact on the items Heritage significance has been carried out and yet Manly Council has made no assessment as part of its Manly2015 Plan which includes digging up Manly Oval to create a two-level car park underground. According to local historians The Oval and Ivanhoe Park are of extremely high value to Manly both in a heritage sense and in Urban Design terms as the "village green” and is an integral part of the historic and current fabric of Manly. It is believed that Manly Oval, in its natural context, is the best example in Sydney and possibly Australia of a Public Recreation Oval integrated into a "village" area. For this reason together with the rich history of recorded events which have taken place in the Park, careful preservation and celebration of this place is essential and is currently at serious risk. Former Manly Council Town Planner and Urban Design Consultant, Rob Burgess, has headed a team of local historian which has championed the documentation of the heritage significance of Manly Oval in the light of the proposal to build a major car park under the site. "Whilst design details on the works to the Oval are limited, a number of Architects, Planners, Engineers & Quantity Surveyors agree that the extent of building work will devastate the Park and destroy this much loved place. The structure will involve massive excavation in excess of 100,000 cubic meters of material and construction of a two level mechanically ventilated 800 space car park." he said. "The structure will be below the water table and will interfere with the underground creek which traverses the site. Numerous exhaust stacks will extend above ground level and dewatering pumps will be used extensively. There will be three substantial vehicular ramps providing vehicular access from Sydney Road and extreme traffic disruption is predicted, with impacts to the whole of the area" Mr Burgess concluded. Of greater concern is that inevitably due to cost, ventilation and reduction of ramp lengths issues, the concrete structure will be above existing ground level, at least in part, and thus will destroy for all time the historic 'village green'. Manly resident, Jeremy Bingham , former Lord Mayor of Sydney and eminent Local Government Lawyer and the person most responsible for the preservation and restoration of the Queen Victoria Building and Sydney's Capitol Theatre, is also seriously concerned at the ramifications of Council's destructive plans. “The whole of Ivanhoe Park, including Manly Oval, was added by Manly Council to the heritage list in Manly LEP 1988 after a heritage report in 2010. I am staggered that at no time in the recent debate over the Manly 2015 Plan did the General Manager draw this recent heritage listing to the attention of the Council", Mr Bingham said. Clause 18 of Manly Council’s LEP prohibits any excavation or development of a heritage item unless a proper assessment of the impact on the item’s heritage significance has been carried out. It is essential this be done before Council proceed any further with the Oval car park plan. "There is no doubt in my mind that the proposed Oval car park will destroy the heritage elements of Manly Oval/Village Green,” Mr Bingham concluded. At the public meeting on Saturday 22nd February, organiised by Good For Manly, over 400 attendees unanimously opposed the Council's plans to build a car park under the Oval and demolish the existing Whistler Street car park and 18 year old library. A report on the proposal from the Office of Local Government is imminent.
Former Mayor of Manly, Sue Sacker, has initiated a petition to the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell, Treasurer Mike Baird and Minister for Local Government Don Page, following the huge attendance at the Public Meeting organised by Good For Manly against Manly Council's plans to build a car park under Manly Oval and demolish existing infrastructure. (See Manly 2015 Stories below) The general sense that Manly Council is 'just not listening' to community concerns has motivated Ms Sacker to move the issue to another level. To Stop the Mega Debt - Sign Petition here.
Manly residents don't want a new car park or a new library. They want to keep the ones they already have. They don't want $80 million spent on new infrastructure and they don't want Manly Council to persist with its deeply unpopular Manly 2015 redevelopment plan. That was the message from over 400 Manly residents and business owners who turned out for Saturday's Manly 2015 public meeting organised by the Good For Manly Association (February 22, 2014). Questions and comments from the floor showed just how unpopular the Manly 2015 plan is. The high level of debt, pulling down the existing library, and building an underground car park in a flood plain were particularly criticised. All of Manly's independent councilors, Clrs Barbara Aird, Candy Bingham, Cathy Griffin and Hugh Burns were present. The Liberal councillors, who hold five out of nine council seats, were represented by first-term councillor James Griffin. Local Member, Mike Baird, was also in attendance. The scene was set with four excellent speakers · Jeremy Bingham, Former Lord Mayor of Sydney & renowned Local Government Lawyer on Local Councils and their responsibility to the Community; Peter Greentree former Head of Equities, Challenger Financial Services on Funding 2015 Plan - The Financial Implications & Risks; Michael Peters, Chair Balgowlah Heights Precinct, The Community Consultation Process and Rob Burgess, Specialist in Town Centres and former Chief Town Planner, Manly Council on Revitalising the Manly Village. While there was a no doubt about opposition to the 2015 plan, what to do about it was another matter. Given Manly Council's record of not listening to the public and its current dominance by Liberal councillors who vote as a block, how to actually stop the plan became the meeting's main challenge. Local Member and State Treasurer, Mike Baird, was invited to address the meeting and admitted the financial viability of Manly 2015 in its present form was "marginal" but that Manly Council, led by project champion Mayor Jean Hay, was "working hard" to address these financial issues. His comments did not reassure the meeting. The mood was summed up by a man who jumped up in the back row to say: "We don't want a car park under the oval and we don't want a new library. We don't want them. It's not about the money. We just don't want them." So the meeting did what it could - it called on Manly Council to retain Whistler St car park and the library and to abandon the oval car park proposal; and it called on Mr Baird, as State Treasurer and local MP, to do everything in his power to make that stick. The resolution, which was passed unanimously, called on the Mayor Clr Jean Hay, the General Manager, Henry Wong, and all Councillors to abandon all proposals to demolish the Library and the Whistler Street carpark and to construct a car park under Manly Oval; and that alternative plans to revitalise Manly's village centre in the Market Lane triangle, be considered. If you missed the meeting you can still take action here. Sign our Petition to the Premier to Say No to Manly's Mega Debt See below to download Minutes from Meeting and Financial Presentation from Peter Greentree. Other Ideas to Revitalise Whistler Street. In addition to ideas already promoted by Good For Manly to revitalise the Whistler Street carp ark and creation of a new Plaza, Rob Burgess presented long forgotten plans developed by Manly Library's renowned architect, Feiko Bouman ,to add two storeys to the existing Library, open it up at ground level and revitalise the the old Whistler Street car park. (above) Some other facade ideas to improve the Whistler Street car park ... Public Meeting - Minutes & Financial notes
The Manly 2015 "urban renewal" plan depends on pulling down Whistler St car park and selling off the land for a mixed retail-residential development. Then spending $40 million to build a new a car park under Manly oval - in a flood zone and further away from the shops. Here's a better idea - keep Whistler St. Whistler St car park is for the locals. It's right in Manly CBD, with no major roads between you and the shops. Manly oval car park - way over there on the wrong side of busy Belgrave St - will be for the tourists, who don't know where else to park. If you've got heavy shopping, or it's raining, the oval's too far away. Whistler St makes a profit - $700,000 each year. The oval car park? Maybe after 2030. And that depends on continuing low interest rates on our $30+ million loan, low car park maintenance costs and more people coming to Manly in cars. Maintenance costs. Whistler St doesn't cost a lot to maintain, because it's built above ground. The council already owns an underground car park - the one in Wentworth St - and it's by far the most expensive to maintain. The oval car park would be a multi-level construction, built in a known water course in a known flood zone. How much will we really pay? Whistler St car park does not have concrete cancer. We do not need to spend $5.2 million to bring Whistler St up to fire safety standards. Our advice is that the car park was built in the 1970s and need only conform to fire standards for an existing building. It would need fire stairs on the outside and additional sprinklers. Good For Manly's expert has assessed the upgrade at under $500,000. Whistler St is ugly. Yes it is. Here are some ways to make it beautiful. Install vertical gardens like the gorgeous creations at Central Park, Broadway. Put up murals. Install a screen on the side of the car park and show outdoor movies on it. Convert the small ground level parking area in front to a pedestrian plaza. A car park doesn't mind the noise. But people do. The Manly 2015 Plan is to build apartments on the Whistler St site. But that doesn't work with the rest of the plan, which is to revitalise Market Lane - right next door - and have wine bars and restaurants open till late. We save $30+ million. More if construction costs or interest rates go up. Are there any other good reasons to keep Whistler St car park? Let us know here. Viability of Manly Oval car park makes news in today's Sydney Morning Herald. "Mayor and state treasurer at odds" .
An extraordinary meeting requested by Clrs Candy Bingham and Hugh Burns was unsuccessful last night in its attempt to get the Liberal-run Council to provide further reports on the costings related to the proposed Manly Oval car park. (29/1/14). Three due diligence reports commissioned by the Council, which were made public days before Christmas, have raised more questions than they have answered, with inconsistencies between the reports proving a further concern. Clr Candy Bingham questioned three main issues raised by the community: i) Assumed revenue of $14 per car stay vs actual of $10 (does this mean parking fees will increase by almost 50%?) ii) Assumption of 353 vehicles per day by KPMG vs 225-341 reported by Bitzios findings. Which figure is right? iii) Major inconsistency in growth forecast in commercial space between Bitzios report (+42%) and HillPDA (+25%) iv) Lack of justification re the cost of funds at 5% and whether Council can borrow at that rate until all loans are repaid ……………. (see reports in story below for more details) Clr Hugh Burns stated that the one clear message in the reports was that the Oval car park was doomed. Clr Cathy Griffin questioned why Council was planning to build a car park which would run at a loss, replacing one that currently contributed $700,000 per year to revenue. The Liberal Council remained firm stating that the Manly 2015 Plan was following due process by lodging a Capital Expenditure submission to the Division of Local Government (DLG) for the building of the Manly Oval car park, on the same day the Councillors received the due diligence reports. The independent Councillors questioned the ‘due process’ of submitting reports to the DLG before they had even been noted by Councillors. A large gallery attended the meeting including a number of Chairs of local resident precinct groups, business owners and concerned citizens. The Mayor, Clr Jean Hay, was is top form abusing members of the public gallery and accusing Clr Bingham of ‘seeking headlines’ by requesting an extraordinary meeting be called. Clr Bingham stated that since the Manly 2015 Plan had been released by Council three years ago, no staff report had been submitted to Council allowing public debate on the Plan. All briefings had been held at in-house workshops where no minutes were taken. Good For Manly has just released a review of the due diligence reports on Manly 2015, in particular the proposed Oval Car Park, which raises a number of major concerns and important questions. It's a short report and worth a read. See copy below: Also, analysis by major Manly property owners:
Concerns Raised by Manly Chamber of Commerce:
Who is running Manly Council? It's certainly not the elected councillors, says Councillor Candy Bingham, who has called for an Extraordinary General Meeting to address the issue. Cr Bingham says the council has delegated extensive powers to General Manager Henry Wong. The result is that major decisions are being made with no input from councillors and sometimes without them even knowing what's going on. The latest affront concerns a plan to include a water polo pool in addition to council's $15 million upgrade of Manly's Boy Charlton Swim Centre. Clr Bingham said she found out by chance that a development application (DA) for the water polo pool was lodged late last month. Councillors were not notified this was happening until the day before the story appeared in the Manly Daily. “The last input councillors had on a possible polo pool was a Mayoral Minute in October to ‘explore the possibility’ of providing such a facility. Now, suddenly, a DA is lodged complete with full design drawings” she said. "I'm not against the possibility of a water polo pool being built at the swim centre. I'm just outraged at the contempt with which the elected councillors are treated," she said. The same approach has been taken with the long-awaited due diligence reports on the council's $80 million Manly 2015 Plan which includes a major redevelopment of the Whistler St site and a multi-million dollar car park under Manly oval. "It appears that the General Manager is planning to submit a CapEx (Captial Expenditure) submission to the Division of Local Government this month, on this multi-million dollar project, (update15/1/13: this has now been done) although no formal Council resolution has been made that the project should proceed”, Cr Bingham said. "This is not how a democratic council should be run." According to Clr Bingham the corresponding due diligence reports were only released last month, three days before Christmas. “Again there has been no opportunity for councillors to debate the new information and its implications for the controversial Manly 2015 Plan,” she said The request for an Extraordinary Meeting has been lodged by Clrs Candy Bingham and Hugh Burns to bring the due diligence reports for Manly 2015 back to Council. Three working days before Christmas Manly Council has released its independent reports in relation to the feasibility of their Manly 2015 multi-million dollar Plan. At its core, the Plan features the demolition of the Whistler Street car park and Manly Library, and the construction of a car park under Manly Oval. The Oval car park planl has been particularly controversial with the Manly Chamber of Commerce and all resident precinct groups raising concerns about the financial viability of the proposal. Below are a copy of the Traffic Demand Study for the Oval Car Park, the Economic Retail Study, and the final report from KPMG which is based on information provided from the studies and Manly Council. Good for Manly's team of financial experts are reviewing the reports and we hope to have an assessment soon. In the meantime, it is of concern that Manly Council plans to submit its Capital Expenditure report to the Division of Local Government in January to proceed with the project before the elected Council members have had an opportunity to meet and discuss the findings. (The next Council meeting is 10 February 2014). You can view Manly Council's assessment of the reports here.
Manly Council has knocked back a chance to resolve financial worries over its proposed oval car park. Today the council rejected a motion by Good For Manly councillor Candy Bingham to commission a realistic "revenue generating" forecast. Cr Bingham proposed that financial services company KPMG prepare a "sensitivity analysis" on the financial return from the car park based on 75 per cent concessional (free) usage. Cr Bingham said previous KPMG modelling had used the figure of 50 per cent use of free car parking, although the council's own surveys show free use actually accounts for 75 per cent of car park visits, as drivers take advantage of Manly's "two hour free parking" rule. Councillors opposing the motion said the council had already asked for financial forecasts on the project. But when General Manager Henry Wong was specifically asked if the 75 per cent figure would be used, he could only reply that he "would expect this would happen". As none of the councillors have seen the brief provided to the analysts preparing reports, we can only speculate on what they have actually been asked to review. According to Many Council's Manly2015 Bulletin dated 12th December, 2013 the following studies are underway: Study Timeline 1. Village Centre Development Mix Study Mid November 2013 2. Retail Centre Study Mid November 2013 3. Parking Demand Study Mid November 2013 4. Independent Due Diligence Advice late December 2013 5. Lodgement of CapEx to DLG January 2014 (Division of Local Government) 6. Lodgement of DA to JRPP March 2014 (Joint Regional Planning Panel) 7. Tender for Oval Car park May/June 2014 The fast pace and timing of this project is alarming with all major reports due over the Christmas holiday season. Mayor Jean Hay tried to criticize Cr Bingham during debate on the motion saying, "This is the 13th occasion you have brought concerns regarding this project to Council". But actually the council should be listening to the concerns raised not only by Cr Bingham and Good for Manly, but all nine of the resident precinct groups, the Chamber of Commerce and four of Manly's most prominent property owners. As the Liberal councillors keep reminding us - "let's see what the independent studies show". One would wonder however, if it was truly necessary to commission these very expensive reports when it would appear that the project is flawed. Council has spend $177,000 in the last financial year alone on consultants for Manly2015, and that was before all these reports were commissioned. Objections from the Precincts to the Manly Oval Car Park & Boy Charlton Swimming Centre Developments has been meet with a hostile response from Manly Council. Read the Precincts letter sent on 28 October and then the response from Council received on the 7 November and you be the judge: Firstly, here is a copy of the statement prepared by the Joint Precincts Group: "The majority of Precincts have major concerns about the financial viability of the Manly Oval Car Park & the ‘Boy Charlton’ Swimming Centre developments. Manly Oval Car Park Based on an informative document on the Manly Oval car park viability prepared by Peter Greentree, a local resident with an extensive background in financial analysis and project evaluation using information available on the existing car parks in Manly and the information provided by Council from the KPMG Report to residents, the Precincts believe that it is not feasible to continue with the Manly Oval car park development. As a result of this report & other issues on this matter expressed by Precincts, residents (many qualified in accountancy, major project financing and/or engineering) and the Manly Chamber of Commerce, the Precincts are concerned that:
We request that Council defers the Manly Oval car Park development and reviews the options for additional parking in Manly. We understand that there are a number of options that could be considered. The Precincts would like to work with Council to develop these options. Boy Charlton Swimming Centre The Precincts do not understand why Council will not discuss this matter with them or take on board the suggestions/comments on this development. The Precincts have outlined a number of ideas that could be introduced to make this development more appealing, more viable & more ‘user friendly’. However because of the short lead time on the DA for this project the Precincts have not had the opportunity to properly discuss their recommendations with Council. This project is highly expensive and most Precincts have major concerns about Council’s projections that patronage will treble to service the cost. Precincts do not believe that the attendance figure is achievable which will result in the Council not being able to deliver enough income to service the loan. We also have observed that in the Council’s Ten Year Financial Plan, ongoing investment in capital expenditure decreases significantly from recent years implying that Council will run down its asset base to fund Manly 2015 and Boy Charlton. This assumption is both unrealistic and unsustainable, delivering a substantially more positive outcome for Council’s projected financial position than will likely be the case. The Precincts recommend that the procedure to upgrade the Swim Centre is slowed down to allow for further discussion on this development. Precincts desire a meeting with Council to look at the total viability of the current project with a view of deciding on a less expensive & more appealing swim centre. Summary In summary, the Precincts believe that Council is ignoring prudent risk management principles by moving too quickly on these major developments without taking into account responses from Precincts & residents on the financial viability and on-going risks associated with such large capital outlays. We implore the Council to take on board our comments and to look more closely at each of these projects to determine what other options are available which would reduce the amount of money required for funding."
Alarm over figures for Manly Council's proposed new car park is behind a call for a fresh study into the $40 million project. Good For Manly councillor Candy Bingham will ask Council to commission a new "revenue generating" forecast by financial services company KPMG at its next meeting on December 2, 2013. This time the brief will be to use actual car park usage figures, including 75 per cent usage of free car spaces, as drivers take advantage of Manly's "two hours free parking" rule. Cr Bingham said previous KPMG modelling had used the figure of 50 per cent use of free car parking, although the council's own surveys show free use actually accounts for 75 per cent of visits. Cr Bingham is not alone in her concerns about the car park, which is part of the council's $80 million Manly2015 project. The Manly Chamber of Commerce, all the independent Manly councillors and Manly's precincts (residents' groups) are opposed to the plan in its current form. Recently, four of Manly's respected long-term property owners also queried the viability of the oval car park. Apart from worries over Manly 2015's financial viability, stakeholders are upset at the lack of public consultation on the plan and concerned that the car park will be moved further away from the CBD. But Manly Council says the plan will bring Manly's lane ways back to life and remove traffic from CBD streets. It aims to create a "heart" for Manly based around a new library in Market Place, as well as demolishing the Whistler St car park and building a new 800-space car park under Manly oval. Good for Manly fully supports the activation of laneways and creating a 'heart' for Manly in Whistler Street however we believe this can be done by revitalisation of existing infrastructure, rather than major redevelopment. See related Manly Daily article at http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/iphone/homepage.aspx#_article06cf8f9b-6153-40ef-8f8d-e2ac8a159ef5
You would be forgiven for thinking that TCorp (part of NSW Treasury) had given the Manly 2015 Plan the tick of approval - after all, all of Manly Council's promotional materials, including their Fact Sheet, brochure and 2015 website stated: "Manly2015 has been independently assessed by KPMG and TCorp" .... not so! Thanks to the hard work of the Good For Manly team, Council has now had to withdraw this statement and when asked is stating: "TCorp did not independently examine any of the business cases or financial assumptions of the individual projects". But that's just the beginning. Recently a meeting of all eight resident Precincts Executives on 19th August, 2013, resolved: "The precincts are opposed to Manly 2015 Masterplan in its current format and they want Council to: 1. Explore other options for the car park and library redevelopment 2. Include all major prospective developments, including Royal Far West, Manly Hospital & Manly Village Public School projects to fall within a more comprehensive Manly Masterplan. The Precincts expressed concern about the major technical, environmental and economic risks associated with the proposed car park as well as the potential for a serious negative impact on the future rates of Manly residents relocating the Whistler Street car park to under Manly oval. The movement against the car park under the Oval is growing despite Mayor Jean Hay's assurances that all proper processes will be followed. Good for Manly's financial experts have found that the budget figures for Manly2015 are flawed. For more on this, watch the quick video below: The Manly 2015 Plan is ambitious to say the least and with Capital Works expected to cost around $100m in the next four years to deliver a number of projects, alarm bells are starting to ring.
Top of the list is the proposed car park under Manly Oval which KPMG have costed around $40m (against Council's estimate of $33m). Next is the demolition of the Whistler Street car park and 18 year old Library with part of the site to be sold to developers for retail and apartments and the Library rebuilt (add another $35m). Then you have $15m for public domain works and a further $15m for the upgrade of the Manly Swim Centre. But is this ambitious 'Vision' a potential nightmare for Manly ratepayers. The oval car park development in particular is a high risk proposal. The Council's revenue-generating figures are based on 600 cars, every day of the year, paying $15 each ..... and if you include the two hour free parking option, then the car park will barely cover its operating costs, let alone pay-off the debt. An important point to remember - Council's have unlimited liability, as the ratepayers of these Council's have discovered:
Does Manly really need to be redeveloped? We don't think so! So much can be done to revitilise the area for a more modest , low-risk budget. Our 'Local's Plan' is just one approach. Why can't Council present another option - that is what could we do if we kept the Whistler Street car park & Library? I know a number of local architects who have plenty of great ideas. What would you do? Manly Council has released its latest images for the Manly 2015 Plan moving the focus away from the car park under Manly Oval to The Library. The $80m plan is more of a re-development of Manly rather than a re-vitalisation with experts saying that if the Plan goes ahead the Whistler Street triangle will be a construction site for years. This will affect the livelihood of the dozens of businesses that are now trading in the area. Part of the Plan is the possible demolition of the award-winning 18 year old Library, and replacing it with a $35m modern new building. The Plan includes the demolition of the Whistler Street car park and selling -off that site for "the highest & best use DA". That will be retail at ground level and apartments, lots of them. By adding apartments to the mix you immediately change the use of this potential piazza site. Experience in Manly shows that 10pm noise curfews are demanded by residents living in the CBD thus creating what should be a vibrant, night-tine meeting-place - into a dead space. See the pictures and story from the Manly Daily here Alarm bells have started to ring regarding the ‘revenue generation’ model for the Oval Car Park which is based on a turnover of 600 cars, everyday, paying an average of $15 each. This figure (which seems very unlikely) does not take into account Council’s current policy of two hours free parking, and no analysis of demand has been undertaken. A recent study of the utilisation of Council’s existing car parks by the operators of Manly Wharf has confirmed Council’s own study that the existing car parks are under-utilised, expect during major events and summer weekends. The funding of the car park will be over 50 years with Council borrowings of around $33m, (although KPMG have put the figure at closer to $40m). Many are questioning the wisdom of the plan. On the 3rd June at Manly Council meeting the Manly 2015 Plan and the proposal for the car park was debated for 2 hours as part of the total 10 year Strategic Plan which included the controversial 2015 Plan. The Good For Manly campaign to stop the Oval car park & save Whistler Street car park was successful in slowing down the process and getting an independent due diligence review of the projects, more consultation and therefore more time to get the facts known. This resulted in a compromise resolution put forward by the Liberals which is why Good for Manly's Councillor, Candy Bingham, supported the motion. Without our campaign the Oval car park would now be a reality. While the resolution at the June 3 Council meeting has bought us more time it is concerning that the Mayor, Jean Hay, at recent 2015 briefing sessions, is speaking as if the Plan is going ahead. A report commissioned by Council by KPMG on the feasibility of the key components of the Plan has not been made available to Councillors despite a major campaign by Clr Bingham who is stressing that Councillors need to be fully briefed on the financial consequences of the Plan and confirmation by the Division of Local Government that the document must be provided to Councillors. To date, every Manly Precinct has opposed the Oval car park plan, 200 people attended a recent public meeting arranged by Good for Manly against the Plan, close to 100 individual letters have been received by Councillors against the Plan plus letters in the Daily. So what else do we need to do to get the Liberal Councillors to listen to what their community wants? The debate went on for 2 hours as part of the total 10 year Strategic Plan which included the controversial 2015 Plan. The Good For Manly campaign to stop the Oval car park & save Whistler Street car park was successful in slowing down the process and getting an independent due diligence review of the projects, more consultation & therefore more time to get the facts known. This resulted in a compromise resolution put forward by the Liberals which is why Good for Manly's Councillor, Candy Bingham, supported the motion. Without our campaign the construction of the Oval car park would now be a binding, financial commitment. The resolution at the June 3 Council meeting has bought us more time. Forgive me for being skeptical but is Manly Council's latest discovery that the Whistler Street car park (which they want to demolish and sell off the land for apartments) is now a fire hazard seem a little convenient to you? Previous claims that the structure had concrete cancer have now been withdrawn. Yes, the car park is old but it was built to the standards of the day. Many improvements have been made since, and others will need to be made. But our advice is that the structure is sound and still has a good 40 years of useful life left. Depending upon which Council document you read, the cost of the proposed two-level car park under historic Manly Oval for 800 cars, has been quoted from $31.5m to $36m. Our advice is that the cost would be closer to $40 million. The validity of the 'revenue generating' forecast is also questionable according to our three independent experts.
As the General Manager of Manly Council has refused on numerous occasions to provide Councilors a copy of the full KPMG financial viability study, commissioned by Council for Council, Councillor Candy Bingham has had to rely on the opinions of other very credible industry experts. Which raises the question: What is in the KPMG report that the General Manager does not want Councillors to discover? The Editorial in today's Manly Daily says it all. Since February this year I have been asking for the full report, commissioned by KPMG, on the financial viability of Manly Council's idea to build an 800 space car park under Manly Oval. This request has been denied. I have sent emails to the General Manager, completed a Councillor Request Form, raised the issued at Councll meetings and have now been asked (and have complied) to complete a formal GIPA (access to information) form and pay $30 fee. Doesn't this strike you as a bit strange? I am a Councillor, (similar to a Board of Directors) being asked to vote on a $70 million dollar project but am being refused access to the financial information to assist me in assessing the validity of the Plan. It does pose the question - just what is in the report that they don't want us to know about? Since September 2011 there has been no further public comment nor consultation by Manly Council and yet the majority of Councillors are about to vote to proceed with this Plan, with only minor modifications.
At its core, Manly 2015 Plan proposes the demolition of the Whistler Street car park, and sale of that site to developers for mixed use and apartments; the demolition & rebuilding of the 18 year old library, the building of a two-storey car park under Manly Oval with entry & exit via Sydney Road, and public domain improvements. The published budget is below but does not include include the additional construction costs such as professional fees, budget blow-outs, relocation compensation or make-good costs, feasibility studies etc. Public Domain $15 million Oval Car Park $36 million Village Centre $35 million (demolish Whistler St. Car Park, build new Library) Manly Swim Centre Upgrade $15 million Council's debt will increase from $17.96 million today to $92 million in 2017/2018. Can Manly afford this Plan? Will the car park under the Oval become a white elephant? Why is Council considering the demolition of assets which are viable such as the Whistler Street car park and the 18 year old library? And why won't the General Manager provide the Councillors with the full KPMG report on the financial viability of the Oval Car Park? If you were on the Board of Directors (which Councillors effectively are) would you vote on $100 million in new capital works without seeing the feasibility study undertaken? Go to our website page to see the latest on the Council's Plan and our alternative idea to rejuvenate, not redevelop, Manly's Village. ========================================================================================= Summary by Councillor Cathy Griffin - 27th October 20, 2011. This is my take on the presentations and discussion held at the Councillor Workshop on Thursday 27th Oct 2011. Please note that the meeting went for approximately 3 hours. No agreement was reached one way or the other and staff were requested to provide more information and another meeting will be held in a fortnight to discuss the issues further once Councillors have had an opportunity to digest all the detail and info presented. Manly 2015 Oval Carpark 1. It was generally agreed that an Option 3 now proposed for the carpark which eliminates the ‘secondary’ entry/exit in Raglan St would resolve the issues raised by the Ivanhoe Precinct and residents in Raglan St. 2. This would save approximately $2mil 3. A pedestrian entry/exit would remain on the Raglan St side of the carpark however it was not clear where this would be located. 4. The entry/exit would be via a ‘slot’ in Sydney Rd. It was not clear if this slot was only on the downhill slope only. 5. There is a ‘lag’ of approximately 3 years for private investment in property improvements in the area assumed to benefit from the location of the new car park and demolition and rebuild of Whistler St. 6. Landscaping of Raglan St between Belgrave and the Steyne was seen as a priority. 7. The consultation period, including recently received submission revealed 440 issues. There were 142 individual submissions 8. Retail tenancies are intended for the underground pedestrian pass from the exit/entry on the Sydney Rd side of the carpark to the Whistler St side. 9. Council has not spoken directly with the Tennis Club, only with the Department of Lands who advised that the Tennis Club had ‘a very long lease’. Council has agreed to discuss the inclusion of the tennis courts in the plan with a view to an entry on Belgrave St and perhaps an increase in the number of car spaces. 10. The Council has not factored in to the financial figures the possibility of a grant from the NSW State Government for ‘park and ride’ spaces in the new carpark. This would mean that 30% of the spaces would have to be dedicated to ‘park and ride’. For 800 spaces this would mean 240 spaces. There was some suggestion that the current 140 ‘long stay’ spaces in the Manly Pacific carpark would move to the oval carpark. It is worth noting that approximately 3500 passengers use the ferries during each peak hour to and from Manly. 11. Council would not be the operator of the carpark but would seek expressions of interest. The current free two hours would remain. 12. Technology is available to ‘manage’ the speed of exiting the carpark from a single entry to minimise any queues forming. 13. The STA stated in their submission that they could not guarantee the continuation of their current services if the plan was implemented as presented. It was not clear if this included the now rescinded proposal along the Steyne. Breakdown of the number of issues Oval car park 36% Whistler St 5% Traffic 23% Sustainable Transportt and Tram 10% (evenly split for and against) Cost 6% Tourist not residents 5% Public Domain 2% Misc 4% Support 5% Library 4% Breakdown of comments postcode origin Manly 2095 71% Fairlight 2094 17% Balgowlah 2093 3% Seaforth 2093 4% Other 5% The concerns and staff responses that were identified were: Environmental – these would be resolved in the detail of the design Traffic – these have been resolved with the removal of the Raglan St entry/exit and the reinstatement of the on street parking and traffic flow from the Eastern hill More cars – removes the parking issues in the CBD Financial Concerns – self funding over time (50 years) Whistler St – opposition to demolition and impact on Manly CBD – new car park built to resolve this Library option – existing library does not meet Library standards for LGA population Traffic from Eastern Hill – no concerns or impacts – resolved Cost and financials – self funding Public domain Residents versus Tourist – both benefit 17. Councillor Burns presented an update on the Tram proposal which now is proposed to go in a ‘loop’ along Pittwater Rd, Belgrave St, East Esplanade, Victoria St, The Steyne, and Carlton St. 18. Concept Plans for the Aquatic Centre were presented. The current swim centre is not “sun safe’ and there are apparently problems with ‘separation’ in the reticulation system. This would be an approximately $15mil project. Expressions of interest would be call to build and operate the new centre which would include and ‘sun safe’ indoor 25m pool, training pool, gym/training room, underground carpark with double the number of spaces currently available, change rooms, shop and other facilities with access from the LM Graham sports fields. Cathy Griffin Councillor Manly Council 28/10/11 Manly Council has now released the new traffic plan as a result of it's public exhibition period for the Manly 2015 Plan in September 2011. It includes a new car park under Manly Oval, the demoliton of the Whistler Street car park and the closure of Sydney Road from Belgrave Street to connect with the existing plaza. Central Ave, where the Post Office is, will become a cul-de-sac. This illustration is apparently copyright to Manly Council however in the interest of public consultation and information, we are reproducing it here: What do yo think of the new plan? How will it affect you?
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AuthorCandy Bingham, Deputy Mayor & Manly Ward Councillor on Northern Beaches Council. Background in marketing, public relations and community engagement. Author of five business books. Former Lady Mayoress of Sydney. Aka Candy Tymson. ........................................
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