August Community Update

At the meeting, Council listened to both community representatives and EnergyAustralia on the proposal. The matters raised by the community substantially related to the concept for a pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) system at Lake Lyell. No development application has yet been submitted for this concept. The Council approved the Modification of Development Consent application DA070/22 to allow EnergyAustralia to undertake further geotechnical investigations (boreholing) on its land over 3-6 months for the purpose of assessing the feasibility of the site for a potential PHES. The proposed investigation is in a location adjacent to the foreshore of Lake Lyell and below Mount Walker in the locality of Bowenfels.

The Lithgow Area Women’s Shed Inc. has lodged a development application for the construction of a new multi-function/community facility. The project is funded from a grant of $2,460,625 from the Federal Bushfire Recovery Grants program.

The proposal is for a multi-function building to comprise a workshop with ancillary tool rooms, meeting room/hall, two small commercial offices, 2 x kitchens, kids’ room, and amenities to be located at the Tony Luchetti Sports Centre, Geordie Street, Lithgow.

The location of the development is to the south of the main oval, between the main showground grandstand to the west, the skate park to the southeast and the ballroom to the east.

The council approved an exemption of the Developer Contribution fee of $24,606.25 noting that the building will become a council asset once completed, to be used by the Women’s Shed and other members of the community.

The Development Application will be brought back to Council for determination and if required an Extra Ordinary Meeting of Council will be called to expedite the decision.

The owners of the former Wallerawang power station site, including the lake Wallace foreshores and surrounds, have lodged a Scoping Report as a first step toward a Rezoning Application of their 620 hectare site. Following preliminary consultation with a range of government agencies, the Council noted the Assessment Report which identified the key issues for any Rezoning Application.

Greenspot have indicated that they propose a mixture of land uses comprising new residential, tourism, environmental management and employment precincts. The proposed concept plan could accommodate 1,500 – 4,500 jobs and between 600 -800 dwellings.

The following development concepts are being considered by Greenspot:

• Old Power Station Precinct: education and training facilities, pilot plants, warehousing, manufacturing, resource recovery, battery storage, data centres, hydrogen production, hydrogen refueling, ammonia production, road to rail intermodal, aeronautics/heliport, and minerals processing.

• Industrial and Commercial Precinct: education and training facilities, pilot plants, construction materials, resource recovery, manufacturing, battery storage, data centres, hydrogen production, ammonia production, hydrogen refueling, heavy vehicle service station/mechanical repairs, road to rail intermodal, aeronautics/ heliport, minerals processing, food processing, water treatment facilities, warehousing, plant and equipment hire, depots, commercial premises, call centres, aquaculture and protected cropping.

• Tourism and Recreation Precinct: optimisation and enhancement of existing recreational uses (sailing club, rowing/dragon boating club, baseball, caravaning and camping, giant tree arboretum, children’s playground, off leash dog park, public amenities block and Bicentennial National Trail), publicly accessible open space, sporting facilities, markets, waterpark/ adventure playground, water recreation structures, restaurants, cafes, short term accommodation, community facilities, function centre, seniors housing, information and education facilities, cultural centre.

• Residential Precinct: a mix of housing typologies including large lots, medium lots, small lots, and residential flat buildings. It is proposed that this precinct will also include some local services as an “extension” of the Wallerawang Main Street.

• Old School Precinct: the adaptive reuse of existing heritage listed school building, education and training facilities, pilot plants, shared working spaces, light industrial complexes, depots, warehousing, manufacturing, water treatment facilities, community facilities and temporary workers accommodation.

• Environmental Management: active and passive recreation, bike and pedestrian pathways, roads, environmental management, bush regeneration, education facilities and a cultural centre.

• Lake Wallace: recreational use, floating solar, riparian, and aquatic regeneration, floating gardens/biofiltration, reservoir to enable water storage, access, and reticulation for various on-site uses and potentially for broader regional benefit.

The Council approved a request from Living Eyes Productions for seed funding of $16,510 to assist in hosting the inaugural Seven Valleys Beatlesfest. The funding is provided from Council’s Events Attraction Program.

In its first year, the event organisers anticipate it will attract 2,000 visitors to the area. When endorsing this proposal Councillor Mahony stated that “this is exactly what our community needs, a series of annual festivals” and Councillor Goodwin felt that “this will put Lithgow on the map and activate the Main Streets of Lithgow, Wallerawang and Portland”.

The event will be held across a wide variety of locations throughout Lithgow, Wallerawang and Portland. Over 14 privately owned venues have signed up to host a variety of different music events and activities. A wide variety of artists have also agreed to participate, paying tribute to the Beatles over the course of the weekend.

Council’s contribution will enable: • Buses between Lithgow, Portland and Wallerawang (including stopping at tourist destinations), • Payment of Street performers (buskers) along Main Street, • Performances in Queen Elizabeth Park, • Performances, tourism information and markets in Cook Street Plaza, and • Event Marketing and signage.