Dr Jan Lindrum’s foreshore vision (Port News, 27 October 2017), is a blatant grab for cheap waterfront land courtesy of Crown Lands. The proposal turns the old Food for Less site into a solid build for at least 7 levels, may be 9 levels, covering the entirety of the existing Woolworths and public car parking site without any compensatory public car parking. Since the Liberal/National Coalition State government changed the law to allow Crown Lands to sell off this land, Marriott International has obviously been scrutinising Crown Land maps and have settled on this foreshore site.
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I naively thought that the public car park had been left to the citizens of Port Macquarie in perpetuity for them to decide on its fate.
Dr Lindrum says the Dan Murphys site could be used for a major parking lot for public parking. Who is going to compensate Dan Murphys for their loss of business and pay for this car park? The good citizens of Port Macquarie of course. During the year the WestConnex project resumed the Dan Murphy business at Leichhardt and had to pay $50,000,000 in compensation, which does not include relocation and rebuilding. Why didn’t Marriott International offer to pay for and build a 9 storey car park in the hole in the ground on the corner of William and Murray Sts? Gordon and Horton Sts intersection is certainly a gateway site for entry to the CBD.
This proposal still needs to find a suitable location for the existing Woolworths building. We cannot assume that Woolworths has no interest in developing their site as they have recently submitted a DA to demolish the old Food for Less building. This suggests Woolworths wishes to develop the site as opposed to sell it. What does Dr Jan Lindrum suggest? Put Woolworths on the current swimming pool and library site as this is public land and its best use would be for the good citizens to donate it to a private business enterprise. She is extremely generous with public land and ratepayer’s money. Dan Murphys would be able to fit in there as well under her vision.
Where does the library go under this vision? Well a new PMHC headquarters would need to be built to include the library and a major information centre. At whose expense? You guessed it. The ratepayers.
The vision also extends to the public waterways as the river could be a springboard for cruise ship passengers to come ashore. Is the river deep enough for a cruise ship to enter or do we have alternate safe anchorage offshore for cruise ships? Obviously Dr Lindrum’s vision is not about answering operational/logistical questions. It only needs to be strategic and has the ability to divulge all costs to ratepayers.
Colleen Carmody, Port Macquarie
