Save the Bay
Click here for an update on the Bay's fight to control development.
Development proposals being considered by local and State Government have the potential to destroy Catherine Hill Bay 's unique features, special significance as a heritage and environmental site, and access for thousands more people who will take up residence on the Central Coast and lower Hunter Regions in the next 15 years.
A Sydney developer, RoseCorp, has proposed a licensed super club, five storey apartment buildings on the Bay's southern headland, and about 1000 medium density dwellings which would swell the village's population from about 250 to 3000-plus.
Lake Macquarie City Council rejected that portion of the proposal within its boundary as being against the public interest and contrary to 13 local, regional and state planning instruments. Unfazed, the developer appealed against this decision by Council to the Land and Environment Court , and has had private discussion with the State Government. (Click News and Events for an update).
The remainder of the proposal - on land zoned for Coastal Acquisition on which no development at all is permitted --- is being assessed by Wyong Shire Council and there have been private negotiations with Government.
If the developer wins, the community loses. A unique and special part of NSW which survives because of three decades of accumulative protections in state and local planning instruments, would be over-thrown to enrich a few.
Worse, the coal mining company which drew so much wealth from the Catherine Hill Bay mines for decades, gave an undertaking to the community and Government in 1987 that when mining ceased (as it did in 2002) the land would be rehabilitated to a natural state and would become land for public use.
You can help protect the Bay from this type of destruction by following the matter on this web site
- join The Friends of Catherine Hill which is an organization affiliated with the Progress Association whose members internationally join in lobby campaigns with letters and emails
- supporting our protests and campaign to Save the Bay with your letters and donations
- attending events at the Bay, such as the Heritage Festival, which celebrate the place's special values
- visit the Bay and enjoy it
The development proposal is being opposed by the Progress Association and Wallarah Peninsula Alliance, which has 30 participating groups in northern Wyong Shire and southern Lake Macquarie . The Alliance is affiliated to the Community Environment Network (www.cccen.org.au), an umbrella environmental organization based at the Ourimbah campus of the University of Newcastle . Ninety groups participate in CEN, representing about 5000 people.
The campaign has strategic links - and strong support - with peak environmental councils in NSW including the Total Environment Centre (www.tec.org.au), Nature Conservation Council (www.nccnsw.org.au), National Parks Association (www.npansw.org.au), and the Surfrider Foundation (www.surfrider.org.au)
You can join the Save the Bay campaign by clicking here and returning the membership form. (All details are strictly private to the Progress Association and will not be divulged or made available to other parties.)
