crag newsletter - june 1997
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State Govt Stalling
on Canal Reserve!
(crag 0297)



Missed Deadlines...

In December 1996 the State government, through the Premier, committed to setting up a Steering Committee to prepare a Plan of Management for the Canal Reserve.

CRAG was to be represented on this Steering Committee. The first meeting was to happen before the end of February 1997. The whole project was to take no more than 12 months.

That initial meeting has still not happened and the responsible minister (Craig Knowles) seems to have gone into hiding. CRAG cannot get meaningful responses to any questions regarding the Reserve's future.

YOU SHOULD START WORRYING. While we can't get answers, the future of the Reserve is not assured.

Before we know it, developers will be making overtures and lobbying to destroy this unique strip of land so they can bring us more medium density housing and traffic.


Government won't gazette land as open space...

In the three years that the struggle to protect the land has gone on, the Reserve has remained zoned as 'Special Purposes'. We need the zoning to be changed to 'Open Spaces'.

Without a zoning change the land could be put to all manner of unusual uses.

Did you know that official maps show a light rail corridor on the land? Would you like a railway on your front or back doorstep?

YOU SHOULD START WORRYING. While the government stalls and procrastinates on this issue we risk losing the land.

We can't be sure that the land is ours for passive recreation until the canal is made safe and the Reserve is officially opened to the public.


Write to the Premier !

Ask Bob Carr why it is taking so long for you to have access to the Prospect Lower Canal Reserve.

Ask him why the commitment for meetings to commence has been missed by months.

Ask him why promised Steering Committee meetings with your representatives (CRAG) have not been scheduled.

Ask him why the reserve cannot be gazetted as open space NOW.

Tell him that you are NOT happy.

Write today to the address below and please follow up if you don't receive a prompt acknowledgment.

Mr Bob Carr
Premier of New South Wales
GPO Box 5341
Sydney NSW 2001
Phone: (02)9228 5239
Fax: (02)9241 3616


Don't be fobbed off to Craig Knowles. Demand the Premier answer the questions!

CRAG - Fighting for YOUR Reserve


Problems, who ya gonna call?

The Canal Reserve is currently owned by the NSW State Treasury.

Management of the reserve is controlled by the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (DUAP), Land Management Branch with maintenance contracted to Sydney Water.

If you have any issues with maintenance or activities in the reserve you should contact:

Bob Waldron Manager, Land Management Branch
Dept of Urban Affairs and Planning
PO Box 404
Parramatta NSW 2124
Phone: (02)9895 7947
Fax: (02)9895 7946


Vale - Alan Read
11/1/1945 - 5/11/1996

Alan Read was born in Warrington, England and emigrated to Australia, settling in Greystanes in 1974. An accountant by profession, Alan's last job was bursar of Abbotsleigh Girls School.

Alan will be remembered for his community work, firstly as the President of the Greystanes Progress Association, then as the organiser of the Holroyd Association Against Airport

Noise (HAAAN) group and the other anti airport groups that that were formed in the western suburbs.

In his spare time Alan planted native trees in and around Hyland Road and was a keen bird watcher.

We will remember Alan as the man who had the vision for the land of the Prospect Lower Canal and galvanised the residents to form a community group (CRAG) to fight the then State government's desire to sell the land for medium density housing.

In the early days of this group he provided guidance and leadership as we struggled to become a coherent force for the community. Alan's dream, and that of CRAG, was to see the land retained as open space.

Few people have the opportunity to leave their mark on the world - the Canal Reserve will be for the benefit of all - a wonderful achievement for a man who saw the potential and decided to do something about it.

Alan Read has left the world a better place than when he he came into it and he is survived by his wife, Fran and children Barbara, Leslie, Christopher and John.

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