Issues
Update on Bridge Rd cycleway: Council and State Government drag their feet on serious safety concerns
Posted on 29th December 2020
The cycleway remains dangerous and neither the City nor the State Government has explained how and when the problems will be addressed.
Society’s 8th Annual Spring Bird Survey
Posted on 1st January 2021
This year’s annual bird survey took place on Sunday 1 November. A total of 16 people signed on at 6.45 am in Paddy Gray Reserve in Hereford St and were allocated to ten survey sites across Glebe and Forest Lodge including streets, parks and along waterways.
NSW Heritage protection is flawed
Posted on 29th December 2020
When the NSW Heritage Act was introduced in 1977 it was a turning point in the protection of our built heritage. However, all is not as it should be, and important heritage listed buildings in Glebe continue to deteriorate.
News from the Blue Wren Subcommittee
Posted on 29th December 2020
Updates about recent activities of the Society’s busy Blue Wren subcommittee and volunteers.
Heritage Conservation Areas – Repainting Guidelines
Posted on 29th December 2020
Thinking of repainting? The City of Sydney has guidelines for repainting, if your house is in a heritage conservation area.
Plans to shrink the St Phillips Heritage Conservation Area will undermine heritage values, liveability and amenity
Posted on 29th December 2020
The Society has lodged an objection the NSW Government s plans to remove the parts of the St Phillips Heritage Conservation Area, paving the way for building heights up to the equivalent of eight storeys. T
HOT TOPIC: Give us back Glebe Island Bridge – Meeting on 3 December 2020
Posted on 5th November 2020
On 3rd December 2020 it will be 25 years since the Glebe Island Bridge closed. Invitation to be part of action to lobby for the it to be restored and reopened for pedestrians and cyclists.
Exhibition to mark 150 Year anniversary of the current St John’s Church
Posted on 4th November 2020
From 8th December 2020
Exploring the work of architect Edmund Blacket in Glebe.
HOT TOPIC: Momentum is growing for the restoration of Glebe Island Bridge and The Glebe Society plans to give it a good push
Posted on 4th November 2020
Proposals to restore the Glebe Island Bridge for use as a walkway and cycle path are mounting. The latest is from the McKell Institute, which has proposed an active transport path linking the Opera House and Paramatta along the harbour foreshores and southern bank of the Parramatta River.
Have you seen a Brush-turkey in Glebe or Forest Lodge?
Posted on 4th November 2020
A number of people have reported seeing Brush-turkeys (Alectura lathami) around Glebe. It turns out that quite a few have made this area their home, including building lovely mounds for incubating their eggs.
The Glebe Society opposes changes to the St Phillips Heritage Conservation Area
Posted on 4th November 2020
The Glebe Society has expressed strong opposition to Sydney City Council’s Plans to adjust the boundaries of the the St Phillips Heritage Conservation Area to exclude 2A-2D Wentworth Park Road and 17-31 Cowper Street to enable their demolition and replacement by 8-storey apartment buildings. Plus, why the 1980s infill developments in Glebe worked so well.
Saving a Sydney suburb
Posted on 21st October 2020
Current residents are perhaps not aware of how close Glebe came to virtual annihilation by the NSW Department of Main Roads in the 1970s.
Public Spaces Ideas Competition
Posted on 21st October 2020
Glebe Society member, Asa Wahlquist has entered the Idea for a public walk around the foreshores of Blackwattle and Rozelle Bays into the Public Space Ideas competition.
Painted River Project – Updated
Posted on 11th October 2020
The year six students at Forest Lodge have a tradition of leaving a gift for the students who follow them. The plan this year is for a mural featuring Johnstons Creek
Housing Diversity State Environmental Planning Policy
Posted on 17th October 2020
Will the State Government’s proposed Housing Diversity Planning Policy help redress the current desperate shortage of social and affordable housing in Glebe and across the state?
Bridge Road pop-up cycleway
Posted on 15th October 2020
The Glebe Society is serious about cycling but serious safety risks with the cycleway have become apparent. A comprehensive article on the issues and what needs to happen.
Letter to the editor on the pop-up cycleway
Posted on 15th October 2020
From a family that has lived on Bridge Rd Glebe (near Clare St) for five generations
News from the Blue Wren Subcommittee – October 2020
Posted on 16th October 2020
Get involved with the Spring Bird Survey on Sunday 1 November 2020; and hear what’s been happening in local habitat creation.
Palmerston Avenue Park Upgrade
Posted on 16th October 2020
The City of Sydney began its works to improve the park land in Palmerston Ave in late July. It should be finished by the end of the year. The plan is multifaceted. It will provide a greener space, remove noxious weeds, improve drainage and allow people to move around more easily.
Heritage Subcommittee Annual Report 2019-2020
Posted on 17th October 2020
I wish to express my appreciation to all subcommittee members for their passion, dedication and collaboration as a team. Some of our work is highlighted below.
Environment Subcommittee Annual Report 2019-2020
Posted on 16th October 2020
The proposed new Sydney Fish Market building has been the main focus of the Environment Subcommittee for the past year. Activities have included attending stakeholder meetings about the proposed plan and lobbying politicians.
Bays & Foreshores Subcommittee Annual Report 2019-2020
Posted on 16th October 2020
The past year has been both intensive and possibly the most significant in the 12 years of my engagement with the redevelopment of the Bays Precinct. The central agenda has been the acceleration of planning for the redevelopment of the Blackwattle Bay foreshores as part of the NSW Government’s larger agenda for the redevelopment of the Western Harbour Precinct including the Pyrmont Peninsula.
Blue Wren Subcommittee Annual Report 2019-2020
Posted on 17th October 2020
The Subcommittee has 13 members and met in person on four occasions during the year. The volunteers of our bushcare/landcare groups in Glebe continued to work to value, retain and enhance biodiversity in Glebe and Forest Lodge, and its bays and foreshores, for current and future generations. Not surprisingly COVID-19 impacted on our activities in the second half of the year. We did not hold our regular meetings, our autumn party (to which all our bushcare volunteers are invited) and the award of the Craney Biodiversity Grants to our local preschools and schools were cancelled, and the annual biodiversity lecture was postponed. Further, no planting days were organised by our buschcare volunteers from mid-March until July, when they recommenced in Orphan School Creek Park under the COVID-safe rules set-up by the City.
Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy
Posted on 3rd September 2020
On 31 July 2020 the NSW Government issued its 96-page draft Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy. The Planning Strategy is intended to guide the transformation of the Pyrmont Peninsula over the years to 2041
How the Blackwattle Bay Precinct and Fish Market Developments intend to deal with increased traffic and transport needs
Posted on 3rd September 2020
Infrastructure NSW has released the Traffic and Transport Strategy proposed for the new Fish Market and Blackwattle Bay Developments. This article summarises what is proposed and what it might mean for Glebe/Forest Lodge
A Wolf at the Door
Posted on 3rd September 2020
Readers of the Society’s Bulletin will be aware of the proposal to excise 2A-D Wentworth Park Rd and 17-31 Cowper St, Glebe from the St Phillips Heritage Conservation Area in order to change the existing height limit of 9 metres to 36 metres. This is to allow the demolition of a two-storey flat building and four 1980s terrace houses and their replacement by two eight-storey apartment buildings.
Bridge Rd pop-up cycleway
Posted on 3rd September 2020
The City and Transport for NSW have installed new cycleways using barriers, line markings and lane dividers, with the first locations including Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Glebe. But there are serious questions about its implementation.
