Council continues its bias against our community

Council continues to reject out-of-hand genuine, well-considered requests from our part of the community -- requests that would do a lot for the amenity of this area.

We have been asking for ages for a public access 24-hour noticeboard in Springfield Plaza. There are three main reasons for this:

First we simply need a medium of public communication in a town where the only public information is council banners and JC Decaux advertising. We don't even have an effective local newspaper (this blog excepted!).

Secondly because it would change the mix of people in the plaza in a way that addresses the concerns of police and the local NIMBYS without persecuting the rough-edge element who currently exercise their perfectly sound right to linger in public space.

And thirdly because it is the best place for a noticeboard because half the population of Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay walk past it twice a day en route to the station.

Clover Moore wrote to me with the almost-famous 'problems with curatorial control' letter and promised a city-wide review of noticeboards about which we have since heard nothing officially. I got CityRAGs (City Resident Action Groups) to endorse our request.

There was a survey in which I set out specific requirements for the board.

Now I am told plans for the Plaza have been released (2011 Residents Association was not informed) and there is no noticeboard included. (The Council has previously mumbled about putting it in Fitzroy Gardens). Also I hear via RESNET (city residents group) that council will be placing cylindrical poster thingies of some kind uniformly across the city. They plan to tear down ALL the posters every five days. Too bad if you put your notice up five minutes before the book-burners arrive.

To be continued...