Northern Beaches Hospital Concept & Stage 1

I oppose the State Significant Infrastructure Application No 5982 for a 10-storey
Northern Beaches Hospital concept proposal and destruction of endangered forest:

1) ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
· Destruction of irreplaceable wildlife corridors between Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment (which extends to the Hawkesbury and beyond).
and (a) Manly Dam (b) Forestville Park (Garigal National Park)
· Destruction of the largest southern stand of endangered Duffy's Forest Ecological
Community, with unique diversity of flora
· Loss of habitat for wildlife, e.g. swamp wallabies, sugar gliders, powerful owls
· 'Environmental Offsets': destruction of one unique area of native forest and wildlife
cannot be remedied by preserving bushland in another unconnected location

2) DESTRUCTION OF LOCAL AMENITY.
· 10-storey building with overshadowing
· Eyesore on hilltop location
· Loss of bushland and its air cleaning function
· Air pollution from increased traffic
· Noise pollution from helicopters, ambulances and cars
· Overflow parking in residential streets
· Light pollution at night

3 ) TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT PROBLEMS
· Wakehurst Parkway and Warringah Road already at or beyond capacity
· Wakehurst Parkway can be closed by flooding
· Intersection at hospital site gridlocked every day
· Population growth on Northern Beaches (e.g Warriewood) will increase problems
· Substantial additional traffic (expert's estimate 10,000 per day): ambulances, staff,
patients, visitors, suppliers, waste disposal...etc.
· No public transport planned

4 ) HEALTH SERVICES DISTRIBUTION
· Provision of public beds insufficient
· Private hospitals focus on profits, not provision of health care for all
· Centralising for administrative convenience does not provide health care where needed
· Loss of existing public community hospitals at Mona Vale and Manly
· Proximity of new 10-storey hospital to newly rebuilt Royal North Shore Hospital
(duplication of services)

I request that Application 5982 be referred to PAC (Planning Assessment Committee)

The hospital is a gross overdevelopment of the facilty on this site and requires to be reconsidered and down scaled. The hospital proposed has little to offer the general public being a private based institution with minimum public beds and services.

The roads and infrastructure will not cater for a hospital of magnitude which is being pressed for by a group of vested interests mainly from the medical fraternity as opposed the public demand; hence the pressure to maximise and over develop the site.

Consideration needs to be given to reducing the size of the hospital and a complete redevelopment and enlargement of the Mona Vale site.

No weight has been given to concerns of the community and the damage this development will do to the area and the environment in relation to congestion, water catchment, and infrastructure. With regard to the latter point any improvements planned for the Wakehurst Parkway and interchange at Warringah Road wil be negated once this site is developed to such a size.

It beggars belief such a project could be contemplated against wishes of the majority of local residents.

I object to the construction of a hospital at Frenchs Forest. The 10 story building is too high and will cause over shadowing and be an eyesore on a hill top location. Loss of bushland is significant and will negatively impact local wildlife and endangered forest types. Overflow of parking on local streets and increased traffic on local streets is of major concern.

Duplicaiton of services already provided at Royal North Shore hospital and Mona Vale Hospitals is also of concern.

Local roads are already beyond their capacity already and increased local traffic will only make this worse at thsi known bottleneck.

Recommendatrion is for increasing services at Mona Vale hospital.

I am concerned about a number of issues with the proposed Hospital;

1. 10 storeys is out of character in the area and will cause overshadowing and loss of views.
2. The noise and traffic congestion relating to construction will impact negatively on those residents in the surrounding areas.
3. The local streets will be impacted long term by extra noise, traffic and loss of parking.
4. The positioning of the hospital means it is too far for residents from the upper half of the beaches area.

My submission against replacing Frenchs Forest with the proposed "Northern Beaches Hospital"

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55662298/SSI%205982%20Northern%20Beaches%20Hospital%20-%20Tony%20Backhouse%20final.pdf

The attached .pdf is the same content also

Tony Backhouse

27/11/13
H.E.A.L. Northern Beaches strongly objects to the construction of the new Northern Beaches Hospital on the above proposed site in Frenchs Forest for the following reasons.
1.) DECENTRALISED HEALTHCARE AND PUBLIC COMMUNITY HOSPITALS
Many studies around the world show that the overall outcomes for preventative health, recovery and healing are better for decentralised public community hospitals.
We believe that the two existing public hospitals in Mona Vale and Manly have been serving the health needs of the Northern Beaches communities well; and that they will be providing adequate services for everyone if:

A) A new state-of-the-art public hospital will be built at Mona Vale.
B) Manly's heritage buildings are retained and renovated as well as the others rebuilt and modernised to provide basic public medical services: Emergency, obstetrics, maternity, age-care, orthopedics, mental health.
C) A state-of-the-art, 5-grade hospital could be built on the Mona Vale site
which is much more accessible for most Northern Beaches residents and its many visitors (against the traffic flow most of the time) than the above proposed Frenchs Forest site.
D) With a very high proportion of aging residents, young families 6 to 7 million visitors per year from all over Sydney, we will need public hospital services in publicly run hospitals.

2) FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
No documentation has been released showing a comprehensive cost benefit analysis comparing a redevelopment of Mona Vale versus the construction of a new hospital on the Frenchs Forest site. Required new infrastructure expenditure and public transport planning should accompany this proposal for the public to come to an informed opinion.
3) TRAFFIC ISSUES:
Traffic assessment studies undertaken in 2009 show that roads surrounding the Frenchs Forest hospital site, including the major northern beaches arteries of the Wakehurst Parkway & Warringah Road, are already at or beyond their planned capacity. For example, it is not uncommon to take 30 minutes to drive the 3.5 km journey from the Skyline Shops to Forestville via the hospital site.
And with our rising population (e.g. there is talk of major new developments around the Warriewood, Ingleside and Belrose area,) these roads will become more congested, even without a new hospital. More people = more traffic.
A new hospital at Frenchs Forest will generate enormous amounts of additional traffic - ambulances, staff, patients, visitors, suppliers and waste removal services will all need to get in and out of the hospital. The location will attract people not only from the Northern Beaches, but from other increasingly heavily populated areas, such as Chatswood, who would normally go to the North Shore hospital.
We believe that traffic will be brought to a standstill, particularly during the morning and afternoon rush-hour periods. It is hard to imagine how an ambulance will be able to get through this traffic in an emergency!
While the site has already been selected and considerable work on the proposal has already been undertaken, a detailed traffic impact study has yet to be completed. The NRMA recently wrote to Brad Hazard outlining what work should to be undertaken (see attached letter). We believe this lack of planning is a major oversight!
The hospital will also require substantial space for parking, and helicopters will also need access.
Massive road works have been suggested, including new flyovers, underpasses, traffic lights and link roads as well as flood mitigation on the Wakehurst Parkway. A rapid bus transit system has also been discussed, but again no formal plans have been released.
While the proposed upgrades may help assist flows around the site - it will do nothing to reduce traffic volumes - at best the traffic bottlenecks will simply move to other nearby locations.
Following is a recent article from the Manly Daily which discusses this issue
http://origin.manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/hospital-dream-may-be-nightmare/
See also attachment letter from NRMA

4) DESTRUCTION OF LOCAL AMENITY.
* High impact facility superimposed onto quiet family- friendly residential environment.
* Towering 10-storey building, overshadowing neighbourhood
* Constant noise pollution from helicopters, ambulances and cars
* Light pollution at night
* Loss of bushland and its air cleaning function
* Overflow parking in residential street
* Air pollution from increased traffic
* Possible loss of next door high school, due to high impact

5) ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES:
The planned hospital will destroy two wildlife corridors plus the most southern, well preserved, good sized patch of an endangered ecological community: 'Duffys Forest Ecological Community' plus roosting and foraging habitat of a threatened species.
a) The north-south corridor is of particular importance as it connects the Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment with the Manly Dam Catchment area, which leads on to Garigal West National Park.
b) The northwest corridor, which has been already very badly reduced in width and extends from the Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment area to Forestville Park, further extending into Garigal West National Park.
Wildlife corridors are becoming increasingly important. Many species of little birds migrate regularly annually for several hundreds of kilometres and they need some remnant bush areas to find shelter. Other species, flora and fauna are already affected by climate change and need to migrate to find a new ecological niche. Large scale corridors are restored within the 'travelling stock routes' program to help these migrations. Here one highly utilised and fully functioning wildlife corridor and another partially functioning corridor are planned to be choked up with high rise, high noise, constantly lit up development. This will annihilating both corridor functions.
When the fencing of the site was installed the number of swamp wallabies killed on the road increased dramatically. Animals tried to cross over but had no shelter to hide before or after crossing Warringah Road.


The Duffy's Forest Ecological Community on the proposed hospital site is in very good condition and only the old housing block sites and some road border areas are affected by weeds. The forest still contains huge old logs, probably from times of Mr French's logging explorations and these logs offer a habitat that is not matched in the adjacent catchments. It could easily provide prime habitat for spotted tailed quolls. Fresh scats of a spotted tailed quoll have been recently discovered in the Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment, an important section of the Frenchs Forest Wildlife Corridor. This animal is our greatest natural carnivore; it is endangered and has a huge foraging range. The spotted tailed quoll has been dismissed in the report as not needing this habitat.
Quote from Smith&Smith Ecological Consultants `Review' (see attachment):
`The proposed offset is grossly inadequate. The offset site contains no Duffys Forest Ecological Community (contrary to claims in the Environmental Impact Statement), nor any other endangered ecological community; it contains no Powerful Owl habitat (although it does contain habitat for two other threatened species); and it falls well short of the offsetting requirements calculated using the BioBanking Assessment Methodology credit calculator, which is the standard method in NSW for objectively assessing biodiversity impacts and offsetting requirements. No offset is proposed for the impact of the proposed hospital on the important wildlife corridor value of the site.'

What we do know:
The proposed hospital will be up to 10 storeys ( 40 metres) high and will be built on a site elevated 152-164 metres above the sea level. It will be an eyesore from Palm Beach to the CBD, to the Blue Mountains and to the eastern suburbs (Bondi).
The residual risk for the local amenity is foreshadowed to be significant and high. For transport and accessibility again a significant and high residual risk and its manageability is classified as substantial. (Plans have not even been prepared dealing with any of this problem, still, but the forest is to be logged!)
A MATTER OF URGENCY
The staged approach government planners propose means: DESTRUCTION OF FRENCHS FOREST is about to happen: EARLY 2014. This will be well before construction in 2015 is scheduled to commence. We request that the corridor /bushland function is maintained for as long as possible. We further REQUEST THAT THE CLEARING OF THE SITE WILL BE HELD OFF UNTIL DEFINITE PLANS FOR THE HOSPITAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ESPECIALLY ROADS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT are finalised, approved and funded.
We request that the consultation period be extended by 4 weeks and that a public hearing be conducted, as no comprehensive community consultation has been undertaken.

Conclusion:
We believe the existing Mona Vale Hospital is a far more suitable location for a new level-5 hospital because it has plenty of room to grow and it has relatively good transport links. Most of the time people will be travelling against the main traffic flows particularly in the morning rush hour, when traffic tends to be at its worst. And people from Chatswood will continue to go to Royal North Shore. We also believe the location by the sea is highly conducive to patient recovery.
Last but not least, there would be no destruction of environmentally sensitive areas if the new hospital were to be built on the Mona vale Hospital site.

H.E.A.L. Northern Beaches

The proposed offset for this development is grossly inadequate.
The site contains Duffys Forest Ecological Community. The offset site needs to contain either this community or a similar endangered community.
The size of the proposed offset is not large enough to be an adequate offset.
The value of the hospital site as a wildlife corridor has not been compensated for.

In regard to Northern Beaches Hospital (SS1 5982), the Forest High School P&C supports the submission made by the Forest High School's Relieving Principal, Janelle Dean, on 21 November 2013 to Peter McManus, Senior Planner.

We live in an affected street, Gladys Ave.
While the overall impact to us will be negative, there is a certain mindset that says that sometimes the good of the community has to come first, and a new hospital would seem to fit that criteria.

With the negative impact on local residents in mind but generally supporting the overall project, there are a number of things that can be done to mitigate the overall impac these include:

Real monitoring of the traffic impact during the preparation phase. Frenchs Forest Rd is already gridlocked in peakhour periods, and the increased usage by heavy vehicles will have a real and significant impact. I note that there is planning for this, but in reality on monitoring and revision during the preparatory works will ensure minimisation of the increased impact.

Ensure that there is real, budgeted synchrosnisation between RMS and Health on the upgrading of roads. While the plans indicate that an upgrade of supporting roads is in "due process" with RMS, the reality is that RMS has no budget for the actual works, once the plan has been developed. While Health has managed to sidestep the budgetary issue through its proposed Public/Private model, RMS is not in the same position, and funding needs to be committed for any proposed road upgrades to be considered real and viable.

Rezone the surrounding and affected streets to enable high or medium density housing, so that residents with severe impact on property values can offset the negative impact through increased value to developers, should they wish to, or be forced to, sell their properties. This would have the added benefit of adding housing to the Warringah catchment, as well as providing supporting housing infrastructure for future employees of the Hospital.

I object to this development on several grounds.
1. Environmental.
there are endangered species living on this site including the spotted quoll and powerful owl. This land also provides a wildlife corridor between Narrabeen Catchment, Garigal National Park and Manly Dam. without this corridor many more species both animal and plant could become endangered or extinct. To offset this danger by swapping it for another site is ridiculous. the other site does not have the same species. We need to be doing all we can to preserve every species. We really do not know what loss of one species may do to the whole chain of life and it will be too late once a species is gone.
2. Economic
We already have two hospitals on the Northern Beaches. the one at Mona Vale has substantial land which could be used to build a new hospital. Surely this would be a cheaper option.
3. Traffic
This site already has a huge volume of traffic especially in peak hour. I do all I can to avoid going anywhere near it at those times and if I have to will often be sitting stationary. It once took me half an hour to cover about two kilometres. I cannot imagine how it would be for an ambulance trying to get through at peak hour.
4 Downgrading of public health are in this area.
I am most unhappy that this new hospital is going to be a private hospital. Northern Beaches residents will be losing their access to public health and getting private health. Even wealthy people with full private health cover cannot afford some treatments and have to have them as a public patient which means they will have to go to North Shore as well as all the people who cannot afford health insurance at all.
5. Political
It concerns me that although or perhaps because, we live in a safe liberal seat the welfare of residents does not really seem to be a priority for our members both local and national.

thank you for accepting my submission.
I hope that more consideration can be given to all these issues.
yours sincerely,
Helen Kvelde

I object to the planned development due to:

1. Lack of existing road infrastructure to support the hospital.
2. Lack of public transport services in the immediate region.
3. Significant projected additional road traffic demand increasing:
A. Congestion; B. Pollution levels; C. Damage to surrounding environment; D. Noise levels in residential zoned areas.
4. Lack of evidence supporting the need for a new hospital versus upgrade to existing infrastructures at Mona Vale and Manly.
5. Lack of evidence to support demand for a private hospital in lieu of more public services at existing sites:
A. Is a private hospital in the interests of the local community and electorate or private investors? B. Where is a study of the number of local citizens who hold private insurance versus public to justify?
6. Destruction of native flora and fauna with no plan or ability to replace, substitute or transfer the species affected.

I have only accessed the documentation online, and may have missed something because it was so small; however, may I suggest that a bus terminal or multiple bus stop be included within the hospital grounds to encourage both staff and visitors to use public transport and also to reduce congestion on the main roads adjacent to the hospital?

When Minister Brad Hazard organised and held public meetings in January 2013, the overwhelming response to these sessions was that 1) the public was able to have input into the planning process and that the ideas and suggestions from those meetings would be taken into consideration and 2) that the majority of the community wanted to keep the "forest" in Frenchs Forest and that we don't want to be a concrete jungle like Royal North Shore Hospital.

The planning application is in direct conflict with both of these points.

I oppose the State Significant Infrastructure Application No 5982 for a 10 storey Northern Beaches Hospital concept proposal:
1) Destruction of Local Amenity
- 10 storey building with overshadowing
- air pollution from increased traffic
- noise pollution from helicopters, ambulances and cars
- light pollution at night
- overflow parking in our residential streets
2) Traffic and transport problems
- too close to the Frenchs Forest High School with an entrance on Frenchs Forest road it make it dangerous for our children to get to school due to all the increased traffic
-Wakehurst Parkway and Warringah Rd are already at or beyond capacity
-Wakehurst Parkway can be closed by flooding
-Intersection at hospital site gridlocked every day
-No public transport planned
3)Environmental issues
-loss of habitat for wildlife
-loss of clean air
-having incinerators burning hospital waste so close to Frenchs Forest high school concerns me about the health of the children
4) Health Services Distribution
-Provision of public beds insufficient
-Proximity of new 10-storey hospital to newly rebuilt Royal North Shore Hospital (duplication of services)
-Does not provide health care where needed (need it closer to Mona Vale)

I wish to express my disgust and the total lack of foresight by the government by trying to cram a hospital into a site too small, on the busiest intersection on the northern beaches.
1) At 7am everyday Frenchs Forest Road and Wakehurst Parkway is already congested. How do you propose an ambulance can get through at such a time?
2) Wakehurst Parkway has been closed twice last week alone, due to rain. Shouldn't a major arterial roadway to the hospital be open at all times and not be susceptible to constant flooding?
3) Total lack of infrastructure in the area to cope with a hospital - totally inadequate public transport service!
4) Pollution and traffic chaos created without tunnel under Warringah Road or bus lanes.
5) Loss of local bush land (effect on wildlife)...probably dead due to fencing
6) Pollution from hospital straight into Narrabeen lagoon catchment (already under stress)
7) I work at North Shore Hospital, which is 25 mins from Frenchs forest on the weekend. Why have a duplication so close?
Without building proper infrastructure to cope with the excess traffic flow this is a disaster waiting to happen (i.e someone will die in a traffic jam). Logic says - just fix up Mona Vale Hostpital - this is the only sensible option.
Why would you vote liberal on the Northern Beaches...you guys don't listen. Maybe build it in Tony Abbott's street (there's nice bushland there and no major roads to deal with) and see what he thinks.

I am expressing my objection to the proposed hospital at Frenchs Forest. The areas of main concern for me are increased traffic in the local area and the noise associated with this increase.

Local roads are at a standstill in the peak travelling times and adding to these pressures without increasing local public transport or looking at changing/improving the roads in the area will only result in adverse impacts. Frenchs Forest Road West, Naree, Rabbett and Adams Street are reduced to a slow crawl in the mornings and afternoons. Warringah Road and the Wakehurst Parkway are congested during peak hour and adding additional vehicles to visit or service the hospital site without due consideration to traffic management and flow is not good town planning.

I am also concerned about the increase in cars seeking parking in the local area. Parking space is at a premium now with commuters travelling closer to the limited public transport in the area and hospital visitors overflow parking cannot be accommodated on local roads in the area. The hospital plans do not adequately address this potentially large issue.

The limited local public transport and the lack of a public transport plan associated with the hospital plan is also a major concern. Public transport is stretched at the moment and unless more is available and bought online when the hospital is functioning people will be forced into cars.

The air, noise and light pollution that the hospital will bring are also issues not resolved in the proposed plan. The noise in the local area will increase with the increased ambulance and helicopter traffic and this causes me concern. Will the State government provide noise proofing solutions to local residents or some form of compensation to we can reduce the noise levels, created by the hospital, within our homes.

I have small children and the increase in air pollution as a result of the traffic gridlock that will be created by the hospital is a concern. The destruction of the local forest to build the hospital will remove nature's filters and pollution will increase in the immediate local area. The removal of the forest has a number of adverse impacts including the loss of important habitat for local fauna in particular the powerful owls, an endangered species.

The wildlife corridors that the current tracks of forest provide can never be replaced once removed and these are critical for the survival of local fauna and flora species.

I object to the hospital and request that the application 5982 be referred to the PAC.

As a local resident with insight into the local traffic issues and surrounding land usage, I wish to express my objection to the Frenchs Forest Hospital Development site.

The total lack of foresight by the government by trying to build a hospital on a site way too small and bordered by three major roads (one of only three exit points from the Northern Beaches) and a high school (the only remaining in the local area) is really inconceivable.

1) Frenchs Forest Road and Wakehurst Parkway:-
This major intersection is constantly gridlocked. It took me half an hour at 7am yesterday to drive from Patanga Road to Warringah Road - normally a two minute drive! How do you propose an ambulance can get through at such a time?

2) Flooding:-
Wakehurst Parkway has been closed twice last week alone, due to rain. Shouldn't a major arterial roadway leading to the hospital be open at all times and not be susceptible to constant flooding?

3)Public transport:-
Total lack of infrastructure in the area to cope with a hospital - Frenchs Forest unfortunately has a totally inadequate public transport service!

4) Pollution and traffic chaos will be created without addition of a tunnel under Warringah Road and/or space provided for dedicated bus lanes.

5) Loss or Diversity and Wildlife Corridor:-
Loss of an essential wildlife corridor between Manly Dam Reserve, Garigal National Park and Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment. The area is classified as the endangered Duffy's Forest Ecological Community and is irreplaceable.

6) Building a hospital on the top of three catchment areas??:-The addition of a large area of concrete, let alone a hospital with potential medical waste accidents or spills, at the head-waters of three catchment areas and the last remaining undisturbed bushland in the built up suburban location, seems to me to be a totally ill-informed decision.

7) Health Services Distribution:-
North Shore Hospital is only 25 mins away from Frenchs Forest out of peak times, why have a duplication so close?

8) Destruction of Local amenities:-
The proposed site is next to one of the few remaining local high schools (after the government sold off Beacon Hill High). With the hospital next door, this must put the school at risk of being taken over due to expansion in the future?

The proposed site is in the middle of a residential area. The impacts of noise, artificial light at night and additional traffic will impact greatly on the local residents, many of whom are long standing.

In Conclusion:-
Without building proper infrastructure to cope with the excess traffic flow this is a disaster waiting to happen (i.e someone will die in a traffic jam). Logic says - fix up Mona Vale Hospital - this is the only sensible option. It has room to expand and is only 15 minutes from Frenchs Forest.
I hope that the Frenchs Forest hospital site can be reconsidered, with all of the above mentioned points considered and a more appropriate, less densely populated area can be found.

Dear Mr Player
On behalf of The Forest High School Council, I want to thank you for including the community in the consultation process to date for the Northern Beaches Health Service Redevelopment. We appreciate that you value our concerns and are willing to work with the school community over this project.
This is to advise that The Forest High School Council emphatically supports the submission of Mrs Jane Dean (Relieving Principal), on concerns raised about traffic, student transportation and safety and noise, following a review of the Stage 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Northern Beaches Hospital.
At every opportunity, the community has sought assurance that the transportation infrastructure needs to be addressed prior to any clearing / construction phases of the redevelopment. Without adequate changes to existing transportation infrastructure, the Northern Beaches Health Service Redevelopment is committing the local community to grid lock conditions throughout the clearing and construction phase of the hospital. We urge the cooperation of Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and the Northern Beaches Health Service Redevelopment to deliver on the transport infrastructure required to support the Northern Beaches Hospital.
Finally, I request on behalf of the school community, ongoing consultation throughout all stages of this project.
Looking forward to hearing from you in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Michael Strugnell
President, The Forest High School Council

My concerns over the proposed hospital site are as follows.

The destruction of the wildlife corridor on the proposed site that is part of the remaining 15 % of Duffys Forest Ecological community. Losing this would be a crime against all Australians which cannot be replaced by "environmental offsets" (buzzword for destroying something else somewhere else)

The road kill of animals currently using this corridor and the fact that endangered species inhabit the proposed site.

The increased traffic in an area that is already struggling under the traffic it currently carries let alone adding another 10,000 per day cars increase to that.

The loss of existing public community hospitals at Mona Vale and Manly which are perfectly positioned for community needs. Mona Vale has the land and prime position and needs to be upgraded to a level 5 public hospital,

The provision of public beds in the proposed hospital is insufficient, this will not serve the broader community, only the people who are rich enough to pay,

The duplication of services between Royal North shore and the proposed hospital due to their close proximity is a complete waste of resources that would be of better use at Mona Vale hospital.

The impact of noise, traffic, parking and possible widening of French's Forest road West and the compulsory acquisition that will probably follow that affects me, my family, my neighbors.

A 10 storey hospital is completely out of character of the area and will change a quiet pleasant area into a business centre. Zoning changes and the knock on effect will mean surrounding properties are bought and developed into accompanying medical specialist centres, and before you know it the area will be another Chatswood.

To surmise this hospital is in the wrong location, is environmentally inappropriate, community inappropriate and basically a white elephant. Appropriate PUBLIC health facilities need upgrading at Manly and Mona Vale hospitals. This whole development reeks of big business cashing in on a bit of land bought cheaply and the potential bonanza to be made on the well located Mona Vale and Manly sites at the expense of the majority of the communities needs and wants.

I request that application 5982 be refereed to the planning assessment committee.

I have many concerns about this project most of them environmental as well as aesthetic and logistical. Firstly this is a shameless land grab by developers under the guise of a hospital. Any other development of this magnitude would have been resoundly rejected by the communities surrounding this area. It is almost 5 hectares of endangered bush land and also a Powerful owl habitat and home to other small native marsupials.
A hospital becomes the nucleus for a myriad of satellite services
So if this goes ahead we can say goodbye to the entire green belt that surrounds this area? It will be the beginning of the destruction of this green belt. It is both a crime and a theft from future generations who will never experience the joy of driving up Wakehurst Parkway and turning left to see that extraordinary wooded area instead a huge ugly hospital, unnecessary, unasked for by the residents and a Trojan horse of development for the entire area. Canberra did not provide any green corridors
For its kangaroos and the roads were littered as is Wakehurst parkway with dead native animals, we should be protecting these wildlife habitats not excavating them.
There are three hospitals which require more investment and are already built and staffed just lacking money clearly the motivation for this hospital is not altruistic at all rather a profit making venture cloaked in servitude much like aged care facilities in the private sector I digress. This development is not suitable for this bush land area at all.it will change the area for ever, the damage will be irreparable, irreplaceable,irresponsible,
And ironic, destroying life to create a hospital that we wouldn't need if we looked after ourselves and our plant with more respect and love.
Australia's destruction of koala wildlife habitat all the way down the east coast is shameful and abhorrent and this area could be
One green belt saved for the future generations.
The developers of this hospital should find a new site and not continue their quest to scar,,disfigure and maime the bushland
Of frenchs forest. It is a travesty and also beyond logic especially considering the infrastructure around the area which if upgraded will change the entire feeling of the region most unsympathetically. I have never heard the expression as picturesque as a hospital and I have spent a lot of time in and visiting them. We do not need to destroy 5 hectare of endangered bushland for a hospital. WHat about the offset 10hanext to the Belrose tip. Please please can someone stop this madness or is it jobs for the boys,
our prime minister must have had the joy of riding his bike up Wakehurst parkway and past the woodlands on Waringah Road.
Surely he can vetoe this inappropriate Developement .
This is an emotional submission as destroying endangered bushland and powerful owl habitat makes me sad.
This destruction is happening all over our planet, deforestation statistics are appalling : Borneo, Malaysia India Africa South America the list is endless and Australia should stop and take a long hard look at what we are doing to our urban forests.

I must point out the significant corridor (of this site) for species to connect with natural reserves across the region.
Further the significant road congestion in the immediate vicinity (being a major crossroad), with flooding occurring on the thoroughfare to Narrabeen lakes.
Concentrated air pollution is a constant factor in the immediate region.
Flora species significant to area are located on the site, such as orchid species/grasses/trees indigenous to region, also acting as an important absorption site for carbon emissions.
Private facility, of what major significance to general public really, when it is targeting private sector (mainly).
Why is existing major hospitals, with appropriate infrastructure not considered as genuine upgrade potential in comparison to private, limited sector. (I personally consider this a bandaid).
North Shore is renowned for nature corridors/green environment, which is irreplaceable once destroyed.
Private earning entities need to consider sites that are poor in value/ugly to environment, not prized green corridors. Pre used industry sites etc. are better prospects, enhancing regions, whilst green corridors are better left for their quiet servitude to the wellbeing of all.
Opportunity for healthy alternatives can be cleverly invested in by engaging with the public sector, creating micro establishments in most suburbs, facilitating jobs, education, better health, use of pre-existing buildings, on miniature scale. This can draw public into immediate business regions, enhancing trade.
Complimentary alternative modalities are numerous, cost efficient & educational for general public, promoting understanding of health for the public, lessening burden on hospitals.
Money can be well spent on pre-existing infrastructure of hospitals, whilst shopping centres are maintained rather than becoming white elephants as people are drawn away from these hubs.
Many in the community are happy to openly discuss ideas that generate clever uses rather than waste money on limited project outcomes.
There is so much new potential available that is incredibly cost efficient. (The Swiss Government has adopted some innovative cost saving alternatives).
I can only attempt being positive in outlook as I witness this, hoping the future will bring better circumstances. I fear this project will be a costly & limited prospect.