University of Newcastle - NeW Space

Your building is a piece of rubbish which is not ecologically sound, how much energy is it going to use to heat and cool?
It is ugly and disfunctional, It actually looks like a plant terrarium or some sort of stupid useless glass prism or giant lizard or snake enclosure.

We already have a beautiful campus at Callaghan.
Why spread it to the 4 winds?

There is not enough parking provided either.
If the rail is not truncated to the city i would support it as a clever move, travel between campuses would be easy ,BUT ITS NOT!

What Parking provision is to be made as the STUPID closure of the rail line and therefore the closure of Civic Railway Station will lead to increased traffic and parking congestion in that precinct
That precinct has the City hall, Library, Museum etc in it and parking is already at a premium in that area and thanks to the people forced to resign due to certain actions on their behalf, the Rail line is to be cut against the wishes of the majority of users of the rail line

This is an exciting development. However, it is crucial that a public transport link exists, particularly with the main campus. The railway line currently provides this and should not be removed. The current plan to stop trains at Broadmeadow or Hamilton for several years is terrible. The proposed light rail will be inferior from a transport point of view. Students need to be able to access the site speedily, reliably and cheaply without relying onion existent parking.

I feel that the cantilevered design is overbearing and oppressive from the street perspective. For such an important project I think we can do better.

I think it's a rather ugly building but creativity is not always a pretty sight. Something new and challenging is not a bad thing so long as historic streetscapes are not damaged. I think it should only proceed IF THE RAIL LINE IS NOT CUT INTO NEWCASTLE STATION. The facility of the rail link from Warabrook to Newcastle where the Warabrook station was part funded by the University so its students could get quickly to the city and city campus and back should be enhanced by scheduling MORE trains and not cutting this vital service. Time is of the essence for University staff and students and Newcastle needs to rally to support this important regional employee. Why push people onto private vehicles when you don't need to. The recent corruption exposures in ICAC of the local and state govt representatives surely puts paid to their schemes to have a 'land grab' of the public rail service key asset.

Transport power and spatial efficiency are the policy determinants of the 21st century.

For notoriously power intense fossil-oil reliant transport, the case into the foreseeable future, today's forty per cent decline-rate fracked puddles; tar sands, pre salts, shale structures and soaring failure rate and cost of exploration, confirm the warning put to me personally by leading oil companies 25 years, after more than 20 years of frenzied exploration, after the 1970s' oil shocks, that there was no more "real" oil to be found.

Natural gas is a third less potent.

Further, downtown Newcastle is uniquely, densely rich and abundant, in created and natural amenity, already. Of that spatial efficiency, which has to be the foundation for the way ahead.

I support this potentially wonderful addition, new university of law building and upgrade of NESCA, to downtown Newcastle, provided the power and spatial efficiency tests, which apply to a district, such as a downtown, are met, as it strengthens the diversity of egalitarianism, to produce a very colourful, lively, people friendly and economically thriving district.

This accords with efficiency of movement, in the era of growing demographics of aging; hands free IT conduct of business; and the newer generations, having a more tribal outlook, with a historical spurning of the car, and highly favouring trains.

I do question the sense of such a development whilst at the same time removing the rail line. Any time saved by motorists by removing level crossings will surely be lost in lights and greater traffic congestion.

Even with 250 bike storage facilities this is still inadequate. Much easier to have more storage then add in later.
I will comment in relation to the Callaghan end of trip facilities. THe Callaghan end of trip facilities are not big enough. Already they are near capacity, and it looks like they will be completely full next year. So more secure storage is needed for the city hub.

I am in support of the development.
A good mix of open space , commercial and educational environments.
A tram stop and sheltered seating should be included in the development.

A novel and interesting design for the University Building. It looks quite good its location. Improves the street-scape .
A big improvement is removing the mess of old buildings of numerous vintages and styles that were at this location, whilst retaining the very 1930's Nesca House.
It was one of the city's first modern buildings, and has a history in the introduction of the "all electric home", with classes for housewives in electric cooking, washing machines, home refrigeration in the modern kitchen. So, well worth keeping.
Best of luck with the project.

Inc.




For more than a quarter of a century Hunter property speculators have corrupted the government and deceived the public in their drive to gain control of our public properties.

Back in the mid nineties the Joy Cuming's Plan for the Newcastle foreshore was advancing well and today we can see the beautiful gardens around Customs House which were to be continued through to Wickham.

However in the late nineties the state government usurped the planning powers from Newcastle City Council and as a result all significant planning in the city has since been authorised directly by Sydney people who obviously understand little of what they do.

Politicians as the ICAC has recently revealed are greatly motivated by the contents of brown paper bags and it is customary for developers to take their favourite politicians out for dinner to explain their agenda. The poor old voting public get to learn of this agenda a year or so after the elections.

Many cities in the world are returning their heavy rail at great cost after discovering that the developers' plans just weren't viable. Most cities would be thrilled to have a heavy rail passenger service right into the centre of their city.

So the developers had to invent some imaginary problems with our rail service. Our property speculators (PS) have clearly done a lot of work to develop this list to be feasible for the gullible. Sadly they have failed dismally in this plan, just as they have in their 20 years of `revitalising the CBD'.

Slight inquiry reveals the flawed structure of the PS fantasies. We identify at least 7 inventions constantly parroted that can easily be shown they are just not true, as follows:



1) Rail retention supporters are a tiny minority;

To support this misinformation they rely on a survey commissioned by themselves 6 years ago which asked ambiguous questions of captive respondents. Practically in spite of a negative media barrage, every other survey or poll done has consistently shown about 80% of the population surveyed support retaining rail. See below some of the polls since 2008.

Below: Herald 15/12/2008

Below Newcastle Star poll at 10th June 09

13th June 2009: Do yo agree with Jeff McCloy to cut the rail to improve the CBD?

3/7/14 NBN television at 4pm
The New South Wales Government has announced
Newcastle's heavy rail line will be cut at Wickham on
Boxing Day this year. Will you be glad to see it go?







Page 2
2) Rail divides the CBD from the wharf
7 rail crossings between Newcastle and Hamilton were removed and then a campaign commenced declaring that the rail is dividing the CBD from the wharf. AND they plan to put in 11 crossings after the rail is gone.. duh? Every effort to replace the crossings are resisted strenuously.
3) Rail has caused the CBD to decline;
It's cheaper and convenient to shop at any of the surrounding supermarkets with free parking.
No attempt has been made to revitalise the CBD. Most development has been done on the wharf.
4) Rail is under-utilised:
Anyone who has caught a train to or from Newcastle during peak times or festivals knows that It's standing room only past Hamilton. So would you install a 2 inch sewer pipe at your home?
5) Rail causes road traffic delays:
This reverse logic statement defies anyone to prove it wrong - which is easy. A genuine traffic study will reveal that rail delays are a minimal proportion of road delays on Stewart Avenue and in fact the major cause of delay is the traffic coming to and from Wharf Road. Adding a tram and closing Railway (& Beaumont) Streets into the calculation would make traffic delays far worse.
6) Previous governments made no effort to make a rail decision: What they are actually saying is that; `In spite of our best efforts for decades the state government constantly refused to cut the rail.' The state government has indeed ruled that cutting the rail is not beneficial for the Hunter many times, at huge expense for taxpayers.
7) It must be a good idea because the government supports it: Whenever a new government is elected property speculators rush in to re-educate them as to what they believe is best for themselves and so Sydney people who constantly demonstrate that they know nothing about the Hunter are soon singing from the same hymn sheet as the previous government was.


WHY IS IT SO?

1) Why does the government parrot that the public support cutting rail passenger services when there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary?

2) The government pretends replacing heavy rail with a tram will make a `Better transport system'?


3) Property speculators claim to have been `revitalising Newcastle CBD' for more than 20 years but it just keeps getting worse?

4) Property speculators claim to have been `stopping business from leaving Newcastle CBD' for more than 20 years but they are having the opposite effect?


5) What publicly announced project cannot proceed with the rail continuing to do what it has done for 130 years?

6) There is a huge inquiry into the 4th coal loader but no consultation or valid justification on the lease of the Port, the cutting of rail services to the Hunter and Sydney and the proposal to build huge edifices in the middle of Newcastle East CBD?


7) The government spends much resources wooing the people of Maitland and ignoring the people of Lake Macquarie?






George Paris.
Hon Secretary, Hunter Tomorrow Inc.

I do not agree with the design or the height of this new building. To me it looks like it belongs in a theme park - it is not an attractive building. 10 storeys is also too high for this position. I hope that the former NESCA building will be treated with respect for its heritage value, and not significantly altered.

The future closure of Auckland Street and its redesign as a public space needs to be considered as part of this proposal.

As a temporary closure during construction, it can provide a safe material delivery area away from the major roads and also space for various work sheds, machinery storage and other structures without impacting on other green space in the area.

As a permanent closure, it will provide a space not significantly overshadowed by the new building as other spaces are. A closure can provide a linkage across to the conservatorium located in the old Northumberland County Council building. An outdoor space, properly designed could provide an informal concert space for the auditorium as well.

I think the development will be a great opportunity for the city and its revitalisation.

Over the years I have seen the demise of the city centre from my time as a student at Newcastle High to a returning Novocastrian 7 years ago. I want to bring my children up in a vibrant, modern, progressive city that provides them with ample employment and education opportunities.

This development, along with other developments will encourage even further investment into the city through accommodation / housing, retail and restaurants and a range of other supportive businesses.

I and my family support the NeW Space development.

I object to this applaciation because no adequate provision for transport for Students and staff, Government has announced it will cut heavy rail into Newcatle on 26th Dec 2014, including Civic Station at the new Uni location, and provide buses for a while and ultimatly light rail.

Neither replacemant alternative will be viable, because they will not have the existing conectivity of the heavy rail to the main Uni Campus and much wider areas; and they will not have the same carying capacity

We do not have the adequate infastructure for this bulding - staff and student numbers, because govt is going to cut heavy rail on 26 Dec 2014.

Proposed alternatives will not do the job.

No car parking in the Uni budget, and no Developer contribution to Council, so any extra car parking built by Council will have to be paid by ratepayers

Dear Ms Fu,

Thank you for taking my call today and allowing me to make a late submission on the NeW Space Project, University of Newcastle (SSD
6457A)

While I am employed with Crown Land as a Commercial Officer within the Strategic Projects group, I am writing this submission as a private citizen. I am also disabled. I have end stage degenerative disc disease, corda equina syndrome and am an incomplete paraplegic.

I work in the Crown Lands office at 437 Hunter Street, very close to the NeW Space Project site and rely on private transportation to get to work each day. I have a restricted mobility parking permit and park in the inner city area for the whole day, everyday.

The current plan for the development of this university facility is deeply worrying in terms of the lack of consideration made for parking facilities. The Transport Access Strategy states in Section 4.6 that there are 2,500 underutilised car spaces in peak periods and as such no addition parking supply is required.

Firstly, I do not believe that this figure is accurate and it needs to be independently audited. And secondly, the city limits shown in figure 4.9 encompasses an area that cannot be considered to be within walking distance of the subject site. Five additional car spaces is not enough.

And speaking as a disabled person, the congestion to the inner city areas will result in parking being further restricted so that less mobile people will not be able to park close to places of employment.

Please register my deepest concern about the failure of this proposed development to adequately address parking facilities. Should the application proceed in the current form, I fully intent to engage in community activity to protest the development, highlighting the impact it will have on disabled people.

Thank you for taking the time to consider and record my concerns.

Kind regards,

Adam Dalton

File uploaded below.
Our submission requests further investigation of parking impacts on the CBD.

From: Cooks Hill Community Group Inc
C/- 95 Corlette St
Cooks Hill NSW 2300

19 September 2014

RE: SSD 6457 NeW Space Project, University of Newcastle

Cooks Hill Community Group Inc (CHCG) is a non-political community based group whose objectives include protecting the amenity of the residents of Cooks Hill, a residential suburb immediately to the south of the NeW Space site.

CHCG generally supports the proposed changes to the Conservatorium car park in Laman and Gibson Sts. Despite the loss of on-street parking space in Laman St caused by the new carpark entry, the removal of traffic travelling to the parking area via Charles St is seen to benefit nearby residents. We are also hoping the proposed narrower driveway to the carpark on the Gibson St side will increase on-street parking spaces. The increase in off-street parking spaces for the Conservatorium will help reduce the current parking overflow which impacts nearby residents.

We do raise concerns about the materials used on the exterior of the proposed carpark façade in Gibson St. The proposed "perforated steel mesh" screening is unsympathetic within the context of the surrounding Heritage Conservation Area. We request a more sympathetic treatment be considered.

CHCG does not support the NeW Space proposal due to the complete lack of on-site parking (we note the five proposed spaces are for service vehicles only). We would dispute the claim that 0% of students and staff will travel to the site by car. The demand for student and staff parking at the Callaghan Campus would seem to be totally at odds with these figures. Any honest assessment would recognise that the project will generate significant demand for on-street parking in the broader precinct surrounding NeW Space. This demand for on-street parking will have significant negative impacts the amenity of residents in neighbouring Cooks Hill.

As a minimum, the site needs to provide the required parking to satisfy Newcastle Development Control Plan 2012 - 7.03.02 Parking Provision. Given that the neighbouring new Courthouse, Council Administration and Tax Office buildings all have underground carparks, there is no reason NeW Space cannot do the same and provide on-site parking to help absorb its inevitable impact on the surrounding parking amenity. Alternatively, a less preferred option would be the payment of the required Sec 94 contributions in lieu of the required car parking to allow Newcastle Council to provide off-street parking infrastructure. This financial burden should not fall on Newcastle ratepayers.

Yours sincerely

Glenn Burgess on behalf of
Cooks Hill Community Group Inc

Attached