Community Members Urged To Have Their Say On Proposed Minmi Road Upgrades

BY OLIVIA DILLON

Newcastle Council is seeking feedback from local residents on its plan to widen and upgrade Minmi Road.

The proposal would see the notorious stretch widened to two lanes in each direction from Summerhill Road to Maryland Drive. 

It's also set to improve access for cyclists along the busy stretch, by implementing a separated lane on the road, as well as a shared pathway. 

Residents around Wallsend, Maryland, Fletcher, and Minmi, are being encouraged to give feedback on the plan by the 17th of November, 2023. 

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes, says residents have been calling for something to be done about traffic congestion in Minmi for years.  

"The first commitment of this newly-elected council was to really push ahead and invest in the widening of Minmi Road," she said. 

Cr Nelmes also said she expects the construction period will be disruptive to motorists. 

 

The project is expected to be delivered by 2025-26. 

(From Left) Dehanna Richardson, Nuatali Nelmes, and Callum Pull

 

BREAKING! Pedestrian Hit by a Car in Maryland

BY OLIVIA DILLON

NSW Ambulance paramedics are responding to reports a man has allegedly been hit by a car in Maryland. 

It's reported the incident took place at about 11:45am this morning on Minmi Road near Warkworth Street. 

The man struck is said to be in his 50s, and has sustained a serious head injury, becoming unconscious after he was hit. 

It's reported his colleagues provided first aid before ambulance crews arrived. 

He's been taken to John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition. 

UPDATE! Police Appeal For Help To Find Missing Maryland Teen

 BY IAN CROUCH

 Police have advised Max was found safe and well on Monday afternoon. 

They've thanked the community for their assistance.

EARLIER

Police are appealing for help to find a missing teenager Maryland.

15-year-old Max Smit was last seen this morning (Monday 12 December, 2022) in Maryland and police hold serious concerns for his safety.

He was wearing a brown hoodie, black shoes with purple and yellow shoelaces and was carrying a black Nike backpack.

Max is known to travel by public buses.

If you've seen him or know where he is, contact Waratah Police or Crime Stoppers.

Missing teen Max Smit

Woman taken to hospital after Maryland garage fire

BY DAKOTA TAIT

A woman's been treated for smoke inhalation and a broken leg after escaping a fire at a garage at a Maryland home on Sunday night.

About 9:30pm, crews from Wallsend and Minmi were called to an address in Sandycroft Street after reports of a building fire. 

Crews managed to contain the fire before it could spread to the neighbouring residential properties.

Two firefighters made their way to the rear of the property and attacked the fire from within and externally to prevent fire extension to the neighbouring home. 

The fire was extinguished after a few minutes.

It's believed to have been caused by an unattended candle. 

The resident was taken to hospital by paramedics.

Man To Face Court Over Siege At Maryland

BY IAN CROUCH

It's been revealed the man at the centre of a siege at Maryland tried to live stream the incident on Facebook.

New Limited reports police acted quickly with the social media giant to take down the live stream from the internet.

A 30-year-old man is due to face Newcastle Local Court today (Friday 3 July 2020) accused of a string of offences including shooting at police with a paintball gun, causing superficial injuries to a sergeant and constable.

Heavily armed police Police surrounded a home on Warkworth Street at about 9.30am on Thursday and were allegedly confronted by the man armed with a knife while two women and two children were inside.

He eventually surrendered about two hours later.

Heavily armed police surrounded a home in Maryland Picture: dailytelegraph.com.au

UPDATE! Man in Custody After Major Police Operation at Maryland

 BY ISABEL EVERETT

A man is now in police custody, following a large scale police operation in Maryland. 

There were reports a man was refusing to leave his home on Warkworth Street off Minmi Road.

Police remain on scene and the street, and surrounding streets have been closed by tactical response units. 

Wallsend state Labor MP Sonia Hornery issued a warning to residents on Facebook.

She wrote, “Please avoid the area and if you live in the area, remain inside with your doors locked."

Police Operation Underway at Maryland, Residents Warned to Stay Inside and Avoid the Area

BY ISABEL EVERETT

A man has reportedly surrendered himself to Police, following a large scale police operation in Maryland. 

There were reports a man was refusing to leave his home on Warkworth Street off Minmi Road.

The street, and surrounding streets have been closed by tactical response units. 

Wallsend state Labor MP Sonia Hornery issued a warning to residents on Facebook.


She wrote, “Please avoid the area and if you live in the area, remain inside with your doors locked."

BREAKING! Crews Battling House Fire At Maryland

BY IAN CROUCH

Fire has destroyed a house fire at Maryland.

Emergency services were called to Wyndrow Parade at about 4.20am on Wednesday to find the two level brick home engulfed in flames.

Newcastle Fire Command says a woman and three children self evacuated and no-one's been injured.

Crews from Wallsend, Minmi, Cardiff, Lambton and the ladder platform from Newcastle took about 90 minutes to fully extinguish the blaze are at the scene.

The roof of the house collapsed at the height of the blaze.

It's been a busy night for fire crews with two people taken to hospital with smoke inhalation after their brick and tile home on Vogele Place at Raymond Terrace went up in flames at about 8.00pm on Tuesday.

The home has been destroyed.

Meanwhile a fibro and tile garage has been destroyed by fire at Cardiff.

Crews from 6 stations managed to stop the flames from spreading to the adjoining home on John Street just before 8.30pm on Tuesday night.

Man Arrested At Maryland Over Alleged Sydney Shooting

BY IAN CROUCH

A man is due to face court today (Wednesday 8 April, 2020) following his arrest during a police operation at Maryland.

Officers from the Tactical Operations Group executed a search warrant at a home on Maryland Drive on Tuesday morning.

They arrested a 28-year-old man wanted over a shooting at Lansvale in Sydney's south-west earlier this year.

He's been charged with five offences including shoot with intend to murder and has been refused bail to front Newcastle Local Court today.

A further two search warrants were executed at Mayfield and Maryland where a 27-year-old woman was arrested on outstanding traffic offences.

She's been granted conditional bail to face Newcastle Local Court on June 25.

Tactical Response Group Officers Arrest A 28-year-old man at Maryland

Glendore Public School Has Fast-tracked Fence

BY MEGHAN RICHARDSON

Construction on a much needed security fence for Glendore Public School has been fast tracked after an announcement in Parliament yesterday.

The Maryland school has suffered numerous break ins over the years due to the lack of a fence.

Minister for Education, Sarah Mitchell announced the fence would be constructed during the 2019/2020 financial year.

Ms Mitchell said the government planned to fast-track construction due to 'ongoing' issues caused by break-ins.

The break-ins had caused significant damage to the school with a quarter of a million dollars worth of property damage.

After years of lobbying for a security fence, Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery says the new fence will mean peace of mind and security for parents and students.

"The Glendore community was fed up with the number of break ins that had occured," Ms Hornery said. "The fence for Glendore public means a lot more safety and security and some piece of mind for the teachers, students, and Glendore community."

She did, however, criticise the government for their delay in building the fence.

"When you're talking about up to $250 000 worth of damage that occurred, its natural that the parents will wonder why the government hadn't been quicker."

Ms Hornery said her colleague Anthony D'Adam had the opportunity to put the question to Minister Sarah Mitchell in the Legislative Council on Thursday.

Ms Hornery met with Sarah Mitchell after question time to confirm the details for construction.

Image Source: Newcastle Herald 

Newcastle Police Dog Tracks Driver After Reckless Car Pursuit

BY LILLY HAINES

A 36-year-old Wallsend Man has been arrested overnight following a police pursuit from Lambton to Maryland.

At around 12:20am this morning police attempted to stop a white Holden Barina on Newcastle Road in New Lambton, suspecting passengers traveling in the vehicle were not wearing seatbelts.

When the vehicle failed to stop, police engaged in a pursuit which led through Jesmond and Wallsend reaching speeds of 90km/h in streets with a limit of 60km/h.

The vehicle continued to drive in a reckless manner with passengers in the vehicle proceeding to throw objects at the pursuing police vehicle.

Police ceased pursuit of the vehicle due to safety concerns when the vehicle increased its speed to 110km/h on Minmi Road in Wallsend.

A short time later police received information the vehicle had stopped and the occupants had fled at Shortland Close in Maryland.

Police attended the area with the Dog Squad to establish a perimeter, where police dog 'Ulrich' and his handler commenced tracking the male driver.

Ulrich found the man attempting to hide in the front yard of a property in Prospero Street.

He was in possession of a knife and cloth manipulated for use as a face mask as well as a small amount of the prohibited drug 'ice'.

The man was arrested and taken to Waratah Police Station where he gave officers a fake name before police confirmed his identity using fingerprints and established he was currently on parole until 2021 having only been released from custody two weeks ago.

The parolee was charged with four offences including point pursuit - drive recklessly, learner driver not accompanied by licensed driver, custody of knife in a public place, and possession of a prohibited drug.

The man was refused bail and is set to appear at Newcastle Local Court today.

Image: Newcastle City Police

Lights Still Out for Maryland Residents

BY CATHERINE ALLEN

UPDATE:

Ausgrid said in a statement to 2NURFM that crews were on site yesterday (April 16) working on the 17 street lights which have been out in the Maryland area.

"The outage was caused by a fault on the underground cable which supplies power to these streetlights.

Power was restored to the lights yesterday afternoon as crews were able to bypass the damaged underground cable but the bypass means the lights will remain on 24 hours a day until we can get in to make the permanent repairs to the underground cables.

Ausgrid would like to thank residents for their patience as we work to rectify the issue," A Spokesperson said.

EARLIER:

Residents in more than 100 homes across Maryland and Fletcher have been left in the dark for over a month as streetlight outages remain unresolved.

Archer Crescent, Ajax Avenue, Blackwood Court, Delray Crescent and parts of Maryland Drive are the streets presently affected by the outage.

Electricity giant Ausgrid has failed to respond to residents concerns prompting local MP Sonia Hornery to get involved.

"There are more than 100 homes in five streets that are without a single working street light and it simply isn't good enough that Ausgrid has left them like this," said Ms Hornery.

"Despite dozens of attempts by residents and my office to get an answer out of Ausgrid, they have not provided any details or responded to any emails."

A recent spike in criminal activity in the area is only adding to locals concerns, as the lack of street lighting provides criminals with the perfect opportunity to commit their illegal acts.

"We have seen a recent spate of crimes in the area with brazen criminals roaming the streets in the early hours of the morning, searching and breaking into cars."

Sonia Hornery has vowed to take further action to get the situation resolved and plans to take the issue to parliament.

Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP - via The Guardian

$150k Fraudster Arrested in Maryland

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

A Maryland man has been charged with fraud offences after swindling $150,000 from unsuspecting Novocastrians.

It's alleged the 36-year-old has completed several contracts with people who had no knowledge the man was using their details to buy a huge sum of tickets and merchandise.

The man was arrested around 2 o' clock yesterday morning in his Maryland home.

He has been charged with five counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception and has an outstanding warrant which is fraud related. 

Calls For Increased Police Resources Following Maryland Robbery

BY MADELAINE MCNEILL

Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery will write to Police Minister Troy Grant to request more resources for local police services following an armed robbery at Maryland Tavern last night.

The latest in a string of robberies saw four armed men enter the venue just after 10:30pm, threatening staff before making off with a sum of cash. They were arrested a short time later.

Extra patrols in Wallsend have had a positive impact on the community in recent months, but Sonia Hornery says local police are struggling with a lack of staff and resources.

The MP says last night's work was down to the quick work of police officers but suggested the result could have been different had the officers not been nearby.

"You can imagine if the police are responding to a crime in Stockton and they need to respond to a major assault in the Maryland area, that's a long way for them to travel."

This is not the first time Ms Hornery has contacted the Police Minister about this issue, which she believes isn't being taken seriously.

"Over the last several rounds of allocations, the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie commands have been granted negligible staff increases while the area continues to grow in population," Ms Hornery said.

"I call on the Minister for Police to take a long, hard look at the Government's police staffing and resource allocation priorities."

The four men involved in last night's robbery were scheduled to appear at Newcastle Local Court today.

Image source: abc.net.au

Planned power outage attracts the ire of Wallsend MP

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

Representations made today by Wallsend MP, Sonia Hornery, on behalf of the Maryland Caltex Service Station may be unwarranted.

Ms Hornery criticised a move by Ausgrid to conduct a planned power outage in the Maryland area on Thursday. She feared the Service Station would be forced to close, jeopardising $100,000 worth of stock and potentially causing the business to lose over $40, 000.

She said she understands the power needs to be switched off on Thursday, however believes Ausgrid and their accredited service provider, Transelect, need to do more to ensure minimal impact on affected businesses.

It is understood the Maryland Caltex has obtained a generator and will be open tomorrow.

The planned outage comes due to the need for a new business in Wallsend to be connected to the network, and is scheduled to occur between 8am and 5pm tomorrow- however Phillipa Wheeler from Ausgrid expects it will not take the full nine hours to complete the works.

She says there are around 300 residential and business customers who will be subject to this power outage, and all have been given nine days notice and told to find alternate power sources during this time.

"I believe everyone who needs to has made arrangements...I believe the service station will be open tomorrow.

"That's the reason notification is provided for planned outages, so businesses can make plans to cope with interruptions."

Caltex Maryland. Source: Google Maps.