Newcastle Rail Corridor Rezoning Approved

BY IAN CROUCH

Newcastle City Council has given the green light to rezoning the former heavy rail corridor.

Greens Councillor, John Mackenzie was the only councillor to speak on the issue at last night's meeting who argued there was no evidence the land would not be needed for future transport needs and questioned the objectivity of 137 submissions in support of the rezoning.

The decision clears the way for a mix of open space, university buildings and residential and commercial buildings along the corridor between Worth Place and Watt Street.

Hunter Development Corporation CEO, Michael Cassel has welcomed the decision.

“Newcastle is undergoing enormous change and Council is embracing this in its decision making to realise its vision of a smart, liveable and sustainable city. These decisions are not always popular and often they are difficult, but they are essential to creating an activated city that attracts people, tourism, jobs and enhances liveability,” he said.

He also stressed that any proposed building on the corridor after it's rezoned would be subject to the usual development approvals process which includes imput from the community.

The rezoning application will now be submitted to the NSW Depart of Planning and Environment for consideration.

The Newcastle Rail Corridor At Market Street Before and After With An Artist's Impression Of What It Could Look Like Picture: the herald.com.au

  

A Compromise Sought for The Store Building

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle Greens councillor John Mackenzie will tonight be asking council stand up for the city's working-class heritage.

Councillor Mackenzie will be moving a motion at Newcastle City Council's meeting to keep the facade of The Store building in Newcastle West intact and incorporate it into the state government's proposed bus interchange for the site.

He said they're not calling for the interchange not to be built altogether, they just want a compromise that works for everyone.

"We're not even suggesting that the whole of the building stay, there's a compromise here and that compromise is the opportunity to keep the facade and to build around it in a way that creates a hybrid that's something old and something new and points to the future direction of Newcastle."

The Store, formerly known as the Newcastle Co-operative Store was built in 1898 and was a thriving commercial entity in the heart of the city.

There's an immense amount of community support for the building - community consultation found 84% of submissions supported keeping the Store, 62% of those submissions called for the facade to be retained and incorporated into the interchange.

"The Store has an enormous history in Newcastle. The whole city basically was built on the back of the Newcastle Co-operative Store and that building even though it doesn't look how it did in its heyday it really represents an important moment in the political history of our city."

"Just to demolish it entirely I think does a disservice to the importance of the working class history of Newcastle. I think that's an important symbol and an important monument and it's up to council to defend the heritage of this city, we don't want generic buildings for the entirety of the city," said Councillor Mackenzie.

Image nbnnews.com.au