Lake Macquarie Council's record $280 million spend

BY JARROD MELMETH

A record $280 million will be spent next financial year under a 2018/19 Operational Plan, Lake Macquarie Council has decided.

Roads and recreational facilities will benefit most from the strategy, which will see $31 million spent on road works and $4 million funnelled into parks and playgrounds.

Construction of Belmont Baths; Charlestown Skate Park; Pelican Boat Ramp and the completion of the Pasterfield Sports Complex at Cameron Park will all be achieved with a $100 million commitment.

Mayor Kay Fraser said the size of the budget reflects growth in the region, with 205,000 people now living in the LGA.

"We've had a large number of development applications in the city, " Mayor Fraser said, "we can see building works going everywhere...so with the developer contributions (our Section 94 money coming in) and Council contributing to that, it's giving us the capacity to deliver these important projects."

Kay Fraser believes the community will be pleased with the spending, given extensive consultation has been carried out.

"A budget was put out on public exhibition for people to have a look at and comment on it - so it's very much a community budget plan," she said. 

Charlestown Skate Park is one of the projects identified in the Operational Plan. 

Bush goes up in Flames in Cameron Park

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Fire crews have extinguished a blaze at Cameron Park early this morning.

Firefighters were called to Springvale Circuit at 4am, after half an acre a bush went up in flames.

No properties were threatened and it took about an hour to extinguish the flames.

Gun Found During Vehicle Search At Cameron Park

BY IAN CROUCH

A 41-year-old man is assisting police with inquiries after a gun was found during a vehicle stop at Cameron Park early Friday morning.

Patrolling police pulled over a car with four people on board on Dunbar Road at about 2.00am.

A search of the vehicle allegedly uncovered a gun on the back seat along with a small amount of drugs believed to be ice and a laser pointer.

It's not clear who owns the weapon and investigations are continuing.

New recreational centre under construction at Cameron Park

BY BROOKE HEINZ

Construction has now begun on a new community centre and recreational facilities at Cameron Park in Lake Macquarie.

The new centre, named the Pasterfield Sports Complex, will include a sports field, multi purpose building, playgrounds, exercise equipment, and a skate park.

Artist rendering of the skatepark at Pasterfield Sports Complex.

Developed to facilitate the growing population of Lake Macquarie, the $15 million project is funded by levies under Section 94 Development Contributions.

"This project is fully funded  Development Contributions, and they are funds that developers pay to council for the provision of community infrastructure to support the growing community," Council's Manager Community Planning, John Ferguson, explained.

Artist rendering of multipurpose building in Pasterfield Sports Complex.

Ferguson said residents can expect the "usual" disruptions associated with construction.

"It won't have any real impact on the community apart from the usual impact of potential noise and other issues associated with construction, but they're managed very carefully under the planning conditions and the contractors are very aware of minimising any impact to the community," Ferguson said.

Construction is expected to be completed in mid-2018.

Cameron Park pursuit

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

A driver is accused of trying to run down police before leading them on a pursuit at Cameron Park.

Just before 11pm last night, officers dove out of the way of a Holden Commodore ute on Craighall Street before the car sped off.

Officers pursued the car to West Wallsend where it was driven into the bush before going over an embankment and into a small dam.

The driver wasn't alone, he and a passenger then fled on foot but were rounded up a short time later by a police dog.

The driver is now facing several charges.

Finks bikie gang raids

BY JARROD MELMETH

Police have raided five Hunter properties in Thornton, Lambton, Branxton, Cameron Park and Kearsley this morning with alleged links to the Finks bikie gang.

The raids follow a brawl at the Fire Station Hotel in Wallsend last Friday where it's alleged men with links to the Finks were involved in a brawl with several other men.

The Cameron Park property is believed to be the clubhouse of the gang.

New Roundabout in Cameron Park Impacting on Traffic

BY BRIDGET GUNN

The construction of a new roundabout in Cameron Park is continuing to impact traffic conditions on Northlakes Drive and Minmi Road.

Motorists should be aware of the changes to traffic conditions and exercise caution when driving in the area, says Council's Transport Planning Coordinator Marc Desmond.

"The traffic has had to detour away from the area to turn right in or right out of Northlakes Drive because of the continuing works that are occurring. It probably puts additional impacts on local surrounding streets, but people seem to be working it out," says Desmond.

"The roundabout will be a great asset to the area, it will facilitate traffic movement into and out of Northlakes Drive along Minmi Road."

Proposed Image of the Roundabout in Cameron Park
Source: Lake Macquarie City Council