Police Searching for Man Involved in Alleged Indecent Assault of Woman At Newcastle Hotel

BY ISABEL EVERETT

As part of inquiries, police have since identified and spoken to a man.

Investigations are continuing, anyone with information about the incident is urged to come forward.

Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance.


Earlier: 

Police are appealing for public assistance as part of investigation into an alleged indecent assault in Newcastle hotel in 2019.

On November Saturday 23rd a 34-year-old woman was reportedly at a hotel with friends at the intersection of Watt and Scott Streets, Newcastle, when an unknown male approached her and touched her inappropriately.

The woman left shortly after and notified police.

As a part of their inquiries, investigators have released a CCTV image of a man that may be able to assist with their inquiries.

He’s described as being of Caucasian appearance with blond hair.

Newcastle City PD Crime Manager, Detective Chief Inspector Scott Parker, said on that weekend in November, tens of thousands of visitors were in town for a major sporting event.

“There were thousands of people here during the Newcastle 500 weekend, all visiting our popular pubs and clubs in the Newcastle CBD.

“We believe there are several people who may have been visiting the Newcastle area that weekend that can assist us with our investigation.

“Anyone who was at that venue on Saturday 23 November, please cast your mind back and see if you have any information which may assist Newcastle detectives,” Det Ch Insp Parker said.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. 

Light Rail On Track To Be Laid Over The Weekend

BY MATT JOHNSTON

Following the arrival of 12 kilometres of light rail track in Newcastle last Thursday, preparations are underway to have the track laid by the beginning of next week.A track slab will be poured at the intersection of Hunter and Merewether streets on the weekend, followed by the installation of the first tracks in the embattled project.

Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance is claiming this as an important milestone for the project. He's praised the team involved with the project for their hard work trying to maintain the works schedule. He says "it's all systems go" down at the site.

Mr Constance is claiming it as a win for the Berejiklian government, saying they're determined to just "[get] on with the job".

"It'll be a project that progresses very quickly, and at the end of the day,  the city is going to get a fantastic light rail project that is going to transform the community."

The work is "tracking along nicely", and although nothing can be guaranteed, Mr Constance is confident the rest of the light rail work will be delivered on time. He says this will not only benefit the wider community, but also the businesses that have seen a downturn in profit as a result of construction.

Both the Andrew Constance and Michael Cassel, program director for Revitalising Newcastle, are urging people to support the affected businesses. To show Novocastrains the CBD is still open for business, Revitalising Newcastle will be hosting a Christmas program that features rides and Christmas displays in Wheeler Place, story readings at Newcastle Museum, a treasure hunt, and Santa photos.

For more details, visit the Revitalising Newcastle calendar.

Photo credit: Revitalising Newcastle

Delays in Work on Watt Street

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

Major works to Watt Street in Newcastle are being delayed for another fortnight after storm water drains and unexpected substructures were found underneath the road.

Council is currently working to upgrade the city's oldest road and prepare it for the upcoming V8 Supercars Race in November.

Work on Watt Street will continue until mid-September
[Image: Newcastle Herald]

Event Manager for Newcastle 500, Kurt Sakzewski says the complications were discovered last weekend during the digging process.

"We found that once we started digging that there were areas of this upgrade that weren't what we expected and that even included a storm water line that actually rose up higher than expected," he said.

"That's resulted in some additional engineering work that needs to be done and to actually implement that engineering plan, we're going to need a bit more time to do that properly."

The change means plans to re-route bus services from Hunter Street to King Street will be set back until September 10.

However Newcastle Council CEO, Jeremy Bath says the delays will have absolutely no effect on the Supercars Race or the Light Rail Construction.

"The only delay that will come out of Watt Street is the completion of Watt Street resurfacing and that will be two weeks but that will have absolutely no bearing on the start or the finish of the light rail construction. So, while it is a delay for the businesses and residents that live on Watt Street, it's relatively minimal in terms of its impact on the broader community."

The delay follows one of many setbacks in recent months, including a day long power outage in July.

The works have also left a Bottle-O in Newcastle's CBD without a phone connection for 11 days because NBN technicians couldn't access the source of the problem.

Jeremy Bath says he understands if residents are frustrated by the setback but says the work is actually on track to be finished six weeks early.

"Earlier in the year we actually announced some changes in terms of traffic management that brought forward the completion of Watt Street by 8 weeks. Unfortunately, we've had to claw back 2 of those weeks [but] even though we're now going to finish Watt Street 2 weeks later than what we had been hoping to, it's still 6 weeks earlier than what we had been originally planning."

Work is now expected to be complete by mid-September.

Talks On Greater University CBD Presence

BY MICHAEL LANGHAM

Proposed Development areas. Photo Courtesy Newcastle Herald

Direct negotiations between the University of Newcastle, Hunter Development, UrbanGrowth NSW and the NSW Government have begun to assess opportunities to expand the Universities presence in Newcastle's CBD.

The focus of development negotiations are parcels of land in the Honeysuckle area and a section of the heavy rail corridor in the Civic precinct.

The direct dealing builds upon the relationship established under the Memorandum of Understanding, agreed in 2015.

Planning Minister ROB STOKES says"the NSW Government sees compelling benefit in having a greater university presence in the city centre as a key influencer in the city's renewal."

Newcastle CBD conflict of interest

Greens Councillor, Michael Osbourne, has accused the State Government of conflict of interest regarding Newcastle's CBD planning.

The NSW Government has appointed developer Urban Growth NSW to coordinate the planning in the CBD but Councillor Osbourne argues planning should be carried out by the Newcastle community.

Some community members are concerned proposed towers will obscure the Cathedral and should be moved to Newcastle West.

Newcastle Inner City Residents Alliance is meeting 7pm tonight at City Hall to discuss the matter.