The Georges River Record

Georges River Council has backed an amended plan for the former Oatley Bowling Club at Arthur Hardiman Reserve and asked staff to investigate a shopfront improvement program in Penshurst. Councillors also voted down a heritage enforcement reporting motion.

The Oatley item drew the longest debate. The site at 35 River Road, Oatley, now known as Arthur Hardiman Reserve, has had an adopted master plan and plan of management since 26 July 2021. Five years on, a councillor told the chamber, none of the works had started, with public records showing the works were carried over from the 2021-22 budget into 2022-23, detailed designs were complete by late 2023 but no construction funding was available, and the project was removed from the four-year capital program in June 2025.

An amendment moved by one councillor and seconded by another retained most of the original motion and added to it. The mover of the original motion argued the amendment was a direct negative and asked for it to be ruled out of order. The mayor disagreed, saying the amendment kept most of the requested actions and added additional information, so it was not a direct negative.

The amendment was put to a vote and carried, becoming the motion. The mayor then put the motion to a vote. The excerpt does not record the result of that final vote.

She told the meeting the intersection of Park Road, Yule Street and Bayview Street was dangerous, citing three incidents in recent months, including a collision on 24 September where two cars collided, one flipped onto the footpath and knocked out the give way sign on Bayview Street. She supported the proposed roundabout but said safe pedestrian crossings were still needed, and raised missing footpaths, inconsistent kerb ramps and the lack of a right turn arrow at Park Road and Princes Highway.

A motion to report publicly on heritage enforcement activity under the Georges River Local Environmental Plan 2021 and the Heritage Act 1977 was lost. The mover said council publishes its listed items and interim heritage orders but not one figure about heritage compliance, and asked for a report to the Environment and Planning Committee by March 2027. The chamber heard five votes for and eight votes against, and the mayor declared the motion lost.

Council also moved into a closed confidential session at 10.25pm to consider a property matter, the fit out of Level 2 at 2 Belgrave Street, Kogarah, under Section 10A of the Local Government Act 1993. The general manager told the meeting no correspondence or representations had been received against the closed session. When the meeting reopened, councillors confirmed the recommendation from the closed session and the meeting closed at 10.34pm.