Newsletter - October 2024

This is the October 2024 newsletter for the St Peters Residents Association, representing the Residents of St Peters, College Park, Hackney, Stepney, Maylands, Evandale & Joslin.

The newsletter is available as a PDF for downloading and printing.

Contents

Items that we hope you will find of interest include: -

General Meeting - Trees and Greening

All residents are invited to attend the SPRA General Meeting.
7pm on Wednesday October 16th
in the St Peters Banquet Hall, St Peters Street.

Come along and hear presentations by Council’s Arborist, Matthew Cole
and Manager, Development & Regulatory Services, Geoff Parsons.
Mathew and Geoff will also answer your questions.

Subjects to be covered include: -
Planning requirements for trees in development applications
Recent changes in tree protection legislation
Tree removal and protection in general
Council tree and greening policies
Tree canopy in the area
Street tree pruning
Verge plantings
And more

Remembrance Day Second World War Plaque Unveiling

The South Australian Governor, Her Excellency Frances Adamson AC has agreed to unveil the new Second World War bronze plaque on the St Peters Heroes Memorial in St Peters Street on the afternoon of Remembrance Day, 11th November.

The plaque records the names of 89 men from the former Town of St Peters who died as a result of their service in the Second World War and has been funded by a grant to SPRA from the SA Government’s Anzac Day Commemoration Fund.

The unveiling ceremony at the Memorial is being organised by the NPSP Council and will take place at 2pm on Remembrance Day. All SPRA members are invited to attend the ceremony.

A major part of the project has been to locate and to invite as many descendants as possible. Many of the relatives who have been found have indicated that they will attend, with some coming from interstate.

Are you related to any of those named on the new plaque? See WW2 Names.

Rate Increases 2024-25 Council Budget

The St Peters Residents Association provided numerous submissions to the Council during the budget consultation period, expressing concerns in relation to Council’s proposed 2024-25 budget, and particularly our perception of poor budget management and excessive expenditure, resulting in the need for an average 8.5 % rate revenue increase. Regrettably these submissions fell on deaf ears.

Two examples are the Payneham Memorial Swimming Centre which has blown out from $20 million to $60 million, and anticipated to rise further, and the upgrade of George St between The Parade and Webbe St which has increased from $800,000 to $1.6 million.

Our worst fears were realised when the rate notices arrived with rates in excess of that expected by most SPRA members. A straw poll of residents indicated that for many their rates have gone up between 13% and 17%. Rate rises are capped at 17%, which means these residents will face high rate rises again next year.

Many residents have expressed outrage at what they perceive as misleading information by the Council in not disclosing the likely impact of rate increases for each suburb. Most residents would feel that maintaining a rise in Council rates to modest levels is the single most important service they expect of their elected representatives.

For this reason, they feel particularly let down by their elected representatives in approving some high-cost projects. Elected representatives are being put on notice that if they are not prepared to stand up for their residents, then SPRA will advocate for alternative representation at the next election, supporting candidates who will ensure the shabby treatment of resident feedback during the budget consultation period is not repeated.

Worse, the Council’s Long Term Financial Plan expects that debt levels will remain above $100 million for the next decade, well above recommended levels, and that the annual increase in rate revenue will continue at about 8%. The compounding effect of such large rate increases is unacceptable.

Citizen of the Year

Nominations for the 2025 Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards are now open.

The NPSP Council, in association with the Australia Day Council, is calling for nominations for the following categories:

  • Citizen of the Year.
  • Young Citizen of the Year.
  • Community Event of the Year; and
  • Award for Active Citizenship.

The Australia Day Awards provide recognition to citizens and groups who have given freely of their time, efforts and abilities to promote the wellbeing of the community. The Awards also provide a means of celebration of the achievements of the nominees and to enhance the Australia Day celebrations. For details go to 2025 Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards-

40km/h Speed Zones

Late last year the NPSP Council decided to implement a 40km/h speed limit in the residential streets of Royston Park, Joslin, St Peters, College Park, and Hackney. The implementation requires the approval of the Government, and the proposal is now on the relevant Minister’s desk.
The implementation costs have been included in the Council’s 2024-25 budget. Once Ministerial approval has been given, the work to erect new signage etc will commence, perhaps by the end of this year.

Greater Adelaide Regional Plan

The State Planning Commission has released the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan (GARP) for public consultation. This Plan sets out the zoning changes which lay out where new housing is to be built over the next 30 years. Adelaide’s population is projected to grow by 670,000 by 2051, and planning authorities are required to plan where new housing could be located. Major infrastructure investment will also be needed to support to support this growth.

To SPRA’s relief the former Transport Department car park site near the River Torrens has apparently not been selected as a site for high-rise housing. However, our main roads - Payneham Road, Magill Road, The Parade and Kensington Road - have been selected for multi-storey housing development. The Stepney Triangle, the area bounded by Payneham Road, Nelson Street and Magill Road has been designated as a significant infill area that is suitable for high-rise, high-density redevelopment.

To view the plan, visit the Regional Plan Portal

Comments on the Plan can be provided at Your Say.
Only six weeks public consultation is being provided for this major planning document, with consultation closing on Monday 4 November 2024.
SPRA will be making a submission and welcomes any member input and comments.

'Granny Flat' Code Amendment

The State Planning Commission has released for public consultation the "Future Living Code Amendment". This is a proposed amendment to the State-wide Planning and Design Code.

The document proposes to open up more of our back-gardens and large houses for re-development options. Large houses will be allowed to be subdivided, and more units (once commonly known as “granny flats”) allowed in the rear and side gardens of existing dwellings.

SPRA notes that tree canopy is being lost in the council area, despite the increase in the number of trees on council land, because trees in backyards are being chopped down and many new developments don’t have space for significant trees. The building of “granny flats” in backyards will continue this trend, working against Greening Adelaide's goal of increasing the tree canopy.

Six councils took part in a “study” to push for this “greater flexibility” – Alexandrina, Prospect, Walkerville, Burnside, Campbelltown and Unley. These council areas are the ones to which the Code Amendment will initially apply.

Thankfully our Council did not take part in this project, so the Code Amendment will not affect our area. However, this may change in years to come.

Will this result in the wholesale removal of trees and back-gardens, and residents being forced to share common open space?

The war on our back-gardens continues apace. This proposal can be viewed, and comments made at Future Living.

Facebook Page

SPRA now has a Facebook page where some matters will be posted and where you can leave comments on items that have been posted.

Please follow on your Facebook app.