Pittwater Life August 2023 Issue

News
SEEN…
If you have a Development Application
stuck in the system,
you’ll be interested to hear
that Pittwater Ward Councillor
Miranda Korzy is looking into
staff changes at Council, having
identified what appears to
be a high turnover of planning
staff. Ms Korzy said: “Turnover
of planners appears high,
with a loss of nine staff from
nearly 60 employed in only six
months, when the Australian
Bureau of Statistics figures for
turnover of professional staff
across Australia per year is
22 per cent. The question is:
is this just a blip, normal for
Council planners, or a wider
trend on Council?”… The future of the
Avalon Customer Service Centre will be discussed at the next
Council meeting on August 22. In May, a staff report recommended
Council transition out of face-to-face service at the
Centre by 30 June 2023. Debate was deferred until the first
available meeting attendance by new Pittwater Ward Councillor
Karina Page… Last month’s item about Council scrutinising the
(illegal) practice of advertising vehicles for sale along Pittwater
Rd at Collaroy, which has flow-on effects for the same practice
on Newport Hill, hit a nerve with the community, who lodged a
whopping 899 submissions on Council’s website between June
16 and the closing date of July 23. Council is now poring over
the submissions before it determines next steps. We’ll keep you
posted.
HEARD…
Anxious to minimise risks of another failed commercial arrangement,
Council has declined to accept any of the tenders
received for the lease of the café and restaurant at Avalon
Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Instead, it has initiated a “suckit-and-see”
process that will hopefully see the site – boasting
arguably Pittwater’s jewel in the crown vista – resume full
hospitality. The café has been a ghost venue for more than two
years since former operator Trippas White Group closed shop
before its lease ended. Council is now in talks with Aimelie Pty
Ltd (Emilie Mathel, trading as Guinguette Café Bistro Francais)
to operate just the café for six months, whereafter an evaluation
will take place. At that time Council will open negotiations
with Aimelie to lease the restaurant; if unsuccessful, Council
will invite fresh tenders for the restaurant. Council said Emilie
Mathel had demonstrated strong industry experience and the
capability to deliver the desired tender outcomes – as well as
a thorough understanding of the project risks. (Interestingly,
following our enquiry, Council confirmed Aimelie Pty Ltd does
not currently have another business in Australia; this is their
first foray.) Council’s Louise Kerr told us: “Council and the
community want to see a successful operation at the Avalon
Surf Life Saving Club site. I can confirm that the Council resolution
aims to minimise risks with future operations. We will
provide more information on the new operator when negotiations
are completed.” But what of the function space that was
previously shared by the Surf Club? Council explained that in
the past, Trippas White had the first right of refusal on a Friday,
Saturday or Sunday to book and use the community function
room adjacent to the restaurant. Now, the Club has control
and management of the community function room. Once the
restaurant is occupied, the Club is being encouraged to approach
the restaurant for catering
services over the adjoining
community function room. The
Surf Club told us they will not
be saying anything until Council
has appointed an operator.
It is hoped that negotiations
for Stage 1 (the café) will be
completed before the end of August.
So there we have it: a new
French café, and restaurant, for
Avalon. Maybe. Fingers crossed
it works out!
ABSURD…
As in, absurd it has come to this: Fed up with the insufficient
framework of the Avalon Shared Spaces Trial survey on
Northern Beaches Council’s website, the Avalon & Palm Beach
Business Chamber is running its own community survey. The
Chamber says their survey is designed to capture “genuine
feedback” from community members about the changes that
have been made to traffic patterns since the Avalon Parade/
Old Barrenjoey Road intersection ‘Shared Spaces Trial’ commenced
at the beginning of the year. “We undertook to gather
feedback ourselves, after recognising that the Council’s survey
lacks important/pertinent questions about traffic and the real
changes that have occurred, including parking and bus stop
changes,” the executive told us. They also noted the survey on
Council’s ‘Your Say’ page failed to identify the number of submissions
lodged, making it impossible to gauge interest from
the community – something that is included in all other Your
Say matters. The Chamber’s survey will conclude on October
1 – the day the trial period ends before its evaluation. You can
view the Chamber’s survey via the QR code (above) or visit
avalonpalmbeachbusinesschamber.com.au; they intend to table
the results and provide a full report to Council.
26 AUGUST 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991