THE PROPOSAL
AND ITS
IMPACT ON ROSE BAY
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Peter Rae/Fairfaxphotos
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If the proposal is approved:
The existing 52 fixed
berths will increase threefold to 159. The impact
will be:
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More people will come
to the marinas, and more vehicles will service the vessels.
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The concentration of
vessels at the marinas will close up the open water character of
Rose Bay. |
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Over
40 % of the existing view of the Harbour from the heritage listed
Rose Bay Promenade will be blocked or reduced from Cranbrook Road
to Balfour Road. |
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The existing view of
the eastern shore from Rose Bay Park will be reduced with a 'forest'
of masts sticking up above the Dover Heights/Vaucluse skyline. |
The existing 120 active marina swing moorings will decrease
eightfold to 15.
The impact will be:
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Smaller vessels will
have to pay high-density marina prices for fixed berths, or go elsewhere
for anchorages. |
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Rose Bay will undergo
a transformation from a low density maritime anchorage to a high
density ocean-scale vessel storage and maintenance facility. |
Power vessel sizes at fixed berths will increase from the existing
15 -18 metres limit up to 37 metres in length, and up to eight metres
- three storeys high. The impact will be:
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There have occasionally
been some large, long and high vessels moored at swing moorings
in Rose Bay in the past. There will be many more of them, concentrated
at the fixed berths. |
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The consolidation of
vessels at the marinas will present blocks of large vessels that
will appear to be solid when viewed from the water and the land. |
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The charm of the variety
of craft individually moored in the open water of the Harbour would
change to a continuous wall of large boats at the massive Marinas'
berths, when viewed from the water and the land. |
The fixed berth area of the marinas will increase ninefold
from the existing 4,500 square metres to 44,000 square metres. The footprints
will be more than double the area of Rose Bay Park. The impact
will be:
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The marinas will be
solidly jammed with vessel hulls when viewed from the Harbour, the
land and from the seaplanes using Rose Bay as a water airport. |
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Passage of small craft,
like kayaks and other inshore craft, will be difficult and dangerous
when large vessels are manoeuvring in and out of the marinas. |
The fixed berth vessel accommodation will increase from 800
to 3,000 linear metres. It will be six times the length of Sydney Harbour
Bridge. The impact will be:
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The concentration of
vessels in Rose Bay will create a demand for essential marine services
- such as re-fuelling, sewage pump-outs, anti-fouling treatment
of hulls, engine overhauls, chandlery, and vehicle parking for vessel
users and marine service suppliers which will require more infrastructure. |
No vehicle parking
is provided for the existing marinas, and none is proposed for the new
marinas. The impact will be:
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The berthing of large
vessels will add to the demand for professional maritime crewing,
and associated land vehicle access to the marinas. |
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The increasing popularity
of time-share boating will increase intensity and frequency of vessel
use. More people will use more vessels more often, and bring more
vehicles. |
75,000 litres of
fuel will be contained in two tanks located on the hard stand (enlarged
pier) at Rose Bay. The impact will be:
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Land-based supplies
of fuel will compromise safety on the Rose Bay promenade. |
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Water-based supplies
of fuel will enlarge existing community safety concerns related
to the seaplane re-fuelling activity in Rose Bay. |
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As no fuel spillage
barrier is proposed, there is a further risk of pollution. |
The proposed Marina
development would have a large area of the Bay lit up by fixed lighting
on the various berth pontoons. The impact will be:
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The lights of the Marinas
will detract from an appreciation of the Harbour in the evening.
Rose Bay, at night, presents an open, dark view with lights of buildings
on the surrounding shores and a limited number of lights on some
of the individual craft moving or moored on the Harbour and the
existing Marinas. |
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In addition to the fixed
lighting, there is the possibility of entertainment being held on
the vessels, particularly the larger ones at the proposed Marinas'
berths, causing light and noise pollution. |
The Proposal is not
in the Public Interest
For the purposes
of enabling New South Wales Policy Aims to be achieved in relation to
the Foreshores and Waterways Area, the Sydney Regional Environmental Plan
(Sydney Harbour Catchment 2005) adopts the following principles:
(a) Sydney Harbour
is to be recognised as a public resource, owned by the public, to be protected
for the public good,
(b) The public
good has precedence over the private good whenever and whatever change
is proposed for Sydney Harbour or its foreshores,
(c) Protection
of the natural assets of Sydney Harbour has precedence over all other
interests.
The proposed
Rose Bay & Point Piper Marinas fails these principles.
Furthermore,
the Performance Criteria for Landscape Type 10 (which refers to Rose Bay)
of the State Regional Environmental Plan 2005 includes:
"the open nature
of the bays is not lost by over development of the foreshores".
The proposed
development does not satisfy this criterion.
More of how Rose Bay will be affected if the
proposed redevelopment goes ahead
From
the New South Head Promenade
to Shark Island |
From
11 Wunulla Road |
From
the Promenade
towards the North-East |
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Click
a thumbnail to enlarge
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