Wyee Paper Subdivision

As part of our preparation for landowner group meetings later this year to discuss the Development Plan, lot requirements and options, we are contacting each landowner.

We have been in touch with almost everyone on our landowner contact list with available phone numbers and will now be reaching out to those on email and mailing address only. We would really like to speak with you over the phone or via email to talk about your receipt and preferences for project information, ability to attend a virtual meeting and answer any question you may have about the paper subdivision and next steps.

If you haven't heard from Council, please contact Joanne Dunkerley on 4921 0416, Samantha Hardie on 4921 0492 or Karen Marples on 4921 0326. We are hoping to speak with all remaining landowner groups in the coming weeks.

Kind regards,

The Project Team

Over the last two months, we have been finalising the electrical and stormwater designs with Ausgrid and Hunter Water with the intention of providing these reports with the detailed engineering designs for the development plan to the quantity surveyors within a few weeks. There has been an anticipated delay due to Covid-19 restrictions and work impacts for Council and external agencies, however we are almost at the end of the design process. The quantity surveyors will prepare detailed cost estimates based on the engineering designs for roads and infrastructure. From here, we will be able to determine the requirements for each lot in the paper subdivision.

We have been able to assess communication and meeting requirements under Covid-19 restrictions and social distancing practices to meet or virtually meet with landowners in the coming months. As mentioned in the last Newsletter, Council is calling landowners to discuss preferred meeting options so we can talk about the development plan, lot requirements and individual circumstances. If you haven’t received a call yet, we will continue to call throughout July. If you haven’t heard from us by Friday 31 July, please contact Council on 4921 0333 and ask for Samantha Hardie or Karen Marples, we will assist you further and ensure we have the correct contact details going forward. We will continue to give you a progress update on this process.

At this stage, the inspection program is still on hold. We will advise landowners as soon as we confirm when this will recommence. When the inspections and reports are complete, there will be a significant amount of time allowed to complete any required changes.

If you would like any further information, please contact the project team via Ask the Project Team a question.

Stay safe,

The Project Team

The latest Wyee West Community Newsletter is now available. The newsletter provides an update on Council's COVID-19 response, progress on the draft Development Plan, changes to the inspection program, keeping you safe and our communication with you.

There is an opportunity to tell us what further information about the paper subdivision will be helpful to you. We are developing a series of fact sheets to make information more accessible.

We have also created a project snapshot to help outline the planning process.

If you would like any further information on the project, don't hesitate to get in contact with our project team or email [email protected].

Happy reading.

The project team have been working on a newsletter update for landowners for Q1 2020 that was expected to be sent out late March. We have experienced minor delays with the newsletter due to some work disruption and impacts in response to the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic. The team has worked to resolve these issues and progress the newsletter. It will soon be available online, through email notification and mailed out. Please take this opportunity to update your contact details and provide an email address for electronic correspondence. We will update this post when the newsletter is available to download.

This project is very important to Council and work has been continuing behind the scenes to progress development solutions and the draft Development Plan. In the coming months, we aim to be in touch with all landowner groups to discuss the Plan. If you could please take the time to update or confirm your contact details, it will ensure we will be able to reach you and connect about the project.

There were a number of additional Council staff at the meeting to provide updates and introductions from the project team, sharing the commitment to the development plan and helping to progress this project forward.

Samantha Hardie has taken over as Project Coordinator and is looking forward to working with the landowners, the Wyee community and other stakeholders to deliver a resolution for the paper subdivision. Samantha is a Strategic Landuse Planner with Council and although being more behind the scenes for the project in recent years, she’s been part of the project team since 2017. Samantha can be reached on 4921 0492 or email [email protected].

Manager Integrated Planning Wes Hain will continue to be an ongoing member of the internal project team and he reaffirmed the Council Senior Leadership Team’s commitment to the project. Wes worked to transfer the subdivision roads to public roads and has been across the complexities, and involved in trying to resolve many of the challenges, faced by the project. Wes shared the project’s importance to Council and the continued investment of resources into the project.

Council’s building surveyors Greg Brook and Michael Corrigan gave an update on the dwelling inspections. Six have been completed so far with a further 29 to be undertaken. Michael will be completing the inspections and information on dates and reporting will be provided to onsite landowners soon. Council reassured landowners that they would contact the six landowners that have had inspections undertaken to let them know more information about the process and reporting. Council also reassured that the inspections and reporting happening now would allow a significant amount of time to complete any required changes to infrastructure.

The group discussed bushfire risks and Council will update the website and distribute information on actions that landowners could practicably be doing to reduce the risk. Representative of the Wyee Seventh Day Adventist Church, Barry Chapman, was a guest and he offered to liaise with the local Rural Fire Service department about including the paper subdivision in their management of the area.

A set of interim engineering plans were available to review and a number of challenges including the gas pipeline and stormwater drainage were discussed. The group also discussed energy services and the opportunity for more sustainable or eco-living infrastructure options. The proposed draft engineering plans are expected to be received by Council at the end of the month. Once received, Council will have to opportunity to review and respond. When the plans reflect the best options and outcomes possible, the project team will consult with this reference group and landowner groups.

Once the engineering detailed design is completed, Council will engage quantity surveyors to prepare detailed cost estimates for the roads and infrastructure.

The Reference Group was also asked to consider how Council could improve engagement with landowners. Much of the activity over the last 12 months has been undertaken by consultants and there were few opportunities to share new information with landowners. Council has made a commitment to deliver more regular communication to landowners through mailouts and email and have more information available on the website including frequently asked questions (FAQs) and fact sheets.

Share your communication preferences or an idea for engaging landowners via Ask the project team a question.

Andrew Donald expressed his thanks to the group for their valued contribution to the project over his time as Project Coordinator. It has been one of the more complex and rewarding projects of his career at Council and he wished everyone the very best going forward. We congratulate Andrew on his new opportunity and wish him every success.

The project team is expecting that the engineering design work for the paper subdivision will be completed in early 2020.

Unfortunately we've experienced a few challenges along the way associated with existing major gas infrastructure and limitations on downstream drainage assets, however, we've been working through these challenges with our consultants.

Once the design work is complete, Council will engage quantity surveyors to accurately estimate construction costs.

This information will allow us to progress feasibility testing of infrastructure costs.

Our compliance staff are continuing to monitor the area for any new unauthorised development and in some instances are working with current landowners to remove waste and unapproved structures.

Further building inspections will take place in the new year in order to determine whether existing dwellings are capable of meeting minimum required safety standards.

We will continue to keep landowners informed as work on this important project progresses.

Following on from the presentation by CSIRO’s Dr John Ward, Science Director – Grids and Energy Efficient Systems at the September meeting, John returned this month to present his findings of alternative energy supply options for the Wyee paper subdivision.

CSIRO investigated and analysed three alternative options:

1. Business as usual, whereelectricity infrastructure is built to Ausgrid specifications and owned by Ausgrid.

2. Subdivision is serviced by a private grid, with asingle point of connection to the Ausgrid network and landowners own the electricity distribution infrastructure (i.e. wires and transformers) within the subdivision.

3. Private grid and automated energy demand management, is the same as option 2, but also includes smart technology to automatically regulate energy to minimise peak loads and the need to import (or export) electricity from outside the private grid.

As part of this process, they looked at the solar photovoltaic hosting capacity, household energy use characteristics, network tariff options and energy management options, and the investigations concluded that all three options are viable.

Council staff are currently reviewing the tender submissions for the complete engineering design for roads, drainage and reticulated water and sewer, power and other associated infrastructure for the subdivision. We hope to award the design contract before Christmas and expect this work to be completed by the middle of next year. This will allow us to get accurate costings and develop funding options, which we can discuss with landowners prior to finalising a development plan and holding a landowner ballot.

We wish all the residents and landowners of the Wyee West Paper Subdivision a safe and merry Christmas and look forward to continuing our work with you in 2019.

The project reached a significant milestone this month, with Council issuing the tender for the complete engineering design for roads, drainage and reticulated water and sewer, power and other associated infrastructure for the subdivision. We hope to award the design contract next month and expect this work to be completed by the middle of next year. This will allow us to get accurate costings and develop funding options, which we can discuss with landowners prior to finalising a development plan and holding a landowner ballot.

We have had consultants prepare a number of studies to help inform subdivision and infrastructure design. These include ecology, archaeology, geotechnical and bushfire.

At November’s meeting, Council’s Chief Building Surveyor, Greg Brook and Principal Building Surveyor Gordon Dryburgh provided an update to the group on how Council’s compliance and building teams will be working together in early 2019 to undertake assessments of existing dwellings, and ascertain which ones may be able to be brought up to a satisfactory level of compliance. Gordon and Greg outlined how they will be looking to use the appropriate building codes for the time that a structure was built, i.e. if it is deemed a structure was built in 1980, the structure will be assessed against the building regulation used at that time, not 2018.

In the coming months, Council is planning on carrying out temporary improvements to a number of unformed roads (namely Pirama, Tulkaba and Karakunba roads) to improve access and trafficability (similar to work carried out on Waropara Road in 2016).

A presentation from CSIRO’s Dr John Ward, Science Director – Grids and Energy Efficient Systems was the highlight of the September meeting, following Council’s engagement of CSIRO Energy Centre to investigate alternative energy supply options for the Wyee paper subdivision.

Over the coming months, CSIRO will be investigating and analysing three alternative options:

1. Business as usual, where electricity infrastructure is built to Ausgrid specifications and owned by Ausgrid.

2. Subdivision is serviced by a private grid, with a single point of connection to the Ausgrid network and landowners own the electricity distribution infrastructure (i.e. wires and transformers) within the subdivision.

3. Private grid and automated energy demand management, is the same as option 2, but also includes smart technology to automatically regulate energy to minimise peak loads and the need to import (or export) electricity from outside the private grid.

CSIRO expects to present findings to reference group in November.

Ongoing compliance monitoring activities are continuing within the subdivision, and there has been some recent success with landowners removing recently erected structures. The planning studies that will inform the design of new infrastructure (including biodiversity, archaeological, bushfire and geotechnical) are progressing well.

Residents were also advised that the Hunter Water Wyee Sewer Scheme has a dedicated consultation site, find out more at: www.yourvoice.hunterwater.com.au/wyee-sewer.