Shipping container should be removed
Residents in Umina were very disappointed when the Umina Beach Surf Club some time ago placed a poor-looking shipping container on Crown land next to the surf club with no consultation with the council or locals.
Then a couple of years ago they cleared the dune area next to the surf club, once again with no consultation. Their plan was to add two more 64-foot shipping containers on the dune.
After some great work by the Council staff to stop the clearing before the containers arrived, and some local resident lobbying, the surf club realised they needed to go down the proper path of a development application and stick to the land in the park reserve (not the Crown reserve that makes up the beach).
As residents we were extremely relieved to the see the application was approved based on the existing shipping container being removed from the crown land.
But alas we are back to where we started.
We are very disappointed to see that the club has been able to start using the storage extension and complete the landscaping and not remove the shipping container.
There is no stick or carrot now for them to remove it. They can once again ignore the council.
Could the council staff please take immediate steps to remove the shipping container from the dune area and landscape the area where it was?
The Council should just organise its remove itself for the benefit of the community.
It is on a reserve managed by the council.
SOURCE:
Email, 5 Jun 2021
Ben Roberts, Umina