Campbelltown mayor George Brticevic has slammed a misinformation campaign from “faceless people’’ and “keyboard warriors’’ on council plans to reclassify Bradbury Park from community to operation land.
Speaking at the council’s first meeting of 2021 on Tuesday evening, Cr Brticevic said he wasn’t surprised to see the claims being made on social media.
“I found it absolutely unbelievable that these faceless people would go on the internet and say that we were changing the classification of the land so we could sell it,’’ he said.
“We’re spending $31 million building the fantastic Campbelltown Billabong on the site, so why would we want to sell it is beyond me.
“It’s also beyond me why these keyboard warriors would even infer we are trying to sneak it through the dark of night – it’s just unbelievable.
“We are changing the classification of the land from community to operational so we are able to boost the Billabong with commercial opportunities.
“Making the land operational means we can have cafes, restaurants and businesses – it’s about generating income for the Billabong and to provide services,’’ Cr Brticevic said.
A report to council said the Local Government Act specifies that community land is council land made available for use by the general public such as parks, reserves and sports grounds.
“Operational land is generally council land that facilitates the functions of council. Typically, operational land would not be open to the general public such as works depot or council garage and could be sold without the need for public comment,’’ the report said.
“There are no plans, however, to either sell the land on which will be located this important community facility or to prevent the public from accessing the facility,’’ the report stated.
“The Local Government Act places restrictions on the management of community land which may make any future kiosk or related commercial enterprise difficult to establish and it is considered that to maximise the future flexibility of the site and the ability to take opportunities as they arise that the land is best classified as operational land.’’
A confidential report of the council plans to reclassify the land at Apex Park and Bradbury Park from community land to operational land went before the independent Campbelltown Local Planning Panel last December.
Following a site inspection, including of the progress of the Billabong works, the Panel said that reclassification of land would allow great flexibility in the options for future management of the Billabong.
The reclassification of land would also allow council to potentially investigate options for other uses that seek to complement the Campbelltown Billabong.
“To ensure the public have an appropriate level of scrutiny in regards to this decision, a public meeting with an independent chairperson should be held in regards to this planning proposal, post gateway determination.’’
Council voted to proceed with the reclassification of the land.
