The following is an unpublished letter to the Newcastle Herald:
Geoff McCloy wears a “Rip up the rail” T-shirt, endorses a plan to halt all rail at Wickham, while complaining that we’re not getting light rail into the CBD like Brisbane (H, 13/6).He also hates heritage and other planning guidelines being “shoved down our throats”.
His and Hilton Grugeon’s vision for the CBD is qualified by their clear conflict of interest as major property owners and developers.
They needn’t worry too much about heritage restrictions, given the Planning Minister’s dismemberment of heritage protection legislation and recent decisions, whereby a clear councillor majority have voted against CBD heritage protection and planning standards .
Major CBD problems over the past two decades have been largely the result of speculators who buy cheaply, gain development approval and then sit on empty buildings or vacant land for many years, waiting to on-sell to another speculator.
Add to that, the (often absentee) landlords who would rather see small business go broke or move away rather than impose reasonable rents.Have McCloy or Grugeon ever criticised this ? How about the peak bodies like Hunter Business Chamber, Australian Property Council and Urban Development Institute?
After all, their constituency is responsible.Have any of the above condemned or even mildly criticised the owners of the development-approved former Post Office for letting the building rot since 2002?
Keith Parsons. 18 June 2009
