How to contact the City Visit: City of Sydney, Town Hall House, 456 Kent Street, Sydney Post: GPO Box 1591, Sydney NSW 2001 T: 02 9265 9333 Email: council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au Online: cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au Your councillors are Clover Moore (IND) / Robyn Kemmis (IND) / Robert Kok (IND) / John Mant (IND) / Jenny Green (IND) / Irene Doutney (GRN) / Edward Mandla (LIB) / Christine Forster (LIB) / Linda Scott (ALP) / Angela Vithoulkas (IND) / To subscribe to Sydney City News online: cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/subscribe

If you require this information in an alternative format please contact:

City of Sydney: 02 9265 9333 council@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.auTranslating & Interpreting Service (TIS):13 14 50

Also in Martin Place you’ll find our Street Light Disco banners and choirs performing by the Christmas Tree each night and in Pitt Street Mall on Thursday evenings for late-night shoppers.

Colourful projections will transform the façades of Sydney Town Hall and the King Street entrance to Pitt Street Mall.

And Westfield Sydney will host Super Saturday on 6 December. It’s a day filled with exclusive retailer offers, entertainment and events including a Lego workshop, a gift wrap lounge, and a visit from Santa. It’s the perfect opportunity to tick off your Christmas list and save in style.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without our popular, free community concerts with children’s entertainment, live music, carols, fireworks and a visit from Santa.

There’ll also be craft activities, barbeques, ice creams and stockings jam-packed with goodies for a gold coin donation, with proceeds going to charity partner Australian Children’s Music Foundation. Bring your friends, family, neighbours and pets.

Christmas in our villages

The City has been working with businesses to make sure Sydney is the number one destination for celebrating this Christmas.

The centrepiece of the festive season will again be the wonderful Martin Place Christmas Tree, where visitors can jump on an interactive dance pad, text a message to appear on the tree branches, or play with the colours of its decorations using a touch pad kiosk.

Head to Martin Place on November 27 from 6pm–8.30pm for the City’s annual Children’s Christmas Concert and Tree Lighting, featuring this year’s Christmas Ambassador Melissa Doyle as MC.

Shoppers can stop by the new pop-up dessert bar near the Martin Place tree to indulge in some decadent treats.

Reg Bartley Oval Rushcutters Bay6.30pm Saturday 29 November

Alexandria Park Oval Alexandria6.30pm Saturday 6 December

Turruwul Park Rosebery6.30pm Sunday 30 November

Prince Alfred Park Surry Hills6.30pm Sunday 7 December

For more information on everything Christmas, visit sydneychristmas.com.au

Principal Partner

Media Partner

Charity Partner

In 2014 we have hosted six City Talks and Conversations with over 4,300 people attending. Keynote speakers included Sir Tim Berners-Lee, David Suzuki and Chris Anderson.

The biggest event of the year was ‘The price of inequality’ City Talk with Joseph Stiglitz, which had over 1,600 people in attendance.

Our City Talks and Conversations aim to inspire, inform, educate and engage the community on

issues that are an essential part of our 2030 vision.

To kick off 2015, renowned British artist Tracey Emin will be joining us to talk about the public artwork she has planned for George Street.

For more information on City Conversations, Talks and Design Excellence events, visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/council/news-and-updates/global-issues-ideas-and-conversations

Sydney is cycling

City Talks and Conversations

NYE14

Participants of the Sydney Rides Festival 2014 Spring Cycle riding over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

City Talks 2013, David Suzuki: Over the Horizon – next steps for sustainable cities and the world.

Christmas 2014 creative design by Holt Design.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Santa riding in the bike-drawn sleigh.

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In our densely-populated city we need more options to move around safely and efficiently. Now, more than 31,000 City of Sydney residents ride a bike every week.

Providing better public transport and encouraging more people to walk or ride a bike reduces congestion for those who do need to drive.

The City of Sydney is building cycleways across our villages and we are funding the NSW Government to build them in the city centre on Castlereagh, Liverpool and Park Streets. This is why Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has been consulting with residents and businesses about the new cycleways.

With construction due to start in late 2014, the City is working with TfNSW on solutions to concerns raised during the consultation period about loading zones and guest drop-offs at hotels.

A safe, separated, one-way cycleway on Campbell Street, between Elizabeth Street and Taylor Square, has now opened.

The final stage of the Kent Street cycleway, between Druitt and Bathurst Street, will also be completed this

summer. Once linked to the planned Liverpool Street cycleway, this will provide a safe route for thousands of people who ride to and from the northern suburbs every day.

And the new 2.4 kilometre George Street separated

cycleway, which opened in June, links Zetland, Waterloo, Alexandria and Redfern with Central.

For more information on the City’s bike network, and works currently underway, visit sydneycycleways.net

New options for safer riding

Celebrating Christmas 2014 in our City

over 4,300 people

+60,000

attended in 2014

Plenty of exciting events are planned to farewell 2014, and it’s not just fireworks at midnight. The Sydney New Year’s Eve program keeps you entertained from sunset to the final countdown with aerobatic displays, floating harbour parades, two rounds of fireworks and more.

Australian screen legend Jack Thompson is our Creative Ambassador for this New Year’s Eve celebrations. One of the country’s most accomplished storytellers, both as an award-winning actor and lover of poetry, Jack will bring the theme of this year’s celebrations, Inspire, to life.

Wherever you’re celebrating, enjoy the live

stream on YouTube or tune your radio to 104.1 2Day FM.

Download the official Sydney NYE app to sync to the official countdown, see a map of the best NYE vantage points and find everything you need to know for a safe and fun night.

sydneynewyearseve.com

bike trips in the city every day

I presented the keys to the City of Sydney to the Rabbitohs to honour their remarkable 2014 Grand Final victory. Their hard work and perseverance has brought pride to our community.

As a Redfern local, I salute the strength and spirit of the team. As Lord Mayor I am proud of our transformation of Redfern Oval and the new training facilities for the players.

Souths have been through tough times. When Rugby League was split, and teams forced to merge, and those in charge said there was no place for Souths, the fans fought back.

Fifty thousand people marched through the city to the steps of Town Hall to stop Souths from being relegated to history. They were back at Town Hall 14 years later to celebrate this exciting Premiership.

Good on Russell Crowe for his star backing of the team and to CEO Shane Richardson for bringing long-needed professionalism to the administration of the club.

Congratulations to the players, the staff and coach Michael Maguire, whose commitment, dedication, many hours of training and sacrifices have paid off.

Independent auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers confirmed the City of Sydney as the number one council in NSW for financial management.Yet the NSW Government continues to push through laws that affect local government and our city without notifying or consulting our community.

At the City, we fought hard to protect the principle of ‘one vote, one value’, but the hostile media and political interests that run the state got their way and the people lost. Corporations will now have two votes at City elections.

After years of local government reviews, the Baird Government has ignored positive reforms such as greater financial independence, expanded powers and better coordination with other levels of government.

Without evidence that amalgamations would result in any significant financial or community benefit, councils have been challenged to submit proposals to merge with neighbouring councils by next June.

The government refuses to rule out forcing councils to merge, and their changes are clearly aimed at cutting down grass-roots democracy and handing power to the major parties and developer interests.

Their slogan for reform is “Fit for the Future!”, and by

any objective measure, the City of Sydney is excelling.

Reinforcing our auditor’s positive findings, the NSW Treasury Corporation describes our financial position as “strong with positive outlook”–the only Council in NSW to achieve this result.

We are an economic powerhouse, with $100 billion worth of activity generated in our local government area each year.

In the last five years, 40% of all new jobs in metropolitan Sydney were located here, and we are one of the fastest growing residential areas in NSW.

Our decisive action to address climate change has already seen a 20% reduction in the City’s carbon emissions.

We’ve made design excellence a celebrated feature of Sydney and developed better options for walking, riding and public transport. We’ve invested in creative and digital industries, and the small bar revolution we championed has created enlivened laneways and forgotten spaces.

@CloverMoore

We’ve completed street upgrades, planted thousands of trees and introduced rain gardens, pocket parks and new open space. We support local businesses and we’ve constructed beautifully designed and award-winning community facilities such as pools, libraries, theatres, community centres and playgrounds.

Under my leadership, the City has achieved debt-free budgets and we have a fully funded $1.9 billion investment plan for community infrastructure and services over the next ten years.

But being fit for the future is not just about economics. Importantly, we are corruption-free and all our processes are open and accountable.

Our long-term plan, Sustainable Sydney 2030, is the cornerstone of everything we do and addresses the needs of our residential and business communities now and into the future.

Yes, we are certainly fit for the future!

To keep up to date with all Sydney events, sign up to our What’s On newsletter at whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Congratulations South Sydney Rabbitohs

Leaders must focus on the long term

Christmas 2014 Lord Mayor Clover Moore presenting the Key to the City to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The grandstand at Redfern Oval.

DESIGNING A CIVIC HEART FOR GREEN SQUARE

City centre development on the rise

We are creating an exciting new library and plaza in the heart of Green Square. The library is a uniquely designed, below-ground building opening onto the plaza, forming a community living room for residents and visitors to the new town centre.

An international design competition attracted over 160 submissions from around the world, and the winning Sydney architects have now submitted their development application for the project.

Sydney’s economy is thriving, and the number of cranes and construction sites across the city clearly shows that there is more to come.

The latest RLB Crane Index shows the number of cranes on Sydney’s skyline has risen 42 per cent in six months. There are now more than 120 cranes at work and more than half are within 5 kilometres of Martin Place.

Between 2012 and 2014 the City approved over $4 billion worth of new development in the city centre. This year alone $1.6 billion of new development has been approved.

The City works collaboratively with private developers to ensure we get the best designs and public benefits for the community.

We recently approved Sydney’s tallest residential tower, the 68-storey Greenland Centre on

Green Square is one of the largest urban redevelopments in Australia.

Population in 2030

10,000

+54,000

new apartments

are due to be completed over the next four years

The City is investing $440 million

We’ve commissioned four public artworks for Green Square as part of the City’s $4 million public art strategy for the area over the next five years.

Kerrie Poliness has been selected as the artist to create a permanent public artwork in the Drying Green park. She is currently working with the park’s landscape architects McGregor Coxall to integrate the artwork’s clever geometric shape.

At the South Sydney Hospital site, we’re installing an artwork designed by artist Maria Fernanda Cardoso. It features native garden beds filled with bottle trees and will be built out of sandstone blocks that double as benches, arranged to spell out the words, ‘while I live I will grow’.

The buildings on the site that are retained are being transformed into a creative hub with performance and rehearsal rooms, creative art spaces, studios and exhibition areas. Other parts of the site will be used to build a 64-place childcare centre.

To find out more about Green Square, and for all the latest updates, visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/vision/major-developments/green-square

Bathurst Street. We negotiated for the inclusion of a $25 million creative hub featuring dance, theatre, music, film and visual arts facilities, which will be run by the City.

At Circular Quay, AMP is launching a $1 billion redevelopment of its offices on Alfred, Bridge, Young and Loftus streets. With an imaginative design by Danish architects 3XN, the project could redefine this part of the city centre.

While protecting sun and light access to public spaces like Hyde Park and Martin Place, the City is undertaking a review of the rules about building heights in the city centre in order to find sites that might accommodate taller buildings.

over the next 10 years to create the high-quality infrastructure, facilities and services this growing community needs.

We have more than 400 parks and open spaces in the local government area, covering more than 188 hectares.

As well as being wonderful spaces for relaxation and recreation, these give everyone a bigger backyard to share with neighbours and visitors, as well as creating havens for native plants and wildlife.

This summer, why not visit one of these wonderful green spaces?

CREATING BETTER OPEN SPACES

Giving you 360 degree access

The City of Sydney is upgrading existing parks and open spaces, creating new ones, and extending public access to our harbour.

Opening the harbour foreshore

Designed by Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture, a recent upgrade has introduced eye-catching curves and arches and touches of colour that will make lunch hours more enjoyable for the many nearby workers who regularly use the park.

We have updated the children’s playground, planted new lawn, and added more trees to provide shade. There’s also a wooden deck with café-style seating built around a tree, a bubbler, new paths and improved barbecue facilities.

Janet Beirne Reserve, Beaconsfield The new outdoor space between Rosebud Lane and the intersection of Greens

Road and Oxford Street has been transformed into more beautiful, accessible space for the community and a green forecourt to COFA and its art galleries, which are open to the public.

New paths have improved pedestrian connections to Oxford Street and better lighting has made it safer for people to walk through the park at night.

An uninterrupted stretch of Sydney waterfront is now accessible to the public for the first time since early European settlement, connecting Glebe and Annandale with a scenic 2.2 kilometre foreshore walk.

With the recent completion of a missing link, a new 300 metre walkway from Ferry Road to Bridge Road in Glebe, the City has realised a decade-long vision.

Now walkers and bike riders can pass behind the Sydney Secondary College at Blackwattle Bay with easier access to Wentworth Park and the Sydney Fish Market.

We have planted over 50 native trees, including eucalyptus and black wattle, as well as hundreds of shrubs and native grasses. We’ve also installed canoe storage racks, new bike racks and energy-efficient lights to make it safer after dark.

The foreshore walk from Bicentennial Park in the west to Bridge Road in the east connects 27 hectares of parks and open space.

The City’s new 360 membership system to give you one card to access all of the City’s pools and fitness facilities will be available in January 2015.

Whether you’re working out, swimming laps, or cooling off, you can visit any of the City’s award-winning pools and gyms using the one card.

There are three types of 360 memberships on offer:

A new library and town plaza

Green Square Aquatic Centre The Green Square Aquatic

Centre will be the biggest pool complex built in

Sydney since the Olympics. An international competition

was held and a panel of expert judges chose a beautiful design

influenced by Sydney’s famous beach life.

Getting Sydney walking

• 360 Pro offers access to all five facilities where you can enjoy the use of both pools and fitness facilities with no extra costs

• 360 Active gives access to the City’s three outdoor pools and the range of fitness programs offered at each; and

• 360 Go is for those who just want to swim at any of the City’s pool facilities.

If you already have pool or gym membership, you can have it converted to a new 360 option. For more information, visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/explore/facilities/swimming-pools/360-membership

More than 90 per cent of all trips made in the city centre are on foot, and we want to make sure that walking is more safe, convenient and pleasant for everyone.

With this in mind, the City has released a draft strategy and action plan, with a series of initiatives and targets to get more people walking.

One of the first steps in this plan is creating the most comprehensive braille and tactile sign system in the world as part of a new $8 million Legible Sydney Wayfinding System.

This is especially important for people with vision impairment.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Age & Disability Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan and representatives from Guide Dogs NSW and Vision Australia gathered to launch a trial of the new signage. This includes tactile and braille street sign plates, freestanding information pylons with new maps, and flag and finger sign posts.

This work is being co-ordinated with Transport for NSW so that common imagery, naming and information will be consistent for people walking and using public transport.

When completed, the wayfinding system will link the entire City of Sydney area.

To find out more, visit: sydneyyoursay.com.au/walking-strategy

The creation of substantial wetlands in Sydney Park will be finished in early 2015. The $10.5 million investment will mean that each year around 850 million litres of stormwater, enough to fill about 340 Olympic-sized swimming pools, can be captured and cleaned.

The stormwater harvesting will provide a sustainable water supply for the park’s future needs and improve wetland rehabilitation.

Sydney Park has the highest population of native bird species in the City of Sydney, including 22 wetland species and several not found elsewhere in the city. We have built new habitats including bio-retention wetlands, cascades and an off-stream pond to support birdlife and attract native frogs.

City staff and bush regeneration volunteers will plant 1,360 new trees and 18,000 plants over the coming months.

Building wetlands in Sydney Park

Napier Street, Paddington

completing a scenic

foreshore walk2.2 kilometre

will be captured and cleaned

million litres of stormwater

850

at work

120 cranes

The main 50-metre, heated outdoor pool will be set within a larger, irregular shaped ‘beach pool’ – dividing lap swimmers from people just relaxing and enjoying themselves.

The aquatic centre will be right next to Gunyama Park, and will include a new landscaped recreation area with extensive raised boardwalks, picnicking and adventure play areas and an all-weather sports field.

People enjoying the opening of the completed Glebe Foreshore Walk.

The local community celebrating the opening of Janet Beirne Reserve.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore with Sarah Hirst as she tests out the new signage.

Napier Street, Paddington.

Sydney Park.

Artist’s impression of the new Gunyama Park and Aquatic Centre. Image courtesy of Andrew Burges Architects with Grimshaw and T.C.L.

Artist’s impression of the Green Square Town Centre. Image courtesy of Stewart Hollenstein in association

with Colin Stewart Architects.

Prince Alfred Park Pool.

Ian Thorpe Aquatic and Fitness Centre.