You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Railcorp’ tag.

One of the very sweet Long-nosed Bandicoot sculptures at the entrance on Davis Street. This is a classy way to raise consciousness about the environment. 30th August 2015 – I’ve found out that the artist’s name is Ochre Lawson. See more of her work at – ochrelawsonart.com

More art on the back wall of the Station building. Very nice & again, a beautiful way to connect people to their environment. The Greenway is visible helping to maintain connection with the environment.

The entrance from Davis Street with the Greenway on either side. I was impressed with the beauty. This is a lovely way to travel.
Recently while looking at a street tree to be removed in Davis Street Dulwich Hill I came across Waratah Mills Light Rail Station. I think it may be the greenest leafiest railway station in Marrickville LGA. I cannot say for sure because I have not been to all of them, but I will.
I entered from the cul-de-sac of Davis Street, which in itself is a very pretty area. One side of Davis Street has tiered garden areas, hedges & a number of very tall trees. Houses are on the other side & beautiful heritage Hoskins Park is across the road. The entrance to the Waratah Mills Light Rail Station is subtle. I had no idea it was there until I was actually in the street.
There is a large attractive concrete & wood slat bench at the entrance. On & below the bench are two small life-size sculptures of Long-nosed Bandicoots, which live in the habitat along the light rail line (called the Greenway). Long-nosed Bandicoots are critically endangered in the Inner West, so The Greenway is of extreme importance. The sculptures are very beautiful & are a perfect example of using art as an educator. I was impressed. These would be a delightful sight to see on the daily commute to & from work.
Credit goes to the Inner West Environment Group & to Railcorp for creating such a beautiful area in & around the Waratah Mills Light Rail Station.
To enter the Waratah Mills Light Rail Station from Davis Street you walk along a 15-20 metre raised metal bridge. On either side are small areas of really lovely bush. There are lots of trees & even a nesting box is visible offering passive education about the importance of homes for wildlife.
I saw people leave the train & then lean against the railing looking at the bush for a few minutes. This must be a pleasant way to end a working day.
The Greenway volunteers have done an awesome job here. It is obvious how wonderful it would be to have bicycle & foot access along the whole corridor from the Cooks River to Iron Cove. Hopefully, the state government will fund The Greenway soon. This route is needed for safe travel for cyclists/pedestrians & the benefits to the community would be even greater still with this area a green corridor full of wildlife.
The actual light rail station is very attractive & clean. Railcorp has planted many trees & native plants around the station. They have also planted trees & created verge gardens at the entry in Weston Street. It looks terrific now & in a couple of years it will look even better.
The work to green the station & surrounds clearly shows what can be done with our streets & parks. There have been numerous recent studies proving that green environments have a positive impact on the mental & physical health of the community. Anyone who uses this mode of transport will benefit from the green environment & this has to be applauded.
The back walls of the station buildings have images of wildlife, which add beauty, as well as educate on the importance of wildlife. I personally love any public art that encourages people to acknowledge & respect nature & think this approach to public art is underutilized in Marrickville LGA.
There were plenty of bike racks too. I also noticed the attractive bins. They were being used because I did not see one bit of litter. Again this shows that people are respecting the natural environment that surrounds & is a part of this rail station.
Everything about the Waratah Mills Light Rail Station screams respect for the natural environment & the wildlife that lives there. It is a great example of how trees, plants, even a small area of bush can enhance an area & make it a lovely peaceful place to be in. The more our municipality is made greener with trees, verge gardens & traffic islands, the nicer it will look. Personally, I think the days of concrete as a quick solution are over. More of this please.
I saw Dulwich Hill Light Rail Interchange recently & what a great looking station it is. I was particularly impressed with the landscaping.
You can walk across the rail lines from Jack Shanahan Reserve, something I haven’t done since I was a kid. On the side abutting the park is a very nice garden filled with flowering natives. There are some grasses, but these are not the dominant feature here.
Native grasses have been planted between the fence & the cliff beside the platform. This was a nice surprise as this is an area that could have been easily left out of any landscaping plans. Eventually, it would have been a place for litter, but now it looks cared for & is another area that will provide habitat for small creatures & insects.
I also like that the vegetation growing on the cliff face was retained. It provides a green backdrop & this adds to the attractiveness of the site.
The whole platform looked great. It has attractive lights, bins & seating. Even the artwork in the shelter looks happy. From the platform you look over the trees & the park, which is also nice for commuters.
Dulwich Hill Light Rail Interchange is the last stop on the route from Central in Sydney’s CBD. The map tells me that there are five other Light Rail Stations in Marrickville LGA. They are Dulwich Grove, Arlington, Waratah Mills, Lewisham West & Taverner’s Hill. I will eventually see the others.
I think most railway stations are ugly places, but this one is not. Not only has the Light Rail added something beneficial to the community, but Railcorp has ensured that the station & surrounds are attractive & useful to wildlife.

View of the Light Rail platform with the garden. Dulwich Hill Railway Station is visible in the distance.

This is from the Marrickville Council’s Development & Assessment Meeting papers & shows the Queenbeyan ex-Station Master’s cottage & the one in Sydenham
In January 2011 I posted about a Development Application submitted by Railcorp to Marrickville Council to demolish the Sydenham Station Master’s cottage, remove mature 21 trees & remediate the land at 117 Railway Road Sydenham. http://bit.ly/Xai3TE
In April 2011 Marrickville Council recommended the Councillors refuse the application, “on the basis of a lack of information in relation to the heritage potential of the former station master’s cottage.” http://bit.ly/16hEzLg
In June 2011 Railcorp’s Development Application to demolish the Sydenham Station Master’s cottage went before the Sydney East Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP). The JRPP gave Railcorp one month to deliver a Heritage Report. http://bit.ly/kZvDvW
I have just received a letter from Marrickville Council saying that at the latest meeting of the JRPP, Railcorp’s Development Application was approved – no mention of the Heritage Report.
So there you have it – a historically important building for Sydenham that looks incredibly similar to the lovely Station Master’s Cottage one station down at Tempe, except it has been left to decay, will be knocked down. 21 mature trees will also be removed. To say this is a disappointment would be an understatement. Perhaps the next DA will be for a 10 or 20-storey unit development?
Yesterday the Development Application to demolish the Sydenham Station Master’s cottage went before the Joint Regional Planning Panel. Four residents & a representative from Marrickville Heritage Society spoke to the panel against Railcorp’s application arguing that the cottage was a significant part of Sydenham’s history & was no different in architectural design to a number of heritage-listed Station Master’s cottages around NSW that have been renovated & retained. They also fought to save the 21 mature trees on the site.
The JRPP gave Railcorp one month to deliver a heritage (as opposed to structural) report.
A community member who attended the meeting said that the Solicitors for Railcorp argued that the DA was inappropriate for the JRPP & should have been decided by Marrickville Council. Perhaps they are unaware that all Marrickville Councillors voted against demolishing the cottage saying, “the preservation of this building is fundamental.”
Sydenham lost many of its buildings for the Third Runway. To lose yet another public asset & 21 mature trees is something that the community strongly opposes.
I wrote about this previously – https://savingourtrees.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/report-from-the-gallery-–-5th-april-2011-part-2/
This was the Development Assessment & Committee Meeting. The following is my understanding of the meeting & all mistakes are mine. Part 1 can be read here – https://savingourtrees.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/report-from-the-gallery-–-5th-april-2011-part-1/
117 Railway Road Sydenham – Crown Development Application by Railcorp to demolish the former Station Master’s cottage, remove 21 trees & remediate the land.
1 man spoke in favour of the DA: My house was constructed 6 years ago. I have sympathy for Railcorp because of my problems. My house was built about 12 years later. It had white ants, damage problems, family had ill health because of rising damp. The house is pretty dilapidated. The crux of my concern is the ‘do nothing.’ What do you do if you do nothing? The house is virtually unusable. A layer of soil was brought in which is standard today. It’s seriously contaminated land & trees have grown into that fill. There is no win/win on this. You are trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
2 local women spoke against approving the DA: There are loads of reasons why Sydenham residents oppose this DA. We are concerned with potential heritage considerations. Sydenham lost much of its heart & was literally gutted when the Third Runway was built, so we don’t have much heritage left. Railcorp could use the $450,000 to remove the asbestos & remediate the soil. We have cargo trains, planes, cars & now Marrickville Metro. We don’t need more parking congestion or noise pollution. We would like Railcorp to hear us loud & clear that they have let the cottage deteriorate.
There has been no actual physical consultation with the community by Railcorp, no offer to meet, no assurance of any compensation if any property damage occurs. We all have this soil problem. Just put a layer of topsoil on over the top. 15 species of native birds live in these trees. The large trees provide a sound buffer from 6 railway tracks. We want the trees & the historical nature of the property retained. I have lived here since 1998. My son always had to be careful of the Station Master (living in the cottage). This house was last occupied in 2005.
A 314-signature petition from the Sydenham community to save the Station Master’s cottage was submitted to Council.
All Councillors were very supportive of retaining the Station Master’s Cottage saying the preservation of this building is fundamental. The new Marrickville LEP changed the zoning so that units could be built on the land, however it was felt that this property was overlooked. The asbestos is not a problem because the sheeting is intact. Neither Railcorp nor Marrickville Council have done a heritage assessment on the property. Many of the Councillors expressed that the property should be available for a business to allow public use.
There were 5 amendments. The Gallery was unable to read the screen so I think the following is to happen. Representatives from Council & the community will try to meet with the Minister, Council will do a report on the heritage value of the property & Council will refer the DA to the JRPP recommending refusal. Council will write a report that supports retaining the cottage. Because it is a Crown Development Application Council is unsure whether the community will be able to put in submissions to the JRPP. The vote was unanimous.
Re: the Development Application by Railcorp to demolish the Station Master’s house at Sydenham & remove 21 mature trees –
I have been informed that Marrickville Council has extended the period for objections from the community until this Friday 28th January 2011.
I’ve had a look at the property. The house has been left to decay, but it doesn’t look beyond repairing. I had expected it to look in worse repair. Many of the trees on the property are very large & there were lots of birds.
Railcorp’s DA says it will cost $450,000 to demolish everything & remediate the soil. With that kind of money you could renovate & keep a piece of Sydenham’s history & have change left over. Having looked at the gorgeous & very similar in design, renovated Station Master’s house at Tempe, I think it is imperative that both the Sydenham cottage & the trees are retained. Please consider sending in a submission. It can be a simple statement. We cannot keep losing our historical houses & the trees that surround them at a rate of knots.
I last wrote about this DA here – https://savingourtrees.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/railcorp-the-removal-of-21-mature-trees-in-sydenham/
I have just been told of a DA submitted by Railcorp to Marrickville Council to demolish the Station Master’s house, remove 21 trees & remediate the land at 117 Railway Road Sydenham. I cannot see any indication in the papers of what Railcorp intends to use the land for once they have cleared it & done remediation of the soil.
Problem is the removal of a lovely old Station Master’s house which means another loss of the local area’s history as well as the removal of the 21 mature trees that are on the property.
The Development Application can be downloaded here – http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/edrawer/Files/959094468/TRIM_TR_REC_1226611.PDF
If you would like to see the property & the trees, Kass Finlay McAuliffe has created a fabulous YouTube video as part of her objection. The video shows the large amount of birds & other insects, including Monarch butterflies that populate the site. It’s well worth a look – http://www.youtube.com/user/kassmusic#p/a/u/0/L2FzYu2gcCg
Last year, St Vincent’s de Paul in Lewisham were given permission via a DA to remove a similar amount of trees from the front of their property. After being told that Long-Nosed Bandicoots lived in this area & with help from WIRES, St Vincent’s de Paul agreed to keep a number of their trees. Perhaps Railcorp can do the same.
Does Railcorp really need to remove all the trees from this property? How does the removal of so many mature trees on one site fit with Marrickville Council’s Diversity Policy?
The Development Application ID is DA201000599 & the applicant is Rail Corporation Of NSW.
Unfortunately, the deadline for objections is today. A simple submission can be emailed to Marrickville Council at – council@marrickville.nsw.gov.au Thank you.
Attracted by another group of flowering Gymea Lilies we ventured into Tillman Park for the first time. This is a gated & fenced park between Unwins Bridge Road & the railway line in Tempe. There is an off-leash area for dogs & it is completely safe. Marrickville Council have done a great job with the landscaping in my opinion. There is a great kids playground with equipment in good condition & many little places to play, sit & discover. There is even a gas bar-b-que & 2 wooden bridges. Parking is good as well & it’s very close to Sydenham Railway Station.
The park is protected from the wind by the goods line. Here is a great example of Railcorp doing great environmental work that benefits both the community & urban wildlife. They have planted many trees along the railway line & the area would be a haven for birds & other animals. It’s fenced off to prevent dogs & people entering.
This is precisely what I would like to see done in the many spaces along Sydney’s railway lines. If Railcorp did this they would be creating little bush reserves that would do much to help urban wildlife as well as creating beauty in places that are generally quite ugly. These regenerated areas would also improve air-quality & help mitigate global warming. Railcorp tend to do this kind of bush regeneration quietly & not many people know of their work.
Across the road is another place that is probably a well-kept secret by the locals with a long strip of trees, grass & plants along the goods line in what is really a back lane that goes from Unwins Bridge Road to the Princes Highway. Once you enter into the line of trees you could be anywhere. It’s cool & lovely & filled with birds.
There is one tree that is held in a cage that Council may have forgotten about as I guess it was planted more than 10 years ago. The tree looks odd encased in a cage while every other tree lives free. I will write & ask Council if they will remove the cage.
This space is a great example of what can be done with a small-disused area. Generally, these spaces get left to grow long grass & they collect litter & other junk people dump. There are many similar sites across Marrickville LGA that could easily be transformed into something like this. Judging by the plants, I would guess the locals are looking after the area & Council mows it.
Recent Comments