CONNECTING GREEN AND BLUE SPACES

“Cooks Cove” is a prime riverfront green space on the shore of the Cooks River. It is nestled next to the high-density living in Wolli Creek - a diverse and vibrant community, with limited access to green space. The proposed Cooks Cove development now sits aside a planned large public parkland - Pemulway Park - which is being developed with support from Transport NSW in exchange for the M6 development.

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CONNECTIVITY

The current proposal for Cooks Cove development cuts off from the riverfront from the parkland through a series of harsh, square monolithic towers. These will overshadow the parkland and prevent public thoroughfare to the river.

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We urge the state government to look to the South Bank development in Brisbane to consider best practices in public use space integrated with significant cultural, tourism and commercial use. What is currently proposed at "Cooks Cove" is a lost opportunity for Sydney to create a new waterfront park with cultural and commercial integration.

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SCALE

The scale of the buildings on this site must also be scaled back to create more connectivity between Pemulway Park and the waterfront, and the buildings must be less domineering.

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The artistic representations indicate green roofs, but this building needs both living green external walls and roofs to soften it, making it more community-friendly and less like a giant prison wall.

 

SHADOW

Shadow movement needs to be properly modeled as to the impact on the parkland, and if buildings are to occur there, can they be created to absorb airport noise not amplify it?

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THE PUBLIC TRUST

We have large concerns about this development's attempt to dissolve the public trust in the area that has so far kept it protected for public recreation. Whilst a change to the trust, it says in the reports, is required to provide road access to the area, there is no justification for the whole public trust to be permanently dissolved.

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SEA LEVEL RISE

We are concerned about the impacts of sea level rise which modelling shows in 2100 this area will be underwater. The documentation regarding flooding in the development proposal does appear to address sea level rise.

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NEEDS ASSESSMENT

It is unclear if a needs assessment has been done on the site to see if warehouse space is indeed needed.

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A PLACE FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY

If the site is to be developed, some of the built areas should be provided to the community by the developer for community use. For example - artists' workshops, alongside a public pathway where their goods can be shown and purchased, creating a walkway between the park and the foreshore and thus a human-friendly spine - ideally with some sort of art gallery and coffee shop at its core. Think Hazelhurst Gallery. This would soften the precinct and make it more people-friendly.

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Bayside severely lacks accessible, low-cost creative workshop spaces, art galleries and museums. Yet there are many creatives living in the community and surrounds. This addition of an arts precinct will draw people from the Inner West down through the active transport corridor into Bayside, creating more connectivity between the two communities. It would also help unify the Botany and Rockdale communities, that were formerly two separate local government areas, amalgamated in 2017. A "Cooks Cove" culture precinct could be the meeting place of the two communities.

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A VISIONARY PRECINCT, A GATEWAY TO AUSTRALIA

Whilst developer John Boyd continues after numerous failed attempts to look for ways to commercialise the Kogarah Golf Course precinct, what is still missing here in this proposed development is vision and legacy.

 

This large precinct could accommodate a site of significance, such as a nationally significant museum and gallery commemorating our First Nations people, and unpacking colonisation and the waves of migration that have continued to shape modern Australia. Think about the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart and how it has transformed the city and surrounding island, making it a drawcard for tourists and an area locals can be proud of. Or the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

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A museum at “Cooks Cove” or Pemulway Park could be a highly successful commercial endeavour like MONA, providing employment and boosting local tourism, situated conveniently next to the airport as a gateway to Australia, close to the shores of historic Kamay (Botany Bay). The site is also close enough to a public train station at Wolli Creek to make it accessible to many via public transport.

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In conclusion, this is a rare site that could better be imagined for its possible contribution to local, Australian and international community, using best-practice green design that better embraces the location's cultural and historical significance.