Save Our Rail NSW Inc.

State-owned development agency UrbanGrowth has admitted it is looking into a ‘‘number of uses’’ for the city’s rail corridor land and ways of ‘‘activating’’ the area around the existing Newcastle railway station through redevelopment, as reported in the Newcastle Herald. ‘‘We will be undertaking some work to understand what those opportunities may be and actually ...

Hunter Development Corporation’s 2009 Cost Benefit Analysis was flawed and misleading, as demonstrated in SOR’s response to HDC report (pages 19-21), as copied below. [SOR update 24/11/2014: The Newcastle Herald reported that University of Newcastle representatives Nat McGregor (chief operating officer) told the Parliamentary Inqury that the rail line “never came into the business case” ...

As reported in the Maitland Mercury, Bob Hawes was one of two directors of a company in 2009 that Hunter Development Corporation paid almost $50,000 to prepare a report for the state government, which recommended the removal of the Newcastle heavy rail line at Wickham. This was before he became HDC general manager. Mr Hawes ...

Ian Kirkwood writes about the Newcastle rail line and parliamentary inquiry in this piece in the Newcastle Herald. … Now, with Labor back in power in Newcastle, the rail issue is again political dynamite and I will not be surprised if Premier Mike Baird pulls the pin on his government’s decision in the coming days. ...

At a time when the Premier Mike Baird has stopped short of ruling out delaying Newcastle’s rail line truncation, debate is continuing around sinking the line, reports ABC News Newcastle. Mr Baird has told a parliamentary planning inquiry delaying the rail decision would cost $220,000 a week. The inquiry has also been told that sinking ...

Here are some highlights of the second hearing of the Inquiry into the Planning Process in Newcastle and the Hunter Region, as reported on the Newcastle Herald’s live blog. University of Newcastle representatives Nat McGregor (chief operating officer) … tells Labor’s Lynda Voltz the university has no position in the rail line debate and is ...

A string of key reports underpinning plans to cut Newcastle’s heavy rail line and install light rail are being kept under wraps, as reported in the Newcastle Herald. The government was supposed to produce about a dozen reports relating to various aspects of the major project, including a cost-benefit analysis, in line with an order ...

[SOR comment: Wickham terminus is predicted to lose 23% of current patronage by Government’s own underestimated figures. Keeping rail would reduce pressure on already limited CBD parking.] THE Roads and Maritime Service has savaged the University of Newcastle’s proposed city campus, saying the plan has failed to properly assess traffic conditions in the city’s central ...

An application has been approved to build a block of units worth about $60 million on land near the Wickham rail corridor, part-owned by Hunter Development Corporation general manager Bob Hawes, reports the Maitland Mercury. Newcastle City Council received the DA to build the nine-storey unit block in Beresford Street in 2009. The street runs parallel ...

The Newcastle Herald reports that the state government has approved its own plans for a new transport interchange at Wickham but has promised to reconsider the design, after a barrage of criticisms of an artist’s impression image of the project. … About 280 submissions were made. Many were critical of the idea of cutting the ...

The Newcastle Herald reports that, according to newly released documents, a ‘‘Master Planning Group’’ composed of developers, property investors, elected representatives and public servants held meetings to plot the future of Newcastle. The documents appear to show that members of the group included then lord mayor Jeff McCloy, city general manager Ken Gouldthorp, Hunter Development ...

The Maitland Mercury reports that a public servant at the centre of a conflict of interest allegation over the Newcastle rail cut was on a board that gave the state government $60 million to help make its decision. Hunter Development Corporation general manager Bob Hawes was a member of the Hunter Infrastructure and Investment Fund ...

Greens NSW MP and Transport spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC, has questioned what is the Government hiding after it appears to be hiding documents relating to the truncation of the Newcastle Rail line. The NSW Parliament last month passed Dr Faruqi’s motion demanding the release of a range of papers, the vast majority of which ...

An article and online poll in the Maitland Mercury regarding the GM of HDC: The head of a state government agency advocating the removal of Newcastle rail line has denied having a conflict of interest, despite telling a parliamentary inquiry that he partially owns properties near the future Wickham transport interchange. Hunter Development Corporation general ...

As reported in the Maitland Mercury, advocates for retaining the train line between Wickham and Newcastle have had their say to the committee set up to investigate recent planning decisions in the Hunter. … Save Our Rail vice-president Kim Cross was one of the witnesses who fronted the inquiry in the afternoon to give the ...

The Newcastle Herald reports that state-owned development authority UrbanGrowth NSW has drawn up a plan for the city centre’s renewal and use of the soon to be vacant rail corridor land to go to a Cabinet committee, while asking for the community’s views on the issues. Documents tabled to NSW Parliament show the “urban renewal ...

Greg Ray is on the money with his article “the corridor of powers” (apart from the bit about liking the idea of cutting the rail at Civic). FIRST they said they wanted to cut the rail line to connect the eastern part of the city with the harbour. … Then it was maybe Woodville Junction ...

The Newcastle Herald reports that state development authority UrbanGrowth is urging the government to permit development on at least part of the Newcastle rail corridor that will be left vacant after the heavy rail is truncated, sources say. With the heavy rail between Newcastle and Wickham set to be permanently closed on December 26, the ...