SHELLHARBOUR residents are being robbed of the green space they were promised, according to councillor Peter Moran.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Following last week's confidential meeting on City Hub finances, Cr Moran said he was "perturbed" to find out a prediction he made earlier this year had come to fruition.
In July, Cr Moran expressed fears Shellharbour City Council would include Benson Basin and Lot 3000 in the sale of current council chambers Lamerton House, after the land was rezoned as operational land. "Those comments I made earlier have come to fruition," Cr Moran said.
"This is what happened with the sale of the old Warilla Council Chambers where the Warilla library was included in the sale. I suspect the same process is going to be used in the sale of Lamerton house," he said.
Lamerton House is one of four council assets to be sold off to fund the City Hub project and a sale agreement exists between council and Stockland Shellharbour.
As part of the developer contributions for the Project 7200, Benson Basin will be dedicated to the council and in a meeting on July 1 it was resolved that the land would be dedicated for sporting fields, pending a drainage study.
A council spokesperson said due to the matter being held in confidential session, no comment could or would be made.
Mayor Marianne Saliba also refused to discuss anything about the meeting and said she would be in breach of the Code of Meeting Practise to do so.
Cr Moran said Benson Basin was originally given to council as "open green space and playing fields".
"And that will still occur, but now it won't cover all of it, there is an area of council-owned land that is potentially available," he said.
"If council were to go down the path of selling that to sweeten the deal then they are robbing the community."