9 November 2017

Orange City Council is asking for community comment about a proposed agreement which covers financial contributions for work associated with the construction of a new private hospital.

The new private hospital project, on the former Orange drive-in site on Forest Road, includes :

• a six storey private hospital
• an 82 room medi-motel
• health facilities buildings for rehabilitation, pathology, medical imaging, chemist and medical suites
• future precincts for residential dwellings and or apartments incorporating short and medium term accommodation for hospital staff and students
• future community/child-care facilities
• separate buildings for ancillary retail activities (including but not limited to a florist newsagent, café/restaurant, hairdresser, shops, kiosks, takeaway food and drink premises)
• internal roads and car parking
• landscaping
• a 4-way, traffic lights, intersection on Forest Road.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION : Whenever a new housing subdivision or project is built, the developer makes a financial contribution towards the council's costs in building necessary infrastructure such as underground water and sewer lines.
These contributions are authorised under Section 64 (sewer & water) and Section 94 (community amenity, roads, parks etc) of local government legislation.The Council policy document which details these developer contributions in Orange is the Development Control Plan.

In the case of some major projects, such as the private hospital, the council can negotiate a 'Planning Agreement' (PA) with the developer which varies the size of these contributions. The proposed PA sets out the details of the final contributions. Once the PA is drafted, it is available for community comment before it is finally considered by the council.)

The draft Private Hospital Precinct Planning Agreement shows that the developer will contribute approx $7 million for necessary infrastructure work.

This includes :

• $2.2 million for the upgrade of Forest Rd and the building of a new intersection with traffic lights at the entrance to the private hospital and the Orange Health Service.
• $4.7 million for the extension to the council's water and sewer pipe network

The agreement also spells out that additional contributions worth $1.5 million, that would otherwise be required under Section 94 EPA Act, will not be paid to the Council.

This amount would normally have been be paid to cover the Section 94 (parks,roads, community amenity) costs associated with the residential precincts of the hospital.

A report to the November 7 council meeting suggests that because of the amount of other property development that's expected to occur in the area around the hospital, including the Shiralee housing estate and current DPI land holdings, there will be other sources of funding to provide this infrastructure in future years.

The report estimates that the $1.5 million that the council would forgo under this agreement, would amount to only 3.6% of the total revenue to come to the council from future development in this area.

The report finds that the employment and other community "benefits offered by the (private hospital) development justify the (financial) support for the proposal".

As well as the financial arrangements, the proposed PA :

• commits Orange City Council to completing the water, sewer and a Forest Road upgrade to allow the project to proceed and,
• sets deadlines for the completion of that work

MORE INFORMATION :

COMMENTS :

5 November 2017

“Everyone who has swum at the Orange pool can imagine the sadness and grief the family and our staff are feeling today. Today is a time for offering that support.”

Friday, November 3, 2017

The latest in Orange Regional Museum’s series of talks aims to encourage people to think twice about throwing out the long lost Aunt’s tea set, or a fourth cousin’s old tobacco holder or that hideous lamp passed down through generations.

‘Trash or Treasure: reconnecting our past’ by Kira Brown will look at the value of family history and the objects associated with our family history.

The latest public lecture will focus on objects from non-Anglo communities where the language and culture surrounding the object may have been lost.

Orange Mayor Reg Kidd said the talk would help show people how to determine the value of an old family heirloom.

“The speaker, Kira Brown will help show people how to research the history behind their family objects, through telling stories of her own experiences,” Cr Kidd said.

“Ms Brown inherited a great number of items from a Chinese relative but at the time had little understanding of the significance of those items.

“She will tell that story, that journey about how she researched each item and what she found.

“The talk will help everyone who comes along start their own journey of discovery.”

Orange City Council’s Services Policy Committee Chair Kevin Duffy said it was important the community preserved its personal history.

“Objects aren’t much without the story that goes with them,” Cr Duffy said.

“That old tea set of long lost Aunty could turn out to be a tea set used in Japanese tea ceremonies, or Korean ancestral rites or it was used in a tea offering in a Buddhist temple.

“Or it’s just a tea set, but it’s important we know how to research history so we know to preserve it.

“If we don’t know the value of our family history then the objects will eventually be lost, thrown out or sent to the second hand shop.”

Trash or Treasure: reconnecting our past will be held on Thursday 9th November, refreshments from 5.15pm, talk at 5.30pm.

Bookings are essential via museum@orange.nsw.gov.au or 02 63938444

November 3, 2017

Orange City Council’s cultural precinct is banding together to bring hands on history and culture to students from across the region.

The cultural precinct, located in the Byng Street Civic Square includes the Orange City Library, Orange Civic Theatre, Orange Regional Museum and Orange Regional Gallery.

Central west teachers are invited to an informal setting to discuss what the cultural precinct can offer their students.

Orange Mayor Reg Kidd said the teachers’ evening was an opportunity for teachers to ask any and all questions about which programs and activities were available.

“Classes could easily spend a whole day going to the four buildings learning about our history, seeing live performances, appreciating art and sculpture and topping it off with a story time at the library,” Cr Kidd said.

“With staff dedicated to creating programs specifically for school children, the 2018 education program for the cultural precinct is packed with learning opportunities for students of all ages.

“Many of the programs are tailored to coincide with the curriculum and there are plenty to choose from.”

Orange City Council’s Services Policy Committee Chair Kevin Duffy said gone were the days where people entered libraries, galleries and museums and were expected to speak in hushed voices.

“Modern museums, libraries and galleries are about engagement, laughter and learning and we want to do all we can to encourage students to be involved,” Cr Duffy said.

“Many kids are more likely to remember something if they get hands-on experience so that’s what our cultural precinct is all about.”

During the event teachers will find out which children’s and young adult shows are booked for the theatre next year.

They will talk about how the museum’s new exhibition Paddock to Plate will help students learn about food production from settlement to now.

And find out which exhibitions are booked for the gallery and what programs the library will offer.

The Orange Cultural Precinct Teachers’ Evening will be held on Thursday 16th November from 4.30pm – 6.30pm at Orange Regional Museum.

To book your place or to find out more contact museum@orange.nsw.gov.au or 02 6393 8444.

HANDS-ON: Students from Catherine McAuley Catholic Primary School at one of the Orange Regional Museum's workshops.

The Orange Regional Museum is honouring Remembrance Day (Saturday 11 November) with a viewing of the classic Peter Weir film Gallipoli.

The movie screening night is the first in a series of Movies at the Museum.

Orange Mayor Reg Kidd said the program was about engaging with a broad range of community members.

“This is a way of adding to the already rich culture Orange has in regard to our history and in particular, our war history,” Cr Kidd said.

“Every Anzac Day in Orange, you see thousands of residents, including hundreds of small children come out in the cold and honour those who served.

“Those traditions are important as is the minute’s silence on Remembrance Day but it is also good to enrich those experiences, add to them, and encourage all our community members to participate in remembering and acknowledging our past.”

Orange City Council’s Services Policy Committee Chair Kevin Duffy said the Gallipoli screening added to Orange’s experiences of Remembrance Day and it could become a tradition on its own.

“It’d be great to see people, particularly young people, getting together to remember Gallipoli and remember all of the men and women who fought for Australia,” Cr Duffy said.

“If this is a way to get people engaged with history then that’s great.”

The film, rated PG, is about two young men Archy (Mark Lee) and Frank (Mel Gibson), who are Australian sprinters and want to join the army.

The pair are turned down because they are too young, so they hop on a freight train to Perth, where they are allowed to join up.

They board a troop ship headed to Cairo and, after training in the shadows of the Great Pyramids, the boys are sent to the front line, where their speed makes them candidates for messengers in one of the war's bloodiest battles.

The evening starts from 6pm(Saturday 11 November). Wine, food and music will be available. Tickets available from the museum’s website.