24 April 2020

New sculpture at Centennial Park

A beautiful and thought provoking piece.

New Tree Strategy ready for consultation

City of Unley - Sustainability in the City of Unley

The City of Unley is reviewing and updating its current Tree Strategy.
Council has endorsed a Draft Tree Strategy for the purpose of community consultation which sets out proposed direction and priorities in implementing community greening goals and to ensure the City of Unley remains leafy for future generations. It considers current and emerging issues, opportunities and trends in our community relating to trees.
We are seeking your comments on the Draft Tree Strategy, to ascertain your support for the proposed key directions and to provide our community with an opportunity to make improvements to the Draft Tree Strategy

19 April 2020

What should Council's response be to COVID -19?

I received an interesting email this week from a  resident this week to which I politely replied.  Often residents would rather be invited to call when it is convenient to them rather than me making an unsolicited phone call. Nevertheless, the content of the email was about what Council should be doing given the current circumstances of some residents who have lost their jobs or have reduced incomes. So he asked for:

  • reducing rates by 10%
  • to catch up with other levels of government in Council's response
  • a reduction in property values
  • tougher efficiencies within the organisation (even if this causes a loss of jobs)
  • amalgamation of Councils
  • Acknowledge that Local Government is becoming increasingly irrelevant
  • Not paying accounts when due
Council is already preparing to consult with residents about keeping the rate change to 0%. We want to know what you think. While house price rises have been  conservative they are still higher than last year. To make an effective 0% the rate in the dollar will still need to be reduced. While housing prices may fall as a result of this virus this is not reflected in the current values.

18 April 2020

Tree Treat Walk to keep you occupied

This walk has been developed through FOCUS with the help of local resident, Kate Hubermayer.
1. Clarence Park Community Centre
2. Warty Yate Gum Tree
3. English Oaks
4. Cork Oaks
5. Port Jackson Fig
6. Crepe Myrtles
7. Sheoaks
8. Red Iron Barks
9. Lemon-scented Gums
10. Manchurian Pear
11. Ginko
It should take a little more than an hour. I can email the details to if you would like?

Animal Management Plan being consulted


Cats and dogs: 7 tips for a good life together - Tractive Blog
The Animal Management Plan 2021-2025 will guide the City of Unley’s management of dogs and cats for the next five years.

As part of our public consultation process to help shape the Plan, we want to know what you think about the planning and management of dogs and cats in the council area. We also want to hear your concerns about other animals such as chickens, bees, and birds.

This survey has been prepared for residents and businesses within the City of Unley, but you don’t need to have a dog or cat to participate in the survey.  

Please view the current Plan and take our short survey online at Your Say Unley.

The survey will only take a few minutes of your time and all personal details in the survey will remain confidential.

Consultation ends close of business Tuesday 5 May.

10 April 2020

While I wrote a post last week about the change in Council services I did not expect to read in today's paper an item regarding planning changes in the context of COVID -19. Unley, as I'm sure are other Councils, is doing its best to keep every staff member in  job as long as they can. This would include the Planning team  preparing to have the April DAP being run through Zoom or similar but at the same time as originally scheduled and with the same agenda items. I see no reason for there to be a hold up. I am, therefore, perplexed that DPTI should  be considering fast tracking development applications to keep construction workers in a job. Where is the evidence that major development, or even extensions (which seem to be the bulk of Unley's work) are being delayed?

05 April 2020

Unley is faring well regarding identified cases of COVID-19

Coronavirus South Australia: Heat maps reveal COVID-19 cases by ...

Poignant messages in Goodwood



Planning decision to still be made by Sept 1st

Despite the current circumstances planning staff  (DPTI) are still expecting to have completed the work in reviewing the proposed changes for a Sept 1st deadline. We are anxiously awaiting the paper that they are describing as the What We Heard. It is only after this is published that we will have any idea of what  changes might be considered. Hopefully, they will then reverse the proposals that adversely affect Clarence Park Ward.