Newcastle Herald has just unveiled the grand plan for our Bogey Hole and its looking like an engineering eyesore with plenty to frighten the horses. While maintenance and repairs to the Bogey Hole are welcomed by our community, the decision makers should follow a minimalist option which blends with the environment and doesn't create new hazards.
Those proposed metal lower platforms cantilevered over the water look sharp and dangerous for bathers trying to get in and out of the pool. Its great to do some needed repairs but can't the designers just stick to making the stairway less slippery and forget the grand engineering statements? Perhaps the proposed stairs would be okay if they skip the ugly lower platforms jutting out into the water - it would look more harmonious and be less of an obstacle course for users. Perhaps engineers and designers need to work under the supervision of artists and citizens who use the space.
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So, what's the plan to stop this crazy design going ahead. Perhaps we need a group of us to get together to scrutinise the design, look at what needs to be done (what are the actual problems and what can be done to address them while retaining the essence of the bogey hole) and then gathering support from heritage institutions, tourism, local people etc. so that we can be sure this design doesn't somehow slip through. I'm scared of losing such a special place to sheets of steel and tacky design!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI have written to;
The Australian and the British National Trust
The ABC News
The Australian (newspaper)
The Sydney Morning Herald
Various MP's
the Mayor of a community who recently overturned a similar questionable unsympathetic proposal
The State Heritage office
and
The National Heritage Council
I was told the state heritage people were the appropriate people to contact - they told me the plans will be announced publicly in The Herald for 21 days and that they will notify me of when once they have organised it.
This proposal is just entirely unacceptable.
If you take a life threatening risk and cause irreversible damage to yourself, it was a risk you took, not the council.
The bogey hole has not become less safe in 20 years, or 120 years. It is our lazy bureaucracy which is a problem here not the safety of an inherently unsafe place.
http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/14_subnav_01_2.cfm?itemid=5053928
ReplyDeleteplease write in your complaints about the design soon!