Freshwater fishers screwd again by council

[bassmansrc]

Good Morning Folks,

Just wanted to let you all know that river access has been denied to the Nepean river at the corner of Russell St & Palomino Rds Emu Plains. Penrith council has placed a locked gate at the entrance to the road & put up a sign. The sign says "Proposed road closure Cnr Palomino Rds & Russell St". Unfortunately it is not proposed as it has actually been closed & locked. If you want you can still walk the 1.5km road in but I ask how the hell do you carry a canoe, fishing tackle, electric motor & battery 1.5 kms from the gate to the water?

This was one of 2 public river access spots between Penrith weir and Yarramundi & it has been closed off. Council tried to do the same with the only other river access point last year ( Devlins lane) but overwhelming angler concern & lobbying made them quickly reassess the situation & reopen Devlins Lane.

I will be attempting to find out who in council is the decision maker behind this latest closure, once I have found out who this person is & get their e-mail address I will post it here. When I have the correct e-mail contact posted I ask all anglers, NSW or otherwise to e-mail Penrith council & voice your concern.

In the last 5 years river access has fallen from about 7 different access points in this stretch of river to just 2. Now if this is to remain we will have only 1 access spot which is appauling especially since the river is part of their tourism advertising slogan- "River-Mountains-lakes".

Folks if we don't stand up to council now then very soon they will lock off the last remaining access point which they already tried last year. It is on their agenda & we need to stop them in their tracks. Hope to have an e-mail address this week, please look out for my post & then do your part.

Thanks
Steve

[chrisjon65]

>:(got up 4.30am last sunday loaded kyak drove to favourite spot
$#^$& who put the gate up can 2 people change it mmmmm maybe
theres another access very close ill
find out exactly and email you
dont mean to be private about the location its just that its private
property and its thanks to a very kind
land owner that we can use it .
also a few mates with 4wd are working on by passing that !@@##$%
gate

[spinna]

bassmansrc
why dont you just post penrith councils e-mail address up and we can all e-mail the council . As i know how you are feeling im in nowra and they are starting to do the same thing down here. And its like you say they put (fishing) down as tourism advertising but at the same time clossing of a lot off the roads so you have to walk in with all your gear.I dont mind walking in but it is a bit hard when you have a small boat or a canoe and motor.

cheers spinna ;) :)

[bassmansrc]

Council have given me access. I spoke with the right people & they are giving me a key. It's great to have some influential friends, but from what I was told people who have a genuine need to get past the gate can get a key, you just need to answer some questions. These are:-

1. Are you a resident in the council area....
2. Why do you need access.....
3. Can't you go anout your bsuiness by walking in to the river......
4. Will you ensure proper use of the gate & lock it after use......


Ok then it will cost $20 & a copy of your license to confirm your address.

I picked up my key this morning.


This I think is a good solution. It will keep the idiots out & let me enjoy my sport in peace. No more idiot 4wds.( I own a 4wd but am sensible with it )

Regards
Steve

[leroy]

Don't think much of your idea that having a key is a good solution.

I live in Lithgow and have fished the Napean on occasion, can I get a key?

If not I should lobby our council to lock off all the dams and access roads to streams in our area. Then I can have a key.

Once this is accomplished we can set up a key exchange proggramme and get keys cut for each others areas and then all the key holders can have access and screw everyone else.

The waterways belong to everyone, screw the council and screw the key only access. Post an e-mail address and lets get the gate removed!!!!

Tangled.

[bassmansrc]

Hi folks,

Although I have gained access & other locals can also gain access via a $20 deposit for a key, I have as I said I would tracked down the e-mail address for the council decision maker who gave us access back to Devlins Lane last year. The email address is lcraig@penrithcity.nsw.gov.au Do with this information what you will. I will be sending an e-mail expressing my concern about the recent closure. I will also be stressing my concern about any future action taken to close public access points to the river with out consulting anglers.
From what I understand council are not prepared to re-open access proper to the general public. They have reasons which seem fair enough to me but..... These reasons include Cars being dumped continuously, drug use in the area, litter & 4wds seriously erroding the surrounding reserves & river beds as well as public saftey with the 4wds driving erratic & dangerously.
For now I am satisfied that myself and other local anglers have not lost access to a wonderful waterway, but I do feel sorry for all others who will not have access. If you are concerned then voice your opinion.

Regards
Steve

[Gazza]

Tangled , ya said it all , very succintly as well http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/smilies/cwm2.gif

Bassman , IF you wish to "think it through", you have paid an EXTRA $20 to access ALLWATER-fishing, not in an MP or NTZ.......your own backyard!!!!

I understand , you have been forced to pay a "Deposit" f-o-r n-o-w ,which can be revoked at anytime ,IF it is ratified AND permanently closed in the future.

I understand ,that the sign said "Proposed Closure" ,and they have in fact "Closed" access ,and are charging 'entry' to a "Proposed Closure" ,is that a scam or just plain ILLEGAL.

Maybe a "NO 4WD past this point" sign is more appropriate ,given your description of "damage" caused to the area , and apply a bit of reality mate, with your "key" you could still dump cars,take drugs or destroy the vegatation/riverbank , if you were so inclined???........just think about it,o.k.?

(keep your 'dated' receipt, take a photo of the "proposed closure",it may just come in handy later on, to the benefit of ALL RecFishos)

Regards
Gazza

[chrisjon65]

i live 6 min from this gate but am in a different council area so no key for me .
that the case have stopped bitchin
and found an alternative means of accessing this area wich is 20km of the river only accessable at this one spot .
dont be to hard on one individual who just wants to fish .
this area is in the midst of massive enviromental changes that being the
PENRITH LAKES .
the effects on the fishing in this area
are unknown and the support of all on this forum is needed to insure its
not going to effect fishing in this area .
this development is of a massive scale and so little is known or for that matter questioned on its enviromental damage to the nepean river
the fishos in this area i feel need support from all you people , cause
theres not enough
please email the council but also tyhe state fisheries and government
cause i have been informed that this area will contain more water than sydney harbour
these people arent just building a swimming pool here its huge
and if we have a say it could be pottentialy one of the best freshwater fisheries in the world

just ask the authorities whats happening ;)