An edited update from Jon James of Friends of The Glade;

It has been just over a month since the Council meeting granting Abbotsleigh and Knox 12 months to submit a development application (DA) for construction of a synthetic athletics track at The Glade.

During that time, FOTG have corresponded with:
·        The General Manager of Ku-ring-gai Council, asking for clarity on the process; and
·        The Heads of Abbotsleigh and Knox, including their School Councils, asking them to re-consider their position and to withdraw their $2m offer of funding.

We have received a written response from Council, I have posted a copy of the letter on the FOTG website at https://sites.google.com/site/gladefriends/resource-center under the heading “Letter to Council GM 11 April 2012 with Council Response”.  The individual responses from Council have been posted into the original letter and are set out in each section for ease of reference.

Regarding the letters to the Schools, we have received no acknowledgement or response from them to date.

You may also be aware that Birds Australia (http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/our-projects/powerful-owl-wbc.html) is planning to conduct a survey of The Glade Reserve to track down the endangered Powerful Owls that are regularly sighted around the area.

David Bain, the project manager for the organisation’s Powerful Owl project, is looking for VOLUNTEERS  to assist him in tracking down our resident predators.  This is your opportunity to get out into The Glade Reserve (at night) and contribute to Birdlife Australia’s research project – in addition to being great fun, it will support our efforts to protect the Blue Gum High Forest habitat which is so unique and valuable.

David’s contact details are as follows, and he is happy for you to contact him directly:

David Bain | Powerful Owl Project Officer BSc (Hons), Phd
BirdLife Australia
BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre, 1 Jamieson St, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW, 2127
M 0421 337 545 | T 02 9647 1875
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | birdlife.org.au ABN 75 149 124 744

KPCC are closely involved with the push to 'Save The Glade', the HK&HDCA's iconic turf oval in Wahroonga. The schools Abbottsleigh & Knox propose to convert it into a six lane synthetic running track with a lease to the schools for exclusive use on relevant weekdays for 21 years. The council meeting on Tuesday 20th March was deeply disappointing for KPCC and many local residents. A bare majority of Councillors voted in favour of an amended motion which gave the schools 12 months to lodge a DA over the site, despite an original motion before the Council in which Council's own management and independent consultant had recommended refusing the proposal on a number of grounds. Five Councillors voted against the amended motion.

Under the current proposal, the  Ku-ring-gai Council suggested it may need to cut down a minimum of 100 trees, including some critically endangered Blue Gum High Forest, so that the two schools can have a training track after school. The cricket training nets will  go, as well as the obvious loss of the turf wicket (as senior cricket and rep cricket could not be played on an oval reduced in size by the track). Little Athletics addressed Councillors at the meeting and said they did NOT want a synthetic track at the Glade and did not support it. Local residents also opposed it, arguing that a track available to all comers would need significant infrastructure for which the site was clearly not suited.

While no-one would suggest that a synthetic running track somewhere in Ku-ring-gai would not potentially benefit all schools (public and private) and Little Athletics, the issue here is the unsuitability of The Glade. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to see that it is the closest public oval to the Abbotsleigh and Knox schools, but the site's unsuitability (along with local residents' amenity and the needs of current users) has been clearly documented.

We could be forgiven for assuming that the Council is, through our elected Councillors, the custodians of our urban and bushland environment for all generations to come. Is a six lane training track at an unsuitable site an acceptable exercise of that responsibility? We welcome feedback from you, the Club members, to the KPCC committee on this controversial issue.

Our views are now well known to the Councillors and by the schools.
We would therefore like you to let your local state and federal members know your views about this Council decision of 20 March 2012 - refer item 65 at http://www.kmc.nsw.gov.au/resources/documents/minsomc20Mar2012.pdf

Their contact details are as follows:
State Member: Premier Barry O'Farrell - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Federal member for Bradfield: The Hon. Paul Fletcher MP - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please help us Save The Glade. See more information in our Library.

Contact Trish Lynch on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information on what is happening & what you can do to help.

3 Senior Teams are HKHDCA Premiers for 2012!!

B grade won against Berowra at Berowra Oval. C3's won against Berowra at The Glade.

D Grade drew with Sydney Lions on 162 at Turramurra Oval in an amazing finish. The 2 teams have been declared Joint Premiers.

Please find photos for the B Grade, C3 & the D Grade Premiers on our official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/KissingPointCricket

Our Pink Stumps Day February/March newsletter is now available in the Library

Thanks to all of you the Kissing Point Cricket Club 'Pink Stumps Day' was a great success. We have raised a total of $3135.70 for The McGrath Foundation.

Our Pink Stumps Day Event & A Grade match at The Glade attracted a steady stream of locals, club members & public who were curious. We had 2 young Representative women cricketers attend, Angela Reakes is the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars (Australian Youth) captain, represents the NSW Breakers and Emma Thompson currently represents Tasmania Women (League, Limited Overs & Twenty20). The Reps took our little Milo In2cricketers(between 5-7 years old) through their paces, giving valuable tips & trade secrets, eventually just sitting with them in the shade & watching the A Grade match.

Our visitors included Paul Fletcher(Federal member for Bradfield), Matt Kean(Local member for Hornsby) & Ku-ring-gai Deputy Mayor Elaine Malicki.

The BBQ run by the residents group 'Friends of the Glade' was sold out, raising $280 for The McGrath Foundation. Our KPCC Pink Stumps Cake Stall was very successful. The raffle hamper & the Lolly jar comp were won by the locals, the silent auction of the Pink Stumps, Wicketkeeping pads  & other items donated to the club all sold & are with their new owners.

Wahroonga's The Glade Oval looked beautiful. The pitch had been dressed with pink lines instead of white for the occasion & the Umpire Geoff Hasler wore pink. The afternoon was completed by Kissing Point's win over Asquith RL who have been the A Grade Premiers for many years. It was a nail biting finish that could have gone either way, both teams showed great spirit. A terrific result all round.

Look, we made the papers! See the North Shore Times article from Wednesday 22nd February on the 2 links below;

http://north-shore-times.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/spirit-shines-through-in-pink http://digitaledition.northshoretimes.com.au/?iid=59735#folio=031

Thanks for joining us for the official book launch of
"Kissing Point Sports Club - A History" by John Orlovich.

The invitation included all the sports codes of Kissing Point Sports Club. Cricket, Football, Netball, Baseball & Softball.  We had a very good turnout, the Clubhouse was full of KPSC Life Members, as well as past & present members. Organised by the KPSC Committee, it was terrific that Cricket got to host such an important event in the history of the Sportsclub. "Kissing Point Sports Club - A History" covers the history of the Kissing Point Sports Club from its inception in 1957 to 2011. John Orlovich was happy to sign the book for those who requested it & the line stretched a long way. The Cricket club is well represented in the book with many mentions of players(all premiership winners) past & present. If you would like to purchase a copy please contact Trish Lynch on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The U12 Whites won the T20 under lights, & all were well fed & watered.

Kind regards
The KPCC Committee

The Club is very happy to announce we have two new sponsors;

SVM Volvo and Action Indoor Sports, Thornleigh.
Please help us to make their sponsorship worthwhile by supporting their products and services.

Action Indoor Sports has a special coaching offer, 50% off if you bring a friend to group coaching & present this voucher you can download from our Library. Also see the Flyer for other offers to do with AIST.