Striking a balance between development and protecting the city's natural assets and heritage could be the key to giving Wollongong an identity that sets it apart from other major cities.While the escarpment, spectacular beaches and headlands are some of the city's biggest selling points, the city must also overcome its historical image of dirty industry and pollution.
Have your say: How would you shape Wollongong's future?BlueScope Steel's $1 billion cogeneration plant is potentially the biggest project planned to improve the green credentials of heavy industry. The project would generate electricity from gases produced during steelmaking and prevent one million tonnes of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere every year.Cunningham MP Sharon Bird said there was a real opportunity for Wollongong to turn its tag as the "city of innovation" into a meaningful statement. In addition to the Innovative Materials Facility at the University of Wollongong's Innovation Campus, the wave-to-energy generator at Port Kembla and the national broadband network, innovation in traditional industries also needed to be supported."Illawarra Coal is looking at water recycling and BlueScope Steel has its cogeneration plant project," Ms Bird said."It is not only about new industries but also being a shining light for better and more environmentally friendly technologies in old industries."On the heritage front, Wollongong residents have embarked on a campaign to protect the character of one of the city's best loved waterfront precincts - Wollongong Harbour. The harbour precinct is proposed for a listing on the NSW State Heritage Register, which would guard against overdevelopment. But it is simultaneously the subject of draft development guidelines by the Land and Property Management Authority that propose substantial new buildings around the harbour. National Trust Illawarra-Shoalhaven branch chair Meredith Hutton said the harbour was only one of many heritage features in Wollongong that needed protection. "We have lost a lot and we are in danger of losing a whole lot more because of the nature of the new local environmental plan (LEP)," she said.The main priority, she said, should be identifying precincts within the city that demonstrate a particular character - clusters of shops or homes reminiscent of specific eras. In particular, she pointed to Market Square, Smith and Keira streets, the area around Wesley Uniting Church on the Mall, Crown St shop fronts and single-level cottages on Gladstone Ave becoming a hub for "cottage industry". The dining strip on Corrimal St is another notable precinct.The protection of character clusters could be modelled on the success of Flinders Lane in Melbourne, or The Rocks in Sydney."We need a body like the Sydney Cove Authority which specialises in managing the area around Sydney Harbour," Ms Hutton said.Bringing the environment into the city through "architectural trees" like Norfolk pines or Moreton Bay fig trees would also be important. "The council needs to protect those that are there - like along the foreshore or near the town hall - and plan for succession planting and where we need tree-lined avenues," she said."Everyone is desperate for shade. The developments allowed now go right to the boundaries. They are not providing anything larger than grasses."Wollongong City Council general manager David Farmer said the city had increased its green space but needed to keep working on presentation of the "public domain"."It is really interesting when you look at aerial shots of the city and compare how much tree cover we have now to what we used to have," he said.Illawarra and Shoalhaven innovative regions facilitator John Grace also recognised the importance of Wollongong's environmental backdrop and coastal lifestyle. "We have to work on what is different about this place," he said.
