FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

For over 60 years, the Council has had an elected Mayor and 12 Councillors representing 6 wards (local areas).

Every eight years, the Council must consider its composition and structure to ensure that it is representing all electors in the community fairly. As part of the review we must consider and ask residents for their opinions on a number of issues.

This is the first consultation in the Representation Review Process. Following this consultation, the Council will review the feedback received and determine its preferred model of representation. A further consultation will then be conducted on Council’s preferred model. It is important to have your say now so that your feedback is considered by Council when determining the preferred model.

Any changes to representation and wards will be in place for the November 2022 Local Government Elections.

Council is seeking your feedback on how you want to be represented.

What are the options?**

Council is reviewing its composition and structure as part of its Representation Review. This includes reviewing whether the council area should be divided into wards and if so, how many wards should Council have? It also includes reviewing the number of councillors in each ward and in total.

Five different options are proposed for your consideration and you can always propose other options on how the council can best represent its community.

Survey

The role of the Council Assessment Panel (CAP) is to assist Council with the assessment and determination of development applications. The CAP was established under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (PDI Act).] Carol Muzyk has taken over the role of CAP Chair from Bill Chandler.

By profession Carol Muzyk (Music) is an environmental scientist and a land use planner. Having both a science background and a town planning background. She has the ability to critically assess, review and provide specialist advice on both planning issues and environmental issues.

She has extensive skills and experience in environment impact assessment, climate change adaptation, strategic planning and policy development, land use planning and public health having been employed by various State and Local Government (SA, NSW, NT and QLD) agencies spanning a twenty five (25) year employment history.

As a direct result of her qualifications, skills and experience in both town planning and environmental management she has been appointed to various Boards and Committees to provide expert advice, recommendations, and decisions determination. Through these appointments she has provided professional and technical advice to the Minister for Planning, the EPA SA Board, Local Government councils, Council Development Assessment Panels and various State and Federal Government agencies. Carol has also been engaged as a sessional lecturer and tutor at the University of South Australia.

On her return from the eastern states in March 2020, Carol established her environmental and land use planning consultancy practice. Her work currently focusses on identification and management of the environmental impacts of legacy landfills.

In her spare time Carol is a Civil Celebrant. Over the past 15 years she has utilised her creative writing skills to solemnise over 500 Marriages, conduct over 300 Life Direction Ceremonies, officiate Funerals and Memorial Services, and deliver presentations at workshops and corporate functions.

Carol has two adult sons. After spending 5 years in the Australian Defence Force her eldest son completed a degree in Paramedical Science and is now a qualified Paramedic working in the northern metropolitan area. Her youngest son completed a degree in Business Management in mid-2020 and is currently undergoing Officer training with the Australian Army Reserves.

“Ten thousand miles from here their bones are laid; But yet their spirits live with us and shine. This stone records their sacrifice divine And proves to all their glory shall not fade. No! Shall not fade. Each year as time goes on some tender hand shall deck this stone with flowers, in memory of these noble men of ours – in memory of their duty nobly done.”

Ode to the Soldiers’ Memorial at Magill, November 1920.

On 14 November 1920, Brigadier General Leane unveiled the Magill Soldiers’ Memorial. The Last Post played as the Brigadier uncovered the white marble, revealing the names of 33 local soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice.

The monument originally stood on the grounds of Magill School (now Pepper Street Arts Centre). In 1956, it was relocated to its present site on the corner of Magill and Penfold Roads.

Today we remember all those who fought and died to keep us free.

The proposed new planning system could change our City’s landscape and impact the residential character of your street or suburb, potentially affecting your general sense of community as well as the bottom line of property values.

The State Government conducted a public consultation on a draft Planning and Design Code from October 2019 to February 2020.

The City of Burnside made a submission as part of this consultation and encouraged our community to make submissions as well.

Over 2000 submissions were received by the State Government and, in response, have now released a revised draft Planning and Design Code.

Find out more at the project page.

With French grapevine cuttings in hand Dr Christopher and Mary Penfold journeyed to Australia from England in 1844. The Penfolds purchased land in Makgill (now Magill) and built a small stone cottage known as the Grange. Christopher planted the fruit, initially using the wine to treat his patients. While her husband was on rounds, Mary tended the vineyards.

The business grew in popularity and after Christopher’s death in 1870, Mary assumed total responsibility of the vineyards. Mary passed away in 1896, but her grandsons were determined to continue the company. Penfolds went on to become a leading Australian winery.

The grange vineyard in Magill is smaller today, but the cottage, buildings and some of the vines remain as a reminder of its early history.

Aerial view of Penfolds in 1928

The Pepper Street Arts Centre is celebrating 25 years this week! The Arts Centre is a valuable community space that promotes local artists and hosts workshops for budding creators to develop new skills.

The Arts Centre building is a little bit older than 25, in fact, it is 138 years old!

Built in 1882, the site was originally the Magill village primary school and accommodated 150 pupils. By 1924, the school was overcrowded and some classes were moved to the Brougham Street community hall. Two years later, a new classroom was constructed on the corner of Penfold Road and Adelaide Street.

Junior students continued to attend classes in the ‘old’ school building until 1963. The site was then used by the Art Faculty of Wattle Park Teachers’ College and later by the Kent Town Special School. In 1988, Burnside Council purchased the building and launched the Arts Centre in 1995.

Photograph: Magill Primary School 1882

Prem Dwivedi is a big supporter of the Know Your Neighbours campaign. He saw it in the recent Focus newsletter, delivered to his letterbox in Penfold Road Magill. “My wife Arti and I and our son Prakhar invited our neighbours over,” he says. “We decided to provide Indian as well as Australian food for the afternoon tea by keeping to the old philosophy that you can ‘reach to some one’s heart through their stomach’. My wife is an excellent cook also in addition to her profession.”

Prem is a scientist who has lived in Adelaide since 1995 with his wife and two children. He has lived in various councils but says his neighbours in the Burnside Council are the best. “I do not need to say that Burnside is full of multicultural residents,” Prem says. “I have said hello to several other residents in Magill and other parts of Burnside council but it was hard to fit everyone in our home and they can’t all be invited due to restrictions.”

He was very happy with the excellent outcome of this get together with neighbours. They started at 3 pm and followed social distancing due to pandemic issues.

“We may plan a Christmas get together in Penfold Park which is a two minute walk from our home,” he says. He hopes a Christmas get together can be done with extended neighbourhood residents.” He also wants to invite council officers who are involved in the Know Your Neighbours Campaign.

Pictured L - R: Prem with his wife Arti and neighbours Flo and Cameron and their children.

In a joint statement the City of Burnside Mayor, Anne Monceaux, and CEO, Chris Cowley, announced today that Burnside is now a Small Business Friendly Council.

"We are pleased to announce that in line with our new Strategic Plan to support the local economy and our small businesses, the City of Burnside has been formally accepted as a Small Business Friendly Council (SBFC) by the South Australian Small Business Commissioner, John Chapman. This is an important initiative that will foster an equitable and more supportive environment for local businesses, " the Mayor and CEO said.

The SBFC Initiative aims to assist Council in enabling economic development, enhancing local relationships, boosting networking and encouraging business opportunities. Burnside Council will work towards meeting specific goals of the SBFC Charter and staff will have access to information sharing and networking between Councils across the State – including workshops, newsletters and case studies.

Mayor Monceaux said that as leaders in the community Council recognises the invaluable contribution local businesses make to the City’s economy, in creating employment opportunities and providing a sense of community. Local government has an important role to play in stimulating economic development, for when you buy locally, your money stays locally.

“We intend to support them through the challenges of starting, running and growing their ventures. We want to provide every opportunity for COB businesses to succeed, reduce red tape and provide for initiatives to help small business owners feel less isolated and access training that is focused on their needs,” the Mayor said.

The City of Burnside will also continue our partnerships with business organisation Propel SA and the Eastern Region Alliance (ERA) Economic Development Group to provide invaluable networking and mentor services to our businesses.

“With the right support, small businesses will thrive in our prosperous, adaptive and much valued City, and overcome the many challenges that have presented themselves during this difficult year. This new affiliation will provide support and incentives for success in the future,” the Mayor said.

What does being a Small Business Friendly Council mean?

That the City of Burnside is committed to supporting our local small business community through the Small Business Friendly Council Initiative by:

• recognising the small business community as an important stakeholder and consulting regularly with it
• understanding how small businesses operate and their needs, goals and key challenges
• providing clear and concise service standards, which set out what we will do to support local small business
• taking reasonable action to limit unnecessary administrative burdens
• reviewing our policies to check for 'small business friendliness' on a regular basis
• implementing activities to improve the operating environment for small business within our area
• establishing a business advisory group to assist us in understanding the needs of local small business
• implementing a procurement policy which recognises that local small business is a significant contributor to economic development in our area
• ensuring prompt payment of small business invoices
• managing disputes in a timely and cost effective manner.

Find out more about what it means to be a Small Business Friendly Council and the Small Business Friendly Initiative at these links.

Can you spot any changes 90 years later?

The Clark family immigrated to Australia circa 1853 and purchased 45 acres of land in the area that is now Hazelwood Park. They moved into Hazelwood House, which stood near the corner of Olive Grove and Hawthorn Crescent. The home was named after the school ‘Hazelwood’ in Birmingham, England. In 1915, the state government purchased the area for the people of South Australia. The park was given to the City of Burnside in 1964.

Council will launch a new look website on Wednesday 21 October. The change will see a fresher use of colours and fonts; and a new look layout for the home page www.burnside.sa.gov.au

The changes include:

- ensuring the website is usable and understandable for the majority of people with or without disabilities.

- updating the content on the home screen so that users can find they information they need at first glance using icons.

- a new 'What's Near Me?' search to quickly look up parks, venues and shopping precincts.

- improvements to the main menu in mobile view - so it is easier to navigate on a mobile device.

(Please note that the bin icon in Top Tasks is reused for example only. New icons will be displayed once the page is live.)