Herbert Street Leura - Safety First
In 2020, in good faith, the residents trusted the BMCC and the original café lessees of the Sorensen Glasshouse and Nursery by agreeing to a café in place of a kiosk to supplement the original Paul Sorensen's nursery at 8 Herbert Street, Leura, NSW 2780.
Paul Sorensen was a significant influence on the design of gardens in the Blue Mountains.
Our approval of a small café was based on the recommendations in the Boskae Environmental Planning Report, which formed part of the submission in DA X/681-2020.
Twelve car parking spaces in Herbert Street were ample for the approved business model, which included a café seating 17 patrons inside the glasshouse and retail nursery area, and 20 patrons sitting in the arboretum.
The original lessees proposed to include educational material about Paul Sorensen’s original nursery site and work towards the rejuvenation of the gardens.
In May 2023, Haven Blue Mountains Pty Ltd purchased Sorensen’s Glasshouse and Nursery. The company scrapped the café, nursery, and garden model outlined in the approved DA X/681-2020, opting instead for a restaurant.
As absurd as it sounds, we now have a restaurant seating 90 patrons: 50 inside the glasshouse occupying all the retail nursery space, and an additional 40 patrons in the arboretum, with 21 seating times set at 15-minute increments, seven days a week.
Haven Blue Mountains Pty Ltd continues to operate the restaurant at full capacity, despite knowing they have created a safety hazard for residents and their patrons. Some days, there has been more traffic on Herbert Street than on Leura Mall.
As businesses are bought and sold, we strongly oppose any modification to DA X681/2020, as we cannot trust that a future lessee will act in the best interests of the residents. We will be back where we started, waiting for the Council to address another compliance breach.
Herbert Street is zoned Conservation Environmental Living. It is a short, narrow street. There is no footpath, no curb and guttering, and no loading zone for the constant flow of food trucks to feed the masses. The street is not safe for residents and patrons of the Sorensen Glasshouse and Gardens restaurant model.
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If you agree that safety should be a priority not just in Herbert Street, Leura, but also in the surrounding streets, please have your say in the form below.
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About Herbert Street, Leura - Safety First
The Herbert Street, Leura - Safety First website was created to bring awareness to the Sorensen Glasshouse and Gardens' breach of compliance DA X681-2020.
On October 17th 2024, BMCC were informed of the breach of compliance, which has created a safety issue in our street.
You can increase the number of patrons for a restaurant, but you can't change the fact that it is located on a residential street, creating a safety hazard for both residents and patrons.