We hope you had a relaxing Christmas and New Years filled with fun, family and friends. Council is back to regular business hours now and working hard on delivering exciting projects to the Strathfield area in 2017!

As previously announced, the Delegate for the merger proposal between Strathfield, Burwood and City of Canada Bay councils has issued a revised Delegate’s report as a result of his original report being declared invalid in earlier Land & Environment Court proceedings.

Although the Delegate’s revised report is dated September 2016, it was only made public on 21 December 2016. Council has been informed it has until the 20 January 2017 to make a submission on the revised Delegate’s Report.

Council made representations to the State Government demanding that such a tight deadline be extended given the Christmas/New Year holiday period to allow sufficient time for Council and any residents to review and respond appropriately to such a significant document. However, the State Government has now declined to extend the deadline.

Residents can review the Delegate’s revised report by clicking on the link below:

Residents wishing to make a representation to Council for possible inclusion in Council’s submission, can do so by emailing submissions@strathfield.nsw.gov.au no later than 15 January 2017.

Nominations for Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year are open. Past recipient Jafer Naim, shared his experience with us, watch the video here.

Hudson Park Driving Range re-opened on Monday 2 January, and business has been thriving! Golfers returned to the Range in droves to take advantage of the new extensively laid turf. There is more work to be done including amenities upgrade, repurposing the old putting green into a new garden and seating area and the existing Chipping Green will also be extended. Be sure to get down to Hudson Park this summer and enjoy the new facilities.

Strathfield Library has a self-serve returns shelf? Simply place your books on the shelf outside the library, where they are instantly logged as returned. This modern system allows for better tracking of books throughout the library as well as minimising errors around returning books. The shelf is available 24/7, which means you can find the book you want fast!

Strathfield Library re-opened Tuesday 3 January, while the High Street Community Library will re-open on Monday 9 January

EMI/HMV Music

Many Strathfield locals may not know the musical background of our area. The Columbia Graphophone Company was established on Parramatta Rd at Columbia Lane as a record pressing plant and recording studio in 1925/1926. The factory, which moved under EMI along with its label in 1931, had an immediate impact on the Australian music scene, providing a platform for composers and musicians. The title of Slim Dusty’s final record in 2003 ”Columbia Lane”, is a reference to the address of the former EMI recording studio at Homebush, where he made his first record in 1946. The factory still stands today and is currently a Kennards Self Storage building.