Pennant Hills District Civic Trust

Hornsby Shire Council is currently participating in the Australian Liveability Census.  There are only about 40 days remaining on the Census survey period and the response numbers from Pennant Hills residents (or businesses) are quite low – only 11. If we can get response numbers up considerably, we can use this data to inform planning for Pennant Hills in terms of identifying important issues early on. Our Hornsby Shire Council staff is actively looking at the outcome of this Census and will attempt to include these outcomes in their future planning processes.

The census survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, there are approx 20 questions, many of them multiple-choice of the “pick three and three only” type – which three things do you like most about Penno, which three things do you not like about Penno, etc. You can even win a prize. 

https://yoursay.hornsby.nsw.gov.au/2025-australian-liveability-census

Feedback from Pennant Hills residents is becoming important, since Council is about to start a Place Planning / Masterplan process for Pennant Hills. We’ve got a chance of hitting the ground running when the time arrives to start this planning work in, with and for Pennant Hills.

The Australian Liveability Census closes June 30th, 2025, but why wait that long?

We have it on good account that Australia Post has made the decision not to extend their lease and intends to close the Post Office in Pennant Hills. It will have a strong impact on Pennant Hills, with many people still relying strongly on the Post Office for their mail, passport and other document applications, stamps, parcels, and cash withdrawals or deposits.

This seems to be purely a commercial decision by Australia Post, and does not have anything to do with Pennant Hills Market Place or with Hornsby Shire Council. In fact, HSC Mayor Warren Waddell has made a strong statement on 7News TV in favour of keeping postal services available in Penno, and several Councillors are actively campaigning to keep the Post Office open.

Over the past few days, a few petitions to keep a Post Office in Pennant Hills have been started. The Pennant Hills Civic Trust, Inc. supports this grassroots drive for activity. We are actively working with Market Place management, a few other independent traders, Australia Post, our Local Member for Berowra Julian Leeser and the independent candidate Tina Brown to find a working solution.

We recommend to sign the petitions, and make your voice heard.

You can find these two petitions here and here.

In the next day or two the probable closure of Pennant Hills Post Office will be brought up with the responsible Federal Minister for Communications (and Postal Services) Michelle Rowland.

Hornsby Council asked for submissions in regards to their plans for a shared bicycle/pedestrian path on the Western side of Bellamy St between Boundary Rd and Thorn St.

The Trust made a submission – you can read it here.

We recently received a response to our submission from Hornsby Council’s civil design, design and construction department. You can read it below. You’ll probably agree with us that this is disappointing.

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Thank you for your submission regarding the proposed shared pathway. We appreciate your feedback and the time you’ve taken to express your perspective.

The proposed shared pathway aligns with the goals outlined in the Council’s adopted Hornsby Shire Walking and Cycling Strategy, which aims to create a safe, connected network for both pedestrians and cyclists. This strategy supports the broader vision of the Future Transport Strategy 2056 (NSW Government), which emphasises integrated transport solutions, promoting walking and cycling as sustainable and active travel options. These initiatives are critical to fostering healthier, more connected communities while reducing car dependency.

Response to issues raised in your submission:

1. Exiting Driveways:
Council has extensive experience in designing and monitoring shared user paths (SUPs) installed on nature strips. Existing SUPs include those along Peats Ferry Road, Hornsby and Asquith; Edgeworth David Avenue, Waitara; Palmerston Road, Hornsby; College Crescent, Hornsby; Shepherds Drive, Cherrybrook; Purchase Road, Cherrybrook; Castle Hill Road, Cherrybrook; and Brooklyn Road, Brooklyn, among others. These SUPs operate safely, with minimal complaints regarding conflicts between vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Domestic driveways along Bellamy Street generate low traffic movements, and the installation of convex mirrors at each driveway is not warranted due to visual impact and maintenance concerns. Driveways along SUPs are typically designed with a contrasting colour to the pathway to alert pedestrians and cyclists. In rare cases, where sight distance is significantly reduced at a driveway, a ‘LOOK’ pavement marking may be added to enhance awareness.

Council will monitor the SUP’s operation after its completion to address any safety issues that may arise.

2. Access for Nearby Schools:
As mentioned above, the proposed path is part of a larger SUP network guided by the Council’s adopted Hornsby Shire Walking and Cycling Strategy. This initiative aligns with broader goals to facilitate safe cycling and walking for all age groups, including primary school-aged children and their parents.

3. Additional Crossings and Speed Limits:
Installing marked pedestrian crossings at roundabouts is not feasible due to safety concerns. Drivers focus on traffic flow from multiple directions at these intersections, and crossings would increase risk. The existing speed limits (50 km/h, with 40 km/h in school zones) are considered appropriate. Bellamy Street, as part of the sub-arterial road network, is designed to carry significant traffic volumes.

4. SUP Extent and Future Connectivity:
There is an existing SUP along Bellamy St path between Thorn St and Stevens St, this path will be clearly marked as part of this project. SUP in Bellamy St north of Stevens Street is not necessary as this section of Bellamy Street terminates and has low traffic volumes. On road markings will be upgraded in this part of Bellamy Street in conjunction with the project.

5. On-Street Parking and Dedicated Cycle Lanes:
The SUP has been identified Council’s adopted “Walking and Cycling Strategy”. There are currently no plans or adopted strategy by Council to remove on-street parking from local roads in Hornsby Shire to build dedicated “cycle only” paths.

6. Mixed Pedestrian and Bike Traffic:
SUPs are standard treatments in NSW, supported by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) design guidelines for active transport.

7. Long-Term Network Planning:
The SUP forms part of a broader network envisioned in the Hornsby Shire Walking and Cycling Strategy. This network aims to connect all suburbs, including key links to Boundary Road and other major axes. Planning for these future extensions is ongoing.

8. Under-16 Cyclist Use:
Under-16s can already use the existing paths. Upgrading the Bellamy Street SUP enhances safety and connectivity for all users without requiring the removal of on-street parking to build dedicated “cycle only” paths.

9. Project Feasibility:
The proposal aligns with Council’s long-term strategy to improve active transport infrastructure. While balancing local constraints, it represents a step forward in building a comprehensive SUP network that connects communities and promotes walking and cycling.

Thank you once again for commenting on our plans.

Yours faithfully
(Hornsby Council)
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We’re keen to hear your feedback. Send us a mail in our inbox.

We have “Had Our Say” and made a submission to Council’s consultation on how and where it intends to spend some money. Overall, “Pennant Hills” is mentioned just under 30 times in the plan, including “West Pennant Hills” and including “Pennant Hills Road”.  Many of these items have been on Council’s TODO-list for some time, and this is not unusual.

Below is our feedback to Council on the current plan.

The Trust is pleased to see the following two points noted:
6A.K13 – Develop draft Pennant Hills Place Plan
8A.K23 – Pennant Hills Town Centre review

Regarding – 8A.K24 Commence a review of the Pennant Hills Road Corridor between Pennant Hills and Thornleigh following the opening of NorthConnex:

This is also positive. However linking into cycle way strategy for the whole Shire, crucial is going to be finding a way to use the whole Pennant Hills Road Corridor to link up to Hornsby and beyond. If this window of time is missed, and development doesn’t consider and blocks a potential future cycle route – it’s too important to miss. The next generation will not easily forgive us.

Capex
P145 – Playground Renewals
Playgrounds give huge “bang for the buck”. The Trust supports the Charles Curtiss Playground in Normanhurst – will get a lot of usage and current shortage of good facilities, especially with shade – with the obvious link to welfare/ skin cancer in later life.

The Trust would also support prioritizing improving/upgrading the wooded Briddon Close area. It’s a great natural environment – and being next to Pennant Hills High – an opportunity to finally do something for youths – like some of the new exercise equipment at Ruddock Park. Is this a quick win?

The Trust supports the Catchment Remediation efforts. But there is zero focus on reducing litter, which is no small part of what is being remediated.

P151 – Catchment Remediation – Wilga Street
An tactical effort to work with local schools to change attitudes on litter – even one pilot initiative stands to have huge returns over many years. Pennant Hills High School has an alarming litter problem, evidenced by the trail of garbage that residents pick up continuously during term time along Ramsay Rd to the station. There is a serious problem on the fields which goes into Tedbury Creek and Berowra Creek, all whilst we are paying for capital works at Zig Zag to try and remediate pollution of Berowra Creek from Thornleigh! Can HSC allocate the cost of a few hours of Environmental Staff to complement the highly expensive capital works?!!

You can read our submission verbatim in the PDF document.