Who is responsible for control of these illegal signs? If it is the signage committee of the Derwent Valley Council, may I suggest that they implement their powers and do something about it. I recall back in 2006, a new signage policy was discussed, now six years on the situation is even worse - a free-for-all to put any signs up. Cars for sale, boats, and please note that the firewood hotline is not even a local number but an Eastern Shore number.
Comments would be welcome from concerned ratepayers and any other interested parties.
LYDIA GRAHAM
Thank you Mrs Graham for bringing this issue to the fore front.
ReplyDeleteThe A10 Lyell Highway/Hobart Rd entrance to the township of New Norfolk is an absolute disgrace; a complete/utter "eyesore" for those whom visit or pass through our town, let alone for the local residents who have to tolerate the conglomeration of signage along the roadside.
It is high time that the local authorities concerned; pull their socks up and ensue their proper duties in keeping the town clean and tidy, not place it into the "too hard basket" and shelve it into some inconspicuous spot on next years DVC works agenda!
lets face it -the entrance to Nawfik is nothing special ,signs or no signs.
ReplyDeleteA half built housing project,built on a treeless paddock is hardly welcoming to tourists or residents.
I agree! The Gold Coast in Queensland is good at doing tacky, let's leave it to them, don't turn New Norfolk into a Gold Coast clone.
ReplyDeleteOh Lydia, do not read this reply IF you are they kind of person who does not like to be disagreed with.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the Council always supports Tourist enterprises, there has never been a proactive priority towards attracting people to the area.
As two direct examples of this is the story about a convict tunnel from the Bush Inn to who know's where that was quite literally covered up, and, the ongoing joke of the now ruined Willow Court precinct that could have been an inland Port Arthur but now should become low income housing. But I digress.
Honestly, those people I know who travel out here from Hobart are not "put off" by the roadside goings on and signs on the road coming into New Norfolk, if anything they will stop at the Tourist info board just there and ceck out what the locals have on offer. Old cars. Roadside advertising. Fire wood. Whatever sells from the roadside.
Besides the drive from Hobart to the airport, there are no more areas where you can pull up, wait for someone to drive by and buy what you have got on display.
I've seen tyres, auto parts, berries, apricots, apples all successfully sold along there... how could that be a bad thing ? If it didn't work for them those people would not use that area. Just leave them be.
... and don't quote all that 'public gathering liablity' nonsence either.
Our lives are over governed by far to many pointless regulations these days, so why not just leave these people alone to do there thing.
With the "Farmers Markets" at the Oust House near Tynwald park, trying to attract stall holders and customers... leave these side of the road un-official gathering spaces alone. It will just attract more people to the area when it's on. That is simple economics, leave people to arrange their own lives for a change.
As for your comment on signage... did you not see the ridiculous amount of "Vote for local councillor" signs at the round abouts of New Norfolk during the last election ?? And, that is distracting signs at a place where you need to concentrate on roadside conditions... not the side of the road on the way into town.
If you want to attract people to the area, you have to let people advertise what they have to offer... its simple, and it makes for a nice day out when you find a roadside suprise. You just have to lighten up a bit and give people a chance to live their lives.
So rather finishing up my reply to you by by saying something mean spirited like 'you being the voice of an out of touch, small minded vocal minority'... I will end by saying that in a township with no full time police presence and a severe youth delinquency problem there are more pressing social priorities than the state of the road into New Norfolk from Hobart.
Anthony, I'll know that you will find that the "Vote for local councillor" signs were all legal under the rules. Whereas the signs placed on the roadside (without permission) by vendors are not.
ReplyDeleteAre you honestly suggesting "Anonymous" that one rule should apply for politicians signs.... and no one elses ??
ReplyDeleteThose election signs where put in dangerous spots and they where a distraction to drivers... especially in the round about.
The Vendor signs on the way into town are at the point where everyone needs to slow down to 60 from the highway.
My point was that some leniency should be given to people who actually want to do something constructive and run a business or a side of the road enterprise that is doing no harm besides making one person feel like they should complain on a blog.
I think they should let those people get on with their lives and their businesses and anyone else should just look the other way.
Stop 'knocking those who want to "have a go" and get into those businesses and support them !!
Anthony, All signs have to abide by the rules, but some of them (political sines) have to abide by more.
ReplyDeleteMy point is that an illegal sign on the side of the road is illegal.
People should be allowed to put signs out for the business when they are trying to generate interest in their business ... I believe you should all leave them alone and let those people trade.
DeleteDo you want people to be out and about in New Norfolk or not ? Do you want visitors to know what they can do while they are here or not ? Don't you all want a tourist trade here in the 'Jewel of the Derwent Valleys Crown " ?
Seriosuly get off their backs... post your a link here to the regulations that make these signs illegal on the side of a State Highway and the discussion can go on.
If there is one sign to be concerned about it's the one on the old Willow Court gates at the same site as mentioned in the article. It seems it is more important to let drivers know that they are entering Derwent Valley Council, than it is to let them know that they are entering New Norfolk! Why does the DVC get a much larger font size than the name of the town????
ReplyDeleteIf there is one sign to be concerned about it's the one on the old Willow Court gates at the same site as mentioned in the article. It seems it is more important to let drivers know that they are entering Derwent Valley Council, than it is to let them know that they are entering New Norfolk! Why does the DVC get a much larger font size than the name of the town????
ReplyDeleteWhile perhaps some ground rules might be appropriate for side-of-the-road signage (eg, not to be hung off the pathetic Welcome to New Norfolk sign on the 'gate'), I do think they add a bit of a country-town feel ... which is what we are. And goodness knows the Oust House Farmers Market needs all the support it can get given how disappointing an enterprise it has been for a regional area(though an excellent initiative).
ReplyDeleteI agree there are bigger issues at hand regarding the town but spending a little money WELL on making the town entrance more attractive is not a bad thing, the money needs to spread around - please do something with the 'gate', it is tragic.
I also agree with Anthony re stop knocking those who want to have a go and support them instead. So often, it seems that those who try to make an effort (in whichever way they are able) are pipped at the post by some form of bureaucracy (eg, the Lachlan Festival ... so much work and enthusiasm doused by the unavailablity of less than $400 to pay for insurance).
Wake up DVC and save your labour political spin for the ducks or your own personal solace and give us some positive forward progress rather than just making do on an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" premise.
PS - the Queen's tree planted Monday would have served a better purpose at Tynwald than Arthur Square. Think think think people.
Whats the difference?-there are FOR SALE signs all over the town at the moment.Keep up this anti everything mentality and there will even more soon.
ReplyDeleteIndeed; and yet there are more and more housing blocks being made available!
ReplyDeleteThere is such complacency and hypocrisy it makes me see red.
During a recent discussion concerning Willow Court, where members of the disability teaching fraternity mentioned how it is getting quite difficult to take students through the site due to OH&S issues, one Councillor (quite disappointingly) sought to twist this into a positive thing by viewing the difficulty as a worthwhile teaching experienece in and of itself - puhleeeeze! Accept the fact that the place is a shambles and take steps to improve it by handing ownership over to a competent body. Spin doctor rhetoric at its best.
But I digress ...
Putting a sign out to promote your business is one thing. One business putting out 10 signs (as is the case today) is over the top, particularly when the business is only a stone's throw away. If every local business then avails themself of the same opportunity... see the problem?
ReplyDeleteI can see both sides of this argument.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who works in a small business in the Derwent Valley it can be disheartening. When a small professionally printed sign is rejected after following proper procedure through council it makes you wonder why you bothered to obey. I guess its the general mentality now..... who cares about rules, do it anyway.
I also agree that parking your car on the side of the road does no harm, selling some fruit and veg or advertising a sale/discount. But really 6+ signs on a regular basis for 1 business is really rubbing salt into the wounds of the few who have obeyed and have none. Its a bit like the council saying everyone can only have 1 wheelie bin and then collecting 6 or 7 if anyone chooses to sit them out there.
Derwent Valley Council's signage rules are available at http://www.derwentvalley.tas.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/-_FINAL_-_Signage_Policy.pdf. They are pretty clear, they state Council can refuse permission for signs if they contravene a number of provisions, which includes safety, "significantly disturb amenity", "introduce a discordant type of sign" and others. These provisions were created because many people regard a proliferation of gaudy commercial signs as ugly and undesirable. Council is understandably often reluctant to take action in many cases because it just creates ill-feeling for little gain, but the rules and the powers are there. Lydia's complaint is shared by many, and if legitimate complaints are voiced by many and appear to relect general community feeling, then Council should take action to fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteIt's no good saying "people should be allowed to..." when many people clearly do not like the result and believe that now would be a good time for Council to crack down on the signs in question, most of which are almost certainly illegal.
A vocal minority is still just a bunch of Killjoys and busy bodies who want to over-regulate "what other people want to do" ... leave them be, at least they are trying to get some business activity in New Norfolk. You all just want to make it more difficult for them to make a living.
DeleteIf you want DVC to do anything about it, don't wait for them to do it off their own bat (showing independent initiative is not their strong point)... you will need to make a formal submission as this seems to be the only way to achieve anything. Council doesn't respond to 'community sentiment' out there in cyberspace. There are processes which must be followed. Oh and the "policy" is just that - a policy. It can't be legally enforced. Brillaint, huh!?
ReplyDeleteHaving a policy and having an actual by-law which can be legally enforced are certainly two different things however, one should not expect any action from a Council (and by that I mean the administration >) which have such very bad taste to think that a 'gate' with a sign promoting the DVC as superior to that of the town it is supposing to identify; a horrible lump of stone recently planted in Arthur Square; allowing a subdivision with absolutely no screening/tree planting etc etc - I could go on and on. Is there no-one employed by council with any design skills and asthetics?
ReplyDeleteLydia is correct - the entrance to NN is overrun by ugly advertising (as well as a few ugly properties particularly at Sorell Creek) and a bit of a clamp down would not go astray!
Liz
OMG ... now you want to 'clamp down' on the way peoples homes look ? That is just plain silly Liz.
DeleteAnthony - you appear to missread, I wrote properties, not homes - have a look at the absolute eyesores on which there are no homes, just containers, blackberries, rubbish and the like. Liz
DeleteLiz - agree 100%. Design skills and aesthetics at the DVC - I think not. Just look around town, drab drab drab. The shops are largley very sad ... there's only a handful of appealing shops (Red Box, Cheeky Little Place, B&S, Morf, and the new store next to it) ... and I dare say that the majority of the independent ones of those are run by people orginally from the mainland. NN is stuck in a 60s time warp (and not a very attractive one) ... how's that supposed to promote tourism? Haven't any of the councillors or council staff travelled? Are they that uninspired?
ReplyDeleteSure sure it all needs money but other rural towns seem to manage.
Hope this spatial planning committee they've got gets real support from Council to implement some changes pronto, rather than there just being another plan collecting dust on a shelf as NN withers away into a complete non-event.
Oooh, this is a fiesty little blog - wonder if "the powers that be" are listening ...
ReplyDeleteDesign skills?- any skills would be a good start.
ReplyDeleteI have a strong suspicion that the majority of council members are strongly stuck in the last century and resent any kind of change. There is only one I know that has an actual blog, although it's not very active. I wonder if he reads this one..
ReplyDeleteYes.. the "Last Century".....very sorry state of affairs; our town deserves better!
DeleteWhether it be Local or State Govt. we are unfortunately stuck in a rut that is far too deep to get out of.
Shame....!
I think it's fair to say we shouldn't level all the blame at just the concillors elect - there are a number of council employees/management who also have a lot of influence/control.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I think you will find that said councillor with a blog does also read NN News!
if you are unhappy with the way the council do things remember that we vote for them
ReplyDeletepity there's not more fresh blood then (and how many change their tune once they get in???!), plus (as Are You Serious? pointed out) it's not just the Councillors who control things; it's Council employees too and they seem pretty entrenched.
DeleteThe problems are many-fold:
ReplyDelete1. The council as an entity has no forward strategic vision for the region. Willow Court demonstrates that.
2. The council has too many members that live in the past. Not all, but a majority.
3. The council refuses to reign in council employees who overstep their bounds. This happens too often.
4. People elect them because people, as a whole, do not like change. They will re-elect the same, non-performing people because they are comfortable with them. They know these people won't do anything radical or original. There are people prepared to elect new council members, but there aren't enough of them.
5. Look at the recent council elections. Only 57% of registered voters cast a vote. Councillors should not be complacent about winning a seat. They were so uninspiring that they, as a group, could only get 57% of people to vote.
Well said!
DeleteYou "hit the nail on the head".....johnd!
ReplyDeleteYou will have my vote in the next election.
Its not only sinage, as well as cars boats firewood piles , wat a mess, the list is endlass , worse than a dogs breakfast. A tourism towm. High st and nearby streets are not much better it appears along as u pay a fee u can put allmost anything on a FOOTpath. Peter
ReplyDelete