Katoomba Leura Online

Following the sale by the Blackburn family mooted in the Gazette last year, the Alex is now advertising for hospitality staff ahead of a multi-million dollar renovation.

The SEEK ad for a Sous Chef is seeking somebody able to produce a new menu. “Fresh and hearty is definitely what we are after.. someone who can create a menu that ticks all of the boxes… fresh, made in house, approachable and on trend. The menu should be a modern take on pub classics and one that will really put this pub on the map.”

Other details likely to interest patrons are plans for a kids play area, outdoor fireplaces and a complete interior refurbishment.

It’s time to celebrate the 1920s again in Leura with the annual Roaring 20s festival.
Highlights are the world record Charleston dance, where you can become a Guiness World Record holder, the vintage car rally and plenty of opportunities for fine local dining and entertainment.
Head to Leura on Saturday Feb 1st, or straight to the website:
http://www.roaring20s.com.au/events

The Lithgow Mercury is reporting that last year’s garden festival raised over $100,000 with donations to Blue Mountains and District Anzac Memorial Hospital at KAtoomba and The Blue Mountains Health Trust and Cancer Help.

What a fantastic effort by a team of hard working volunteers. This year’s show will be on October 5 to 13.

Following on from previous successes, the Leura Shakespeare Festival returns to the Everglades in January 2013. This time, a trio of plays around a theme of shipwrecks, The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest and Twelfth Night.

Details and tickets at Sport for Jove.

Interesting to see Optus doing some duct work in Leura. This could indicate they intend to add DSLAMs to upper mountains exchanges, finally giving some competition to Telstra in the area. With no ADSL2+ ports currently available in Leura exchange, and nearing capacity at both Blackheath and Katoomba, it certainly looks like the demand is there (capacity source: http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/)

As always, the best broadband deals are published on Whirlpool, just be cautious as many providers offer substantially different plans where they have their own ADSL infrastructure, versus where they buy it off-net from Telstra. Make sure the plan you want is available at your location.

John Merriman, the BMCC Local Studies librarian has uploaded a fantastic set of colour photos of mountains streetscapes from 1983.
Highlights include Golden Fleece petrol stations (48c per litre), Fosseys, Toranas and Kingswood’s a plenty.
Service Stations

Street Views

Today’s post is a round up of local development applications for proposed building works. First up, an application for retail development in Wenty. The application for six new shops plus residential unit upstairs boasts that it will bring Wenty up to speed with the other local towns that have seen recent development. Not sure Lawson, Leura and Katoomba would agree the developments have been desirable. At least it appears to be reasonably sensitive to the built environment.

Nobody will be accusing the developers of the approved units at the GWH off ramp for Leura of sensitivity to the local environment. More like an attempt to outdo the Spires in hideous presentation. Apparently, the council gave in after they were advised the development application was complying and they would lose in the Land and Environment Court if they opposed it. At least there is some schadenfreud that the absentee landlords in the Spires who paid $360,000 off the plan a decade ago will have neighbours who paid $260,000.

And the largest development in the area, a sixty unit residential apartments, plus retail, originally approved in 2007 looks set to go ahead in Goldsmith Place Katoomba. It says something about how bad the similar scale Leura apartment developments are that this block starts to look reasonable. The three building plan is six stories tall at the tallest point, but owing to the below grade site it will appear no more than three stories tall. Mind you, if work doesn’t start by May they will be back to the drawing board as consent will lapse.

The VisitBlueMountains organised Roaring 20s Festival has come up with a novel way of promoting the event and the region – a world record attept for the most massed Charleston dancers in costume.

The current record is 250, so they rate their chances as good for taking the title at the February 4th event in Leura Mall. Everyone is invited to participate, although to be counted in the world record numbers you will need to be in 1920s attire. Details here.

The annual BMETS Book Sale is coming up Saturday, October 29 & Sunday, October 30, at the CWA Hall in Leura.

BMETS advise they have over 10,000 titles, with additional stock being added all weekend. Most books are $1, and the range is ordered by type and subject, so it is possible to find something in all those books.

More details:

The blossoms are coming out on the cherry trees and the weather is tending to warm, and all around the mountains people are out in the garden.

For Leura though, spring means it is almost time for the Garden Festival (Oct 1-9) raising money for the local hospital, and the Village Fair (Oct 8 & 9) which sees the main street turn into a throng of stalls and visitors.

Work has been accelerating on the new Woolworths building in Leura.  The Goodies supermarket has closed, leaving locals without a nearby grocery option until the new store opens.

Current plans are for the new supermarket to open on the 14th of April.

The two Goodies premises are being refitted, and the other new Mall facing shops are also well into shop fitting. All shops are let.

Combined with renovations to the Old Post Office to accommodate a relocated newsagent, the eastern side of the Mall is a hive of building work, but completion will be here soon.

For all Katoomba and Leura dog lovers, we’re celebrating our move to the Blue Mountains with a $50 session special. Previously based in Sydney, we’re proud to finally call the mountains home and so we’d like you to help us celebrate! If you have a pampered pooch or cat that you regard as a special member of your family, give us a call today.

All details and pet galleries are on our website:  www.redbirdphotography.com.au

All creatures great and small are welcome! We are also available for [human] family sessions, contact us to see a sample session. Be quick, book early to avoid disappointment!

Blue Mountains Tourism is running a “Roaring Twenties” promotion in the upper mountains and central west in February. It’s a nice idea with dinners, dances, accommodation specials and other activities all themed around the the 1920s era.
One activity that looks particularly interesting is the historical walking tours of Katoomba and Leura offered on the Thursday 10th – Saturday 12th in February. Recounting stories of the time and giving insight into the buildings left behind it looks to be educational and fun. Details on the Carrington Website.

A flattering write up of Josophan’s chocolates and Ikou day spa in the Fairfax press.

Link here.

The electronic magazine The Whistler has had a big win with the restoration of the Leura Spires clock tower.

The photo below was taken at about 4:07 – nice work. The second issue of the Whistler has been released, so head over and take a look.

Good quality books, CDs & DVDs required now. Turn your unwanted books, CDs and DVDs into cash for East Timor. Deliver them to 8 Westbourne Street, Wentworth Falls or call Ruth on 4757 1953.

Brookfield Partnership has released a brochure advertising shops for lease in the yet to be completed Woolworths development on Leura Mall at the old Colless site. It includes and artists impression and plan view for those of us having difficulty envisioning just what is in store.

With Wenty and Katoomba both boasting public clocks that keep pretty accurate time, why is Leura bereft?
A new electronic magazine – the Whistler – based in the Blue Mountains, launches with an investigation of just why the clock on the Spires has never worked.
Other stories are of local interest too.
Katoomba Leura Online supports the Whistler in its quest to get the Spires clock working.

The RFS has added the Council Chambers and car park at Katoomba, Pioneer Place at Katoomba and Mt Victoria Park to its list of safer places shoud residents seek a last minute refuge in case of catastrophic fire.

Still no sites between Leura (the golf course) and Glenbrook (Whitton Park), which remains concerning.

Full list at the RFS Website.

The annual village fair is due to start on the 10th of October.  It provides the culmination to the Leura Gardens Festival that begins a week earlier on 3rd October.

The Garden Festival will showcase 9 private gardens, open for visitors to raise money for Katoomba Hospital. The separate Village Fair will see Leura Mall closed off to allow local shop keepers and others to setup stalls in the main block between Railway Parade and Megalong St.

More in fo at http://www.leuravillage.com.au/ and http://www.leuragardensfestival.com.au/

The Gazette reports, in a story that I think buried the lede, that Woolworths has struck a deal to buy the old Colless site in the Mall.

Work on the development has apparently ceased while future plans are confirmed. It is believed Woolies want to open a gourmet supermarket under the  Thomas Dux Grocer branding, retaining the planned underground car parking but no longer going ahead with the previously approved residential apartments on upper stories.

If the Woolworths plan goes ahead, it appears to be much more in keeping witht he village character – an up market supermarket catering to the Double Bay of the mountains ;-)

In any case, a scaled back development has positives for retaining Leura’s streetscape feel.

The media is reporting that the NSW state government will no longer fund over time pay for full time Fire fighters to cover staff shortages if retained (part-time) staff call in sick.

This will cause approximately 30 stations in NSW to close peridically, including Leura.

The potential savings from this move? $1.5million.

It doesn’t seem like a good cost/benefit trade off. A pretty paltry saving against a $800m budget to needlessly put people in danger, particularly in a bush fire prone area such as the Blue Mountians.

Getting the kids out of the house for a play, and a chance for some adult conversation, is what play group is all about. The two below welcome new members.

Monday Playgroup, run by St Aidan’s Anglican Church, Megalong Street, Leura 10am-12pm, $2 per week per family.

Thursday, Playgroup Association Playgroup, Leura Baptist Church Hall, cnr GWH & Leura Mall, 10am to 12pm, $2 per family per week plus yearly registration fee to Playgroups NSW of $32 (which covers insurance). You can have 2 free visits before you have to sign up.

You can just show up to either group, no need to contact anyone first. Neither group meets during School holidays.