786 signatures back bid to keep Anker Avenue Reserve a Mollymook community asset

Residents have lodged a 786-signature petition calling for Anker Avenue Reserve in Mollymook to remain a community asset under Shoalhaven City Council’s Community Infrastructure Strategic Plan 2056.

Clr Karlee Dunn presented the petition at the council’s ordinary meeting on Tuesday, 25 August. Its request is specific: retain Anker Avenue Reserve as a community asset under CISP 2056.

The petition did not result in a decision on whether the reserve would be sold, reclassified or retained. No further action or reporting date for the petition was specified.

The campaign was presented alongside a separate petition concerning Werninck Cottage in Nowra. That petition, carrying 2,363 signatures, opposed any reclassification, disposal or sale process affecting the cottage and sought its continued public ownership and community use.

The Werninck Cottage petition was presented by Clr Jemma Tribe. It described the building as a locally listed heritage building and an important part of Nowra’s history, and referred to its use as a craft cottage since 1985.

The petition said volunteers had kept Werninck Cottage open, displayed locally made crafts and raised funds for charities and community organisations across the Shoalhaven.

The Anker Avenue petition does not set out a proposed sale, development application, reclassification process or timetable for a further decision affecting the Mollymook reserve.

Its request is framed around CISP 2056, the council strategy cited by residents seeking the reserve’s continued status as a community asset. The council’s consideration of the petition does not itself alter the reserve’s status.

The two petitions put separate community assets before councillors at the same meeting, with the Anker Avenue campaign focused on retaining the Mollymook reserve and the Werninck Cottage campaign focused on continued public ownership and community use in Nowra.