Councillor Heidi Lee Douglas - Peaceful Bayside

14/11/2026

I’m on the ground in Türkiye at COP31 with a bunch of Aussie’s finest (including former PM Malcolm Turnbull).

I’m here for my day job as Solar Citizens CEO- helping to lead a global push to double rooftop solar backed by storage by 2030!

Unfortunately council wasn’t able to give me access to my councillor emails, or attend a committee meeting a few days ago remotely, due to security concerns.

But I’ll be back home next weekend and will reply to any waiting emails then! And attend the full council meeting.

Ps trip not paid for by tax payers or rate payers- privately funded!

10/11/2026

Want a look inside Rockdale’s new affordable housing?

Watch the video!

This place is jaw dropping. Absolutely stunning affordable housing. Rockdale shines as a location from inside this quality home.

I’m proud to share that Bayside Council provided land for the City West Housing development has recently opened on the Princes Hwy, so that the site could be larger and offer more affordable homes to more families. It was my honour to help open this quality affordable housing from - alongside Member for Rockdale Steve Kamper and NSW Minister for Housing Rose Jackson.

Tallowwood Apartments is City West Housing's first mixed-use, build...

08/11/2026

This is a big win for our community! The removal of a proposal for an AI Data Centre on the Cooks River!

Thank you to the many Peaceful Bayside supporters who made many of the 600 plus submissions in protest of a data centre proposed for the Cooks River waterfront at Wolli Creek - requesting better use of our public space!

Thanks also to the Cooks River Alliance for their community leadership on ensuring our magnificent Cooks River is better valued as public green space in planning decisions.

The work on activating this riverfront for public benefit is by no means over.

Bayside Council have requested a land swap, so that the forefront be given to public parkland rather than an industrial logistics centre.

Let's keep up the fight for public access to a better managed Cooks River waterfront.

I also want to acknowledge Stop the Cooks River AI Project - SCRAP and the St George Greens for their work hosting community events to raise the profile of this campaign.

03/11/2026

Bayside Business Awards was a chance to celebrate fantastic local entrepreneurs including from those I represent in Ward 5

⭐️ Best restaurant - Ammos
⭐️ Best individual business leader from Thai on the Beach, Ratana Synodinos
⭐️ Best Accessibility and Inclusion Sans Souci Veggie Patch
🦷 plus shout out to Bright-on Dental and their very own magical Tooth Faerie Theresa who does local outreach in preschools on dental hygiene!

What a bunch of winners - all!

⭐️ Plus best overall local business APT Roofing- you couldn’t meet nicer guys!

With Councillor Janin Bredehoeft

02/11/2026

How do you feel about 5 new synthetic fields being “fast tracked” last week by Bayside’s Labor and Liberals Councillors (< Laberals> )?

To deliver this fast track, what else will council also be able to deliver for our community, and what will it not? What’s the opportunity cost?

We finally have the beginnings of the evidence base Bayside should have had years ago with the first stage of the Open Spaces and Recreation Strategy.

Before we spend tens of millions of dollars adding individual sporting facilities, Council should first establish what our community actually needs across the whole Local Government Area. That’s what the NSW Guidelines on synthetic fields clearly say:

https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-05/synthetic-turf-sports-fields-in-public-open-space-guideline-for-decision-makers.pdf

We should be asking:
- Where are the open-space deficits?
- Which suburbs have the least access?
- What does our growing apartment population need?
- How much land do we need for organised sport versus informal recreation, trees, shade, playgrounds, walking, nature and community gathering?
- And how do we compare with neighbouring councils?

That’s what an Open Spaces and Recreation Plan will tell us.

Have your say on this issue at the Planning and Environment Committee Wednesday night - you must register by 5pm Tuesday.

Papers are here - page 14 onward

https://infoweb.bayside.nsw.gov.au/Open/2026/11/CPE_04112026_AGN_5139_AT.PDF

Register here:

https://www.bayside.nsw.gov.au/your-council/council-and-committee-meetings/attend-council-or-committee-meeting

31/10/2026

What’s on the Council agenda this week?

⭐️ I’m particularly pleased to see the first stage of the Open Space & Recreation Strategy.

This was one of the key strategic unlock Peaceful Bayside went into this term wanting to achieve, and I have been pushing for it and brought it to council with support of former Mayor Edward McDougall - Bayside Councillor and Councillor Janin Bredehoeft.

Neighbouring councils such as Georges River, Randwick and Inner West already have strategic frameworks guiding their open space and recreation planning.

So I’m very pleased that we as a council are now moving this work forward.

The strategy needs to answer the big questions:

🌳 What open space do we have?
⚽ What recreation facilities do we need?
📍 Where are the gaps?
🏘️ How will population growth change demand?
🌿 What should we improve and where should we invest?
💰 How should developer contributions and Council investment be prioritised?

This is exactly the kind of thing I believe Council should be doing.

Council is a strategic board, not an operational management team.

Our job is to set the long-term direction, scrutinise major investments, make evidence-based decisions and hold the organisation to account for delivering the strategy.

Not decide every operational detail. And not make ad hoc decisions based on the most powerful lobby groups ability to drown out other quieter, less organised parts of our community and their needs.

There’s plenty more on this week’s agenda too: including the Banksia Town Centre upgrade feasibility assessment, Wolli Creek transport study, Angelo Anestis Aquatic Centre car parking, PCYC Rockdale lease and future use, and planning matters.

Also on the agenda is next steps on Villiers st, heritage home. That’s a confidential item.

You can read all council papers here:

https://infoweb.bayside.nsw.gov.au/?committee=1

30/10/2026

The Leader covers the heated debate from community and councillors about Bayside Council’s decision this week to develop many more new synthetic soccer fields.

The majority of councillors want 5 more in total - two at Jellicoe, plus Mascot, Kingsgrove Reserve, and Riverine Park.

On top of 7 we have - with replacement schedule starting soon.

Big bucks for council and ratepayers.

And that would make 12 synthetic fields in Bayside for ~188,000 residents = one synthetic field for every ~15,650 residents.

At the current seven, it’s one per ~26,800 residents.

That’s a 71% increase in synthetic fields without anything like a corresponding increase in population.

I argued for an amendment for council to follow the NSW Guidelines for Synthetic Fields which includes a needs assessment through an Open Spaces and Recreation Strategy and facilities assesment across council areas. My amendment was lost so I put it up as a foreshadowed motion. That also lost.

Councillors therefore voted against following the NSW Guidelines.

https://www.theleader.com.au/story/9383219/bayside-council-moves-to-roll-out-synthetic-sports-fields/

30/10/2026

Help shape a new space for young people at Heslehurst Reserve 🌳 Brighton Le Sands.

Bayside Council is seeking feedback on a proposed youth precinct designed for being active, hanging out, relaxing, getting creative and connecting with others.

We want to hear from young people, families, residents and park users about what matters to them before the design is finalised.

🗓️ Feedback is open until Tuesday 24 November 2026.

Have Your Say 👇
https://haveyoursay.bayside.nsw.gov.au/heslehurst-reserve-youth-space