9 May 2011

Strathfield Council has joined eight Sydney councils to sign an alliance for the continued environmental management and preservation of the Cooks River.

Strathfield joins Ashfield, Bankstown, Canterbury, City of Sydney, Hurstville, Marrickville and Rockdale councils in signing the Cooks River Alliance for three years from July 2011. The alliance will guide each council to meet the objectives of natural resource management with a focus on the Cooks River Catchment.

The Cooks River, which runs from Botany Bay through south-western Sydney and receives rainfall from portions of 13 local government areas, has been degraded over many years through vegetation removal, artificial channel modification and the dumping of sewage, stormwater, and industrial and domestic waste.

In recent years, it has been joint-council initiatives under the Cooks River Foreshores Working Group and the OurRiver project which have held the responsibility of improving the quality of the Cooks River.

With the conclusion of the three-year OurRiver project funded by the NSW Environmental Trust’s Urban Sustainability Program, member councils have signed a memorandum of understanding for the Cooks River Alliance.

The Cooks River Alliance Executive Committee will provide strategic and operational advice consistent with The Cooks River Strategic Plan to be developed in the first year and the Alliance will employ five staff.

Strathfield Council will once again play host to the Cooks River Alliance staff at its Homebush Road offices.