Council meeting update - 15 December 2020

Here is an overview of outcomes from tonight’s Ordinary Meeting of Tamworth Regional Council:

Councillors voted to support the development of a McDonalds Restaurant at North Tamworth subject to a range of conditions including limiting the trading hours to 5am to 11pm for a minimum of the first six months of operation. The reduced hours will allow a noise validation assessment to be undertaken to assess the actual noise impact on nearby residents. After the assessment is completed Council will further consider extending the hours of operation. The site at the corner of Peel Street and Marius Street adjoining Freedom Aged Care Properties Pty Ltd. A report tabled at the meeting said Council received 20 submissions over two public exhibition periods. Concerns raised included the proposed 24-hour, 7-days- a-week operation and the impact on the amenity of neighbouring properties, headlight glare and potential noise impacts. The development includes a McCafe, a play area and a dual lane drive-through with two waiting bay parking spaces.

Councillors tonight endorsed a recommendation from Transport for NSW to close the Mahoney Avenue pedestrian crossing across the railway line due to safety reasons related to the proposed Tamworth Intermodal Freight Facility. The location of the crossing near the West Tamworth Rail Yard and the shunting of trains which will need to take place once the intermodal starts operating means there will be a marked increase in rail line movements. It was one of the decisions Councillors made after considering a Tamworth Global Gateway Park update report. They also agreed to approve spending a total of $110,000 from the Westdale Land Reserve for legal, planning and marketing tasks related to the development. The cost will be recovered through the sale of land at the Park. The report outlined how since the July update “considerable effort and activity” has taken place with the Tamworth Intermodal Rail Line reactivation, the Oxley Highway-Country Road Roundabout, trunk drainage project, Goddard Lane roadworks, intermodal access roads and a development application has been lodged for the operation of the intermodal. The development application is on public exhibition until 17 December, 2020.

As part of ongoing efforts to further secure the water supply for Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal, Councillors agreed to purchase up to 240 Megalitres of Peel Alluvium water on the temporary market (for 2020/2021) and attach that water to the four Scott Road Drift Wells which are considered to be extracting Peel Alluvium groundwater. Latest advice from a local water broker is the cost of the purchase will be about $24,000. It will be funded from the Water Reserve. A report tabled at the meeting explained how as at 7 December, 2020 Council had 36.5 Megalitres of its remaining allocation available for wells 3, 4, 5 and 6, which is six or seven days of operation. During the heatwave at the start of December groundwater from Scott Road Drift Wells 3, 4, 5 and 6 was used to meet increased water demand from Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal and maintain contingency water storage levels at the Calala Water Treatment Plant storage dam. Groundwater was also sourced while required repairs works to the Dungowan Pipeline were carried out. The purchase of Peel Alluvium water on the temporary market will allow an estimated further 40 days of extraction to take place. Council is continuing discussions with the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment, National Resource Access Regulator and the NSW Minister for Water seeking further extraction from the Scott Road Drift Wells on a permanent basis.

A consistent approach to managing more than 390 parcels of space across the Tamworth region will be the key outcome of the Open Space Management Guide. Councillors tonight adopted the strategic document which is designed to provide the guidelines for ensuring the allocation of resources to manage and improve open spaces is consistent with the community’s expectation. The guide includes six different park hierarchy categories for open space and each has a defined embellishment guide, developed in line with industry best practice. The draft guide was on public exhibition during September and October this year. It will be implemented in early 2021. Staff will now review the quantity of open space and identify any parcel of land which may be surplus to the community’s needs and potentially be made available for sale. Any funds from the sale of land would be reinvested into nearby parks.

For more information, see the full reports at www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/business-papers

Rate this page