Council meeting update - 23 March, 2021

Tuesday 23 March, 2021

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

 In a move as part of ongoing advocacy for increased water security for the Tamworth region community, Councillors tonight agreed to make a submission to the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment about the Draft Namoi Regional Water Strategy which is currently on public exhibition. Council’s submission will highlight a number of key points including the need to assess water security based on future demand rather than current demand, Council’s support of the new Dungowan Dam and Pipeline project, how the inability to allow a centre such as Tamworth to run out of water must be taken into account when considering water security and for the operation of the Chaffey Dam to Tamworth pipeline to remain operational at all times.

 Councillors endorsed a recommendation from the Tamworth Regional Traffic Committee to install traffic calming measures at the intersection of Carthage Street and White Street in East Tamworth to improve traffic management. Line marking and painted kerb blisters will be installed at the intersection to slow traffic. A report presented to Councillors tonight revealed Council staff investigated the crash history of the intersection and found two accidents with serious injuries occurred in 2018 and 2019. It said traffic counts indicated 85 per cent of vehicles passing through the intersection were travelling five kilometres per hour over the speed limit.

 Residents of Tamworth, Moonbi and Kootingal have continued with their drought-initiated water conservation habits even though more relaxed water restrictions have been in place since January this year. The Regular Update on Drought Response and Water Sustainability report said there has not been a spike in water consumption. “Comparing the past three summers’ consumption figures, it can be seen that residents have responded to the calls for water conservation, in line with Council’s drought response,” the report said. The average daily consumption in the summer of 2018/2019 was 29.5 Megalitres a day. In February this year the average daily consumption was 18.3 Megalitres a day.

 Councillors agreed to submit three motions to the 2021 National General Assembly of Local Government in June this year in Canberra. One calls for change to the National Medical Workforce Strategy “to ensure regional and rural communities are not disadvantaged in the delivery of adequate and essential medical services’’. One advocates for additional investment from the Australian and NSW governments into water purification technology research as well as funding to establish water purification plants to help improve water security. Another motion asks the Assembly to calls on the Federal Government to ‘’investigate the failings of the National Broadband Network in rural and regional Australia’’.

 An oil portrait of country music artist Chad Morgan by artist Peter Hudson and a number of works created by artists from the Tamworth Textile Triennial are among more than 50 works added to the Tamworth Regional Gallery visual art collection in 2020. The works were formally accepted into the collection tonight after Councillors considered a report detailing the purchases, donations, bequests and cultural gift donations. The report noted the Friends of Tamworth Regional Gallery made a number of acquisitions through their fundraising efforts. The newly-added works include woodblock prints, oil and watercolour paintings, an etching, screenprints and fibre works.

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

Watch the Mayor's video report here.