Mayoral Column 16th December 2020

Published on 16 December 2020

Balancing priorities

On Tuesday night we held our final Council meeting for 2020, where we considered a large agenda with over 30 items. It was also a difficult meeting in some ways, as we considered three development applications that were somewhat controversial, with varied views from community members.

Those development applications were for a child care facility in the Tillage, a 33 lot residential subdivision in Combermere Street and a truck depot in Lockyer Street, Goulburn.

We heard from community members on the night, and considered a number of written submissions on each of these proposals. These submissions raised some valid concerns including noise, traffic generation, access and visual amenity. We had to balance these against the reports and evidence submitted by experts in these fields, by the developer.

This is the difficult part of the role of a councillor – we cannot simply make a decision on gut-feel, opinion, or what we think is best. Our decisions must be based on strong planning grounds, which follow the rules set out in the Goulburn Mulwaree Local Environment Plan, and our Development Control Plans.

Ultimately, Council approved the child care facility and the residential subdivision, and I wish the two proponents of these projects every success. It is important that they meet the conditions of approval and work in with the community, and Council will continue to monitor this.

For the proposed truck depot Council chose to defer this development application, pending negotiation of potential conditions to allow this to proceed.

Alongside these development applications we considered a number of other major issues, including future use of our Irrigation Farm, a contract variation with Endeavour Industries, a financial assistance grant for the Goulburn Show and a number of other reports. The minutes are available to view online now.

School Holiday Youth Programs

As we approach the school holidays, Council’s youth services team have put together a packed program of activities for youth in January. These include a day at the Aquatic Centre, barefoot bowls at the Bowlo and a trip to Jamberoo Action Park.

The program is for youth aged 12 – 18 years old, and does have some participant number restrictions due to COVID-19 and capacity limits. Bookings are essential, with the permission form available on Council’s website under the Youth Services section, or from the Civic Centre (184 Bourke Street) or Goulburn Community Centre (155 Auburn Street).

Aquatic Centre Update

Summer is here, and this week we hit a major milestone in the redevelopment of the Goulburn Aquatic Centre with the first concrete pour occurring.

Demolition and clean-up is now complete, with around 50% of the earthworks completed with a significant amount of the structural piling works also now complete. The $30 million project will see a new indoor pool hall constructed that will house a 8 lane, 25 metre pool, warm water pool, leisure pools and splash pads. The project also includes new gym facilities, a café and a significantly upgraded car park among other things.

At this stage the project is tracking nicely, and we are looking at completion early in 2022.