December Council Meeting News Report

8.2.3 Bathurst Region Active Transport Strategy  

Bathurst Regional Council has been successful in receiving a $100,000 grant from the NSW Government under the ‘NSW Get Active program’ for the development of the Bathurst Region Active Transport Strategy (BRATS).  

BRATS will build on the Bathurst Community Access and Cycling Plan 2011 (2011 Plan) which has guided the provision of active transport infrastructure over the last decade, including the construction of new footpaths and off-road shared paths, production of a cycling map, construction of rider education infrastructure and changes to engineering standards to support wider footpath construction.  

BRATS will add value to the 2011 Plan and is intended to be the primary guiding document for prioritising actions to enable the planning and construction of the city’s active transport network (footpaths, shared paths, cycleways and associated infrastructure) into the next decade. A review of the 2011 Plan is supported by community sentiment to improve active transport in the Bathurst Region led by community groups including the Bathurst Regional Access Committee (BRAC) and Cyclesafe Bathurst. 

The Strategy’s scope of work is; 

To undertake a major review of the Bathurst Community Access and Cycling Plan 2011 to develop a new Bathurst Region Active Transport Strategy (BRATS) with particular focus on the connection of new urban release areas to the existing city footprint that were not considered in the 2011 Plan. 

In conjunction with the review of the 2011 Plan, BRATS will also review Transport for NSW’s new Guidelines ‘Design of Roads and Streets’ (DORAS), assessing how they can be reflected in the new Strategy. DORAS describes 22 different road typologies and provides guidance on how different roads and streets in NSW should be designed to serve users within their context. The guidelines promote street design so that no matter where we live, streets are accessible to every person who walks, rides and drives, and give people more options to move around safely and enjoyably. 

Council is developing a Policy Implementation Plan to identify the road typologies and draft standards that are appropriate for the BRATS under the new DORAS guidelines. 

There are a range of community groups who will be interested in and who can contribute to the development of BRATS. A Community Consultative Committee will be established, with representation from groups such as:  

• Bathurst Regional Access Committee, Cyclesafe Bathurst, Bathurst Business Chamber, the Tourism Industry, and the Education Sector.  

The Committee will meet regularly for the duration of the time it takes to prepare the BRATS. Council has appointed Councillors West and Cranston as the delegates to the new BRATS Consultative Committee. 

See full council report, here: BATHURST REGION ACTIVE TRANSPORT STRATEGY 

8.2.5 Bathurst Airport Master Plan 

Developed by Arap Australia Pty Ltd in 2024, Council has adopted a new Airport Master Plan which focuses on land development in the northern area of the precinct. 

The previous Airport Master Plan was adopted by Bathurst Regional Council in 2013, with the plan focusing on land development to the southern end of the Airport precinct. 

The 2024 Master Plan is a planning document which recommends the future direction of development of Bathurst Airport for the next 10 years.  

It provides guidance on the likely infrastructure and funding requirements to ensure that the Airport will remain functional, service the needs of the aviation community, and provide new opportunities with the opening of the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport (Western Sydney Airport) in late 2026, whilst acknowledging a shift away from regular air passenger services in Bathurst.  

The report was prepared in consultation with Council operational and senior staff as well as face-to-face consultation sessions with existing leaseholders at the Airport in June and November of 2024. 

See full council report, here: BATHURST AIRPORT MASTER PLAN 

8.5.1 Ngurang Arts Residency NSW (BARN) Project and Future Direction  

In June 2017, Council adopted a ‘Cultural Vision’ which identified the desirability of developing a Performing Arts Residency Space at Chifley Dam. This facility would “provide opportunities for individuals or groups to develop their creative talent” and to “build Bathurst’s reputation as an inland centre of excellence in the performing arts by hosting a development program of national significance”. 

Following extensive project development and consultation with local performing arts groups, in 2022 Council was successful in receiving a $4.78million Creative Capital grant to get the project, then titled the Bathurst Arts Residency NSW (BARN), off the ground.  

During a site visit to Chifley Dam on 2 November 2023 as part of the project’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment, the Wiradjuri name “Ngurang”, meaning “home, camp, place, nest” was proposed as the final operational name for the facility. 

The project has an approved DA and is ‘shovel ready’. 

Significant inflationary pressures have however negatively impacted Council’s ability to deliver the project within the original grant allocation; additional funding was sought under the Federal Government’s ‘Growing Regions’ Fund in January 2024. This was unsuccessful. A further submission to the second round of the Growing Regions Fund for an additional $4,194,511 was submitted in September 2024. The outcome of this application is pending. 

Council has spent $733,295 on the project to date on required specialist consultancies including architects (conceptual and detailed design), Quantity Surveying, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment, project expenses & project management.  

Council has sought options for the reallocation of the project’s existing grant funding to alternative eligible community infrastructure or cultural projects. All potential options were explored with the funding body, Create NSW, at a meeting on 28 November 2024. The outcomes of these discussions are reported below. It was noted, that: 

• the outcome of the Growing Regions Round 2 funding was not yet known and is unlikely to be known prior to February 2025.  

• success in this current funding round would provide sufficient total funding to complete the full scope of the project as planned.  

• should Council be unsuccessful in its application for Growing Regions Round 2 funding then further project delays, to allow sourcing further grant opportunities, would not be entertained by the funding body. 

Council would subsequently have three options:  

1. To proceed with the project at a reduced scope, to be determined and agreed to between Council and the funding body.  

2. To cease development of the project. This option would require the repayment to the funding body of all grant monies expended on the project to date.  

3. To seek variation on the project via a written application from Council to the funding body. 

Council further resolved at the Council meeting of 20 November 2024 to “assess the financial and reputational implications of pausing the Ngurang project indefinitely”. Main considerations are:  

• An indefinite pause on the project was specifically eliminated as an option for consideration by the funding body.  

• Given this limitation, Council will need to make a determination based upon the three options provided above, in the event that the application to the Growing Regions Round 2 funding application is unsuccessful.  

• Council has spent $733,295 on the project to date. Should Council decide to discontinue the project then all grant expenditure to date would need to be repaid to the funding body (Create NSW). This would place considerable pressure on existing budgets. 

Council is currently seeking community feedback on the project to inform future decision making. Namely, to determine the level of local support, and the understood social and economic benefits the facility would bring to the community. A survey on Council’s Your Say page was made live on Monday 2 December 2024 and will close on Friday 10 January 2025, after which time the data collected will be collated and presented to Councillors for consideration. 

To have your say, complete our survey: https://yoursay.bathurst.nsw.gov.au/ngurang-barn 

Submissions close 4pm Friday 10 January 2025.