Leeton Shire Council now has a plan it believes will deliver a more attractive and useable space for local residents and visitors to Gogeldrie Weir.
Council resolved to adopt the Gogeldrie Weir Master Plan at Wednesday night’s Council meeting after considering feedback provided by residents in response to extensive community consultation conducted during a 28-day public exhibition period.
The master plan to redevelop the Gogeldrie Weir Recreation Reserve was identified as a key priority in the Leeton Shire Council Delivery Program 2017-2022 and has been driven by the Gogeldrie Weir Management Committee, chaired by Deputy Mayor Cr George Weston.
Councillor and Chair of the Leeton Shire Council Gogeldrie Weir Management Committee Cr George Weston thanked the community for their interest in the project and their constructive feedback.
“Council received an excellent response which helped us to ensure needs and opportunities on the design are fully understood and considered,” said Cr Weston.
“The plan will deliver an attractive family-friendly, accessible, social and recreation hub for the residents of Leeton Shire and day visitors that is integrated with the Murrumbidgee Valley National Park and complementary to the next-door campground,” he said.
The adopted plan differs from the original plan in that the waterpark has been replaced with a playground and the inclusion of the proposed swimming beach is subject to further safety investigations.
Although popular with the community, Council concluded that a water park would be too costly to install and maintain given that it would need to comply with the same the same health regulations as a public swimming pool.
“A playground is a better overall alternative,” said Cr Weston.
“Not only can a playground be used all year round, but it will also be far less expensive to install and maintain, leaving us with more funds to put towards other high priority infrastructure.”
It is estimated that it will cost up to $3M to implement the master plan, with the funds coming from a mix of Council, partner agencies and grant funding.
Depending on the success and timing of applications for grant funding. While awaiting a large-scale grant, Council may consider a staged implementation of priority items identified by the community feedback.
