Things are going fine within the new Dubbo Regional Council, says deputy mayor Anne Jones.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than a month into the new council, Cr Jones said from her perspective the response from the community had been very positive.
“You still have got a number of people who are not happy but it’s a matter of time. Most people who are unhappy are people who have lived in Wellington their whole life and still feel they have lost their identity. But only time will tell,” she said.
Overall, things were going smoothly, Cr Jones said.
It was different to go from Wellington Shire Council to Dubbo Regional Council, she said, but it was just a matter of getting used to a different process and way of doing things.
Councillor David Grant said there were so many different projects happening in Wellington at the moment, such as the upgrade of the pool and the redevelopment of Cameron Park.
A Wellington Town Assembly has been established with council representatives and community members to ensure the needs of the town are met.
Next, Cr Grant said he wanted to focus on rejuvenating the town’s main street. While some of it had been done, Cr Grant said there was still more to go.
“Fortunately or unfortunately we’ve got a very long main street so obviously that hurts when you have empty shops, but if we can make it look respectable and nice hopefully people will come to Wellington and open businesses,” he said.
“What’s happening around the region with the solar farm and the wind farm and the jail, it’s creating employment and that flows on. There’s just so much happening and we need to keep rolling ahead with those.”
The villages also should not be forgotten, he said.
“They’re a major drawing point in the fact that people go on their road trips and they like to stop at these places so we have to make sure the roads are sealed well for those people,” Cr Grant said.
Farming was a huge economic driver in the local government area, he said, which was yet another reason the roads needed to be in good condition.