Letters: Rail trail support still has traction

The asset being the rail corridor has been left vacant for over 35 years and will never be reinstated as a fully functioning rail service, either freight or passenger.

Armidale Council needs to repurpose the rail corridor and utilise it to generate economic growth and promote amongst other things, health, and safety.

If at any stage in the future the Government want to reinstate the rail system north of Armidale the rail trail will not stop that happening.

Further to our support I am listing local businesses that are prepared to put up funds to cover the ongoing maintenance of the rail trail. Each business listed below has pledged between $500 to $2000 per annum with no time limit on those funds going forward.

I have included the names of the business, the authorised person of those businesses, their contact phone numbers and their contribution per annum. This is so anyone that doubts the contributions these businesses are making, can personally contact the owners/managers that have made the pledges.

There are two anonymous donors who have committed and are fully supportive of the rail trail. They are cautious of the vocal minority that have been somewhat aggressive in

responses of support from the local community. So, for now they wish to remain anonymous. Be assured if the rail trail goes ahead these anonymous benefactors will honour their commitment.

David Boundy, Superair

(A list of businesses and private donors was supplied, but not published - Editor)

As the recently much vilified "ringleader" of the group of Armidale Councillors who have voted to defer commencement of the new "mini" rail trail proposed between Armidale Railway Station and Dumaresq rail head (some 9.8km) let me explain.

I have always been a supporter of the return of rail services north of Armidale. But this vote on item 9.1 of the April Ordinary Council Meeting of ARC had nothing to do with trains.

At the time is was simply about the lack of information in the report presented to us, including the ongoing costs to our community. It matters not whether you are rate paying resident or a renter - the cost of property to live and work in goes up when rates go up. ARC has just imposed a 50 per cent rate rise and the many "for sale" and "for lease" signs going up around town suggest many are already voting with their feet.

The rail trail report provided scanty information on the ongoing costs our residents would have to bear for the new mini "rail trail" proposal. Therefore we asked for this information and are still waiting for it. The simple estimate of $15K per annum seems unrealistic.

We need it to be itemised. For example, annual lease costs, staff, lighting, security, insurance, repairs and maintenance to the structure, plus weeds management.

And scarily, there was no mention of depreciation costs at all. The "mini" 9.8 km rail trail project is attempting to re-badge itself as "stage one" of the actual 34 km rail trail between Black Mountain and Ben Lomond. That's what Council's application for funding to the Federal Black Summer Bushfire Recovery fund was for.

The $5.4M that Council wants to accept (and no money has actually been received) is not enough, and never was, to attempt the 34 km rail trail in the rural area of our local government area that was intensely affected by the bushfires. Ironically, those communities most affected by the bushfires are either savagely divided about wanting a rail trail (Guyra) or indeed adamantly opposed to it in the case of Ben Lomond.

Unbeknown to most Armidale regional councillors, in November 2023 Armidale council staff applied for a variation of the Black Mountain to Ben Lomond version of the rail trail, to a mini trail of 9km serving the Armidale city community between Armidale and Dumaresq, effectively keeping this secret from the governing body of Council until about 19 April 2024.

Armidale city was not burnt in the bushfires, so how it can be said to be an ethical variation is an interesting question. The first time it was put before the full Council on 24 April 2024, the Council rejected the proposed variation.

Reasons were varied, but here are mine.

We had no information on how maintenance and other costs to our community had been calculated. The entire project, of which the mini version stage one was put to us, will cost in the vicinity of $30M. Depreciation costs at a conservative 2.5% would be about $750K in the first year, $731,250 in the second year and so on.

There was no information about costs for leasing the corridor from the NSW Government. The transfer of the maintenance costs of either part or the planned whole of the proposed rail trail will load onto ratepayers the entire maintenance burden of the rail corridor which are currently borne by the NSW government.

This is cost shifting on a monumental scale. To suggest as the report to us claimed, that maintenance will be covered by donations from renewable energy companies ignores two points a) these "community benefit" moneys must be distributed in a transparent and equitable manner at arms length from Council and b) these are opportunity costs, which could be spent on other more urgently needed facilities. The report on the rail trail also assumed further stages would be funded by $1.8M co-contribution from rate payers. Have rate payers been asked about this? No.

Which brings me to my other reason for voting for a delay and more information. Why has there been zero ongoing community consultation on this project? Why the need for such secrecy?

It is not a little thing to take over a railway corridor, in terms of real cost, biosecurity risks, and community support. This project has no direct revenue stream back to council coffers. All the business cases on it relate not to what was before us, ie the mini trail in Armidale, but to the grand vision of a 34km rail trail that we have no funding for at all and which is contingent on even more direct ratepayer contribution. Serious governance issues have now come to light with this project, but I will write on that another time. I am working as hard as I can to come up with an better, affordable project that is fair and equitable to the whole community.

Its great to have expensive leisure equipment like speed boats, fast cars and rail trails. But what I want to know is a) can we afford to own this one ? Is it worth it? Has the community agreed to pay the cost? So far Council has not come up with answers to these critical questions.

Cr Margaret O'Connor

A developer has submitted a $650,000 proposal to The Armidale Regional Council (ARC) to convert 2 Wendo Street into co-living accommodation for 12 unrelated persons.

The development is for profit alone.

The home will be converted into 10 bedrooms, with two of those for couples.

There is no requirement for the manager to live on-site. Residents will share bathroom and cooking facilities. The existing double garage will be converted into living space. Six cars will be parked on a large area of concrete that will be laid around the home plus six cars parked in the street. There will be 12 garbage bins and a second entrance next to 4 Wendo Street. The overall appearance will be one of an untidy second-hand car yard.

The Council must give approval for the parking arrangement and the second driveway. If allowed, this will create a very dangerous traffic situation at the corner of Wendo Street and Werrina Crescent.

Only six residents received notice of this development. The notices were delivered by mail on April 11, 2024 and written objections had to be lodged in only 12 days. Eight objections have been received by the ARC but more are needed. A similar environmentally damaging development by this developer can be seen at 10 Grantham Place, Armidale.

Please keep our beautiful City free from this type of development. Beware these developments can happen in about 85% of Armidale without you even knowing

David Bailey