Guyra locals are renewing a push to split from the Armidale Regional Council, saying they have had enough of being out in the wilderness and they want local representation.
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Robert Gordon and Rob Lenehan stood before the Armidale Regional Ratepayers Association ARRA meeting on Monday to drum up support to demerge from Armidale Regional Council.
Mr Gordon said they need more interest from Armidale residents to sign their petition so they can send a submission to the NSW government requesting a separation of the two councils.
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Currently, they have 75 per cent of the approximate 2900 signatures, representing 10 per cent of the 29,000 people who comprise the ARC area, that they need to send to Macquarie Street.
In 2015 the NSW government under Premier Mike Baird announced the downsizing of about 152 councils into 112 across the state as part of the "fit for future" plan.
The following year, Guyra Shire Council ceased to exist after 107 years representing their local constituents.
It has been six years and Covid relegated the issue to the sidelines, but Guyra locals Mr Gordon and Mr Lenehan say there has been a renewed interest in the split.
It comes as the Armidale Regional Council is considering applying to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal IPART for a 50 per cent rate rise across three years, which will leave landholders in the council area out of pocket.
Mr Gordon said the several councillors who were accessible to Guyra locals have been replaced by one representative in the Armidale Regional Council on Rusden Street.
"It is insulting to expect one person to shoulder that responsibility," Mr Gordon said.
"Nothing can repair the damage of Guyra's backward slide except to reinstate the council.
"The democratic damage that has been done to Armidale and Guyra is unacceptable and we need to get our rights and autonomy back.
"We need to get support after all these years in the wilderness."
Mr Lenehan said the people of Guyra have had a "110-year history of a small but efficient viable council, a happy Council with a great relationship with their ratepayers and the communities."
"And we've lost that."
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