Narrabri Shire Council has refuted claims that it does not regulate maintenance in Boggabri.
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The claims came from a Boggabri resident on the back of the council’s announcement of three major projects for the town – a new childcare facility, and major upgrades of the wastewater treatment plant and caravan park.
The resident, Nelly Lincoln, told the Namoi Valley Independent that while the announcement of the projects was good news, there was a need to address the maintenance of the town first.
Ms Lincoln claimed that the town’s gutters, gullies and streets are neglected and did not receive the proper attention.
“The town’s going to the pack and they just want to focus on the big things, not the things that would improve the town,” she said.
A council spokesperson said the council has established maintenance programs in all shire towns and villages to “ensure they are tidy and services are well-maintained”.
“In a recent community satisfaction survey, 82 per cent of residents responded that they were very satisfied, satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the council’s performance during the past 12 months, which is above the benchmark for regional councils,” the spokesperson said.
“This result reflects that the council’s current maintenance programs are effective.”
Ms Lincoln said an issue of particular concern was an empty water tank at a truck stop just outside of Boggabri on the Kamilaroi Highway. She said the tank is regularly graffitied and she had reported it to the council in 2017 in the hope it would be removed.
“Why make the town look good and have all these nice things in the town for families to come here with the childcare centre and the caravan park and they’ve got the truck stop looking terrible?” Ms Lincoln said.
The council said it had recently responded to a customer service request from a Boggabri resident to inform them that the truck stop area and damaged tank are under the ownership of NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) with maintenance contracted to the council.
“Permission was sought and has now been granted from RMS for the council to remove the tank, which will be programmed into the council’s works schedule in the near future,” a council spokesperson said.
