Narrandera Shire Council’s plans to construct a skywalk at Lake Talbot may literally be ‘up in the air’ following Tuesday night’s public meeting at which some members of the community voiced their disapproval of the project.
Residents have until April 15 to put forward submissions.
A report will then be prepared with the collated information from the submissions and presented to council at its meeting in May.
About 50 people attended the meeting at Narrandera Ex-Servicemen’s Club and not one spoke in favour of allowing the Skywalk to progress.
Narrandera Shire Council Mayor Neville Kschenka, General Manager George Cowan and Deputy General Manager Infrastructure Shane Wilson represented the council at the meeting.
Cr Kschenka urged the community to complete a submission to council, whether it’s for or against the Skywalk.
“I’ve spoken to so many young people who are excited about this project,” Cr Kschenka said.
“We’ll take what has happened at this meeting on board and it will give us something to think about.
“It was a well conducted meeting where people had the chance to express their views.
“I’ve spoken to a wider section of the community, businesses, young people and they seemed excited about the Skywalk. Young people are the future.
“I think tonight we saw just one side of the argument, it creates a challenge.”
Trevor Murphy chaired the meeting, opening with a brief presentation, telling the crowd they were in attendance for a common cause – ‘a shared interest in the town’.
The meeting was split into two parts with the first section devoted to discussing the lattice railway bridge project, to which the council re-allocated more than $800,000 in grant money to the skywalk project which is proposed to replace it.
Murray Hall was the first to speak and was obviously against building the skywalk which he described as ‘ill-conceived and extremely ugly’.
“I’m quite passionate about our lake and river,” Mr Hall said.
“The rail bridge project was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and fitted in well with the grant scheme.
“The Skywalk will be a permanent scar on Lake Talbot.
“The bridge is everything the Skywalk isn’t.”
Council GM Mr Cowan stressed that the rail bridge project was not ‘dead yet’.
“It’s a very interesting project but not without its concerns,” Mr Cowan said.
“There’s no public access to the rail bridge at the moment, land on both sides is flood prone and the area generally known as Koori Beach is subject to an Aboriginal land claim.
“It’s too difficult to implement at the moment. When all the risks were added up, the sensible decision was that it wasn’t deliverable in the time we have got.”
At that point, one man arose and walked out of the meeting saying in a loud voice, ‘what a bloody waste of time’.
Mr Cowan said council staff had tried to address issues with the rail bridge project, but when the recommendation to ‘conditionally approve’ the development application was put to council it was refused.
Mr Hall then directed two quick-fire questions to the mayor.
The first was “Do you think the skywalk is an attractive structure”, and the second was “Do you believe the skywalk fits in with the natural beauty”, to which Cr Kschenka replied ‘yes’ to both questions.
Narrandera Landcare president Peter Beal said he was unaware that the development application was being presented to council at its October meeting.
“As a Landcare group and a partner we don’t feel completely involved,” Mr Beal said.
“Initially we took on the project.
“We realised funds have been transferred and we regret that deeply.
“The project has got the merit to go forward, but I’d rather see the money go back if it’s not going to be used purposely.”
Many in the crowd applauded heartily, agreeing with Mr Beal that the skywalk would not inject funds into the town’s economy.
Former Narrandera councillor Barbara Bryon said the rail bridge project had been rejected ‘solely on the vote of previous councillors – not staff’.
“Council took it upon themselves to cut it off at the knees,” she said.
“Being a voice in the wilderness – I didn’t appreciate that.
“You can’t say it’s not dead, they’re not going to come back with a bucket again to give us $800,000.
“The river bridge is a lost opportunity.”
Another former Narrandera shire councillor Bob Manning said the skywalk was ‘basically a jetty’.
“I cannot see the benefit coming to Narrandera, spending the money willy-nilly,” Mr Manning said.
“There must be something more worthwhile to do.”
Murray Hall rejected suggestions that the skywalk would offer people an excellent view.
“It doesn’t offer any improvement of the view,” Mr Hall said.
“I can’t see it improving the vista in that area.
“I think it’s the common view that the money should be given back.”
Mr Cowan said he was surprised some community members were in favour of returning the grant money instead of building the skywalk.
“I’ve been in the industry a long time and the importance of grant income is critical to an organisation like ours,” Mr Cowan said.
“It provides a benefit to the community.
“What we’re hoping as an organisation is that the skywalk will add to the experience of people stopping and spending money in the town.”
A number of people in the crowd asked for alternatives to the skywalk to be considered.
Mr Cowan said the council was open to suggestions.
“It’s possible for another project – a simple build that could be looked at,” he said.
The skywalk design features a fully accessible walkway that extends 13 metres out, over and above the waters of Lake Talbot.
The project is set to start in July 2022 following the tender process to select the successful contractor and its anticipated completion by December 2022.
Cr Kschenka emphasised the importance of the community being able to have an input by providing a submission by the due date to allow council to fully consider the matter and make an informed decision about the skywalk at its meeting in May.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 31 March 2022.
Related stories: Call to reject skywalk; Skywalk to replace bridge; Group blasts bridge decision.
