Wyndham Progress Association is locked in a battle with Bega Valley Shire Council over the remains of Pretty Point Bridge which have been left sitting in a council paddock in Bega for almost three years.
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Association spokesman Bob Hunt has written to BVSC general manager Leanne Barnes saying Pretty Point Bridge is heritage listed under the Bega Valley Local Environment Plan 2013 and deserves a better fate.
“We are very disappointed that council has allowed these heritage trusses, which were intact and sound enough to support the bridge plus a five-tonne load limit, to be chain-sawed in half, left unsecured, pilfered, apparently further damaged during transport, and then again left unsecured to this day, when they could and should have been stored intact on the neighbouring land, which the landholder did offer,” his letter said.
“It seems that, regarding its treatment of this heritage listed item, council is in breach of the LEP and has, in almost every respect, abused the Burra Charter in its handling of the heritage trusses.
“Notwithstanding the above, we … hope to be able to work closely with council staff to achieve the return of this significant heritage item to our community as was originally intended,” he said.
But BVSC transport and utilities director Terry Dodds said the remains of Pretty Point Bridge were in poor condition.
Mr Dodds said nine “critical” pieces of timber had been stolen in 2014 after the trusses were removed during work to lift the bridge’s load limit from five to 20 tonnes.
Some parts would require the installation of steel channels and reinforcement to make them serviceable, while other parts were rotted or in need of repair, he said.
“A more cost effective design, both to construct and maintain, has been completed,” he said. “To place the trusses back, as essentially ornaments, is possible, but not recommended.”
At the time of the theft the Magnet quoted council as saying: “The original intention was to restore the trusses and reinstall them as a non-load bearing feature to provide a visual historical link to Wyndham’s past.”