Bega Valley Shire Council’s attempt to reach an amicable outcome with the Wyndham community over the fate of the heritage-listed Pretty Point Bridge earlier this week appears to have backfired – at least with some residents.
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Council’s director of transport and utilities, Terry Dodds, acknowledged on Monday that there was a “sense of grief within the community about the loss of this iconic timber structure”, and issued an unreserved apology if its decisions over the bridge had not been adequately communicated to Wyndham residents.
Mr Dodds said the council would seek the community’s ideas on how best to utilise the remaining sections of the bridge trusses – which date back to 1896 – and suggested that “perhaps they could be used in a park as a sculpture, or as part of an entrance to the village”.
Timber from trusses on the bridge - which the council claims is critical to its structural integrity - was stolen in late 2014 during work to lift the bridge load limit from five to 20 tonnes.
But Pretty Point Action Group member Colleen Stewart said they did not want the trusses anywhere except on the bridge. She claimed on the group’s Facebook page that some council staff members were “misleading councillors”.
Council work to upgrade the bridge continued at Wyndham this week.
Mr Dodds acknowledged that the bridge trusses were “beautiful”, but said they were not structurally sound.
Council originally intended to install a decorative truss on the bridge, but it became obvious last year the cost was prohibitive, he said. A report was made to council in November.
“I apologise unreservedly if this outcome has not been circulated broadly in the Wyndham community,” Mr Dodds said.
“All councillors and the staff involved regret how this has played out at times, much of it beyond our control, but I think we can all come together now in a celebration of history, while building a new bridge that serves the community into the future.”
Wyndham Progress Association is waiting the outcome of a Government Information Public Access Act request to council in order to create a “paper trail” of events and has not ruled out taking the issue higher.
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