COUNCILLORS and residents alike are calling for more care for one of Tamworth’s most “unsung assets”.
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Tamworth councillor Juanita Wilson aired concerns at last week’s council meeting about the current state of King George V Ave, with unmown grass and fallen branches devaluing the iconic road.
Now locals are calling for action to tidy up the avenue and return it to its former glory.
“It’s used in promotional material and a lot of people have seen it in the movie [Unbroken] and choose to go and see the avenue when they’re in Tamworth,” Cr Wilson told The Leader.
“I’d choose that they don’t go and see it at the moment.”
The councillor said her concerns were around safety and the site losing its aesthetic quality.
“It needs mowing, branches need to be collected. Trees are shooting from their base and there’s trees that look like they’re dying,” she said.
“It’s a great asset and we have to keep it that way otherwise it loses its value.”
Late last year, Tamworth Regional Council voted to establish a local group to provide input on future conservation of the avenue’s oak trees.
However, there has been no development with the group.
Councillor Mark Rodda raised the matter as a question on notice at last week’s meeting, but there’s still no word on the when the group will be formed.
“In the future, the community group might be keen to be involved with maintenance,” Cr Rodda said.
TRC submitted its Conservation Management Plan to the Office of Environment and Heritage in December last year, so it could be endorsed by April 2017.
But Cr Rodda said the avenue’s maintenance couldn’t wait too much longer.
“The amount of trees that are dying and dead, it won’t look as attractive in the future if we don’t get on top of it,” he said.
Advocate for the avenue Steve Warden said there was “massive support” for the iconic avenue “across all industry”.
“It’s one of the greatest, unsung and neglected assets Tamworth has got.”
Mr Warden said council had a “excellent management plan” for the avenue, currently being assessed by the Office of Environment and Heritage.
“It should be mowed and the dead branches should be picked up, I can’t why cleaning up can’t happen,” he said.
Fellow resident David McKinnon said he’d be interested in joining the community committee.
“With summer out of the way, now’s the bets time to get in and get a program under way,” he said.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
