YOU could get the sense the clock is ticking in Tamworth with the amount of major projects on the boil at the moment.
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The concerted drive for a university campus to be established, the creation of a freight hub attached to a huge industrial precinct at Glen Artney, new aquatic, performing arts and sporting centres, all spring to mind.
These are just some of the major projects from the last few years which stand out among many others, including CBD green space and pedestrian rejuvenation.
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Mayor Col Murray has been at the helm of Tamworth Regional Council for each of these works as they evolved through their various stages.
Cr Murray has openly said 2020 will be his last year on the council; his 16th in total and marking a decade since being voted in as mayor.
However, the number of projects simmering away at Tamworth's proverbial stove shouldn't be seen as a culmination of things.
"I think this is really the start," Cr Murray told the Leader.
"We all want to see some growth and movement while we are there I think a lot of this is the result of planning.
"To attract the attention of the state government, I think we need to be seen to have some good long term strategies in place."
This year will see the council review its local environment plan (LEP); a task which can take some time.
The LEP dictates the ways land can be used in within council boundaries and Tamworth's plan was last updated in 2010.
The council's new document will be under the watch of the relatively new planning director Brent McAlister.
He told the Leader last year there was a timely need for a "regional master plan".
"It’ll provide a great framework to go to the government for funding because we’ll be able to say 'we want money for that, and it sits right here in our overall strategy'," he said.
While all of this work on the cards, there are still some very ambitious projects the council is chipping away at.
The mayor said securing international freight capacity at the Tamworth airport was getting closer to a reality.
"The state government, I understand, they have engaged consultants to do four business cases around NSW to see what opportunities there might be to do international freight to get the NSW produce into those international markets," Cr Murray said.
"I think we are entering into a whole new era of trading off the back things like our free trade agreements."
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.
