TAMWORTH mayor Col Murray has said the continued delay with the intermodal freight hub was having a negative impact on already drought hit businesses.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It has been more than 18 months since the council received a novelty $7.4 million cheque to upgrade the Barraba spur line near Westdale.
The funding was supposed to help build a freight hub with the promise of up to 5000 new jobs for the city.
It has an impact on local businesses when there is already pressures like drought.
- Tamworth mayor - Col Murray
Cr Murray said the designs for the hub were now being completed and estimated the build would be two to three months away.
But he stopped short of putting a date forward for completion.
"I wouldn't be game to say," he said.
READ MORE:
"It is under way, the design has started so the process is under way."
He said the "difficult process" to actually access the funding more than 18 months after the initial announcement had come at a cost.
"It has an impact on local businesses when there is already pressures like drought," he said.
The mayor said this year's state election also stalled progress with the government going into caretaker mode for a number of weeks.
The mayor recently met with the deputy premier, John Barilaro, in Sydney where Cr Murray was assured the project was still moving forward.
It is understood the meeting was a part of a Regional Cities NSW delegation.
The super-group of 17 NSW councils met to discuss what sort of assistance would be required from the state government to help with regional issues such as population growth.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson didn't respond to a request for comment.
According to the council's latest budget report, the NSW government had approved funding "after a long process of assessment."
The report said there was an on-site meeting with government officials on April 16, while Transport for NSW was undertaking the detailed design of for the reinstatement of the Barraba Spur line.
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.
