TWO Bathurst eyesores are set to linger longer in the city.
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For years the former saleyards site on the Vale Road and former gasworks in lower Russell Street have sat vacant.
They are reminders of a bygone era in the region, but they are far from aesthetically pleasing and it appears they are going to stay that way for a while yet.
At this stage it appears the clean up of the gasworks site is going nowhere.
The site is owned by the Crown but has not been used since AGL ceased gas production there in 1987.
In 2006, Bathurst Regional Council entered into an agreement with the EPA to partly remediate the site, with funding made available by the previous state government.
That work has included removing tarry wastes from disused structures on the site and installing groundwater monitoring wells to assess the impact the gasworks has on surrounding soils and groundwater.
According to Bathurst Regional Council’s director of environmental planning and building services David Shaw, part of the remediation work has been completed.
“However, this is a massive task,” he said. “Because of the magnitude of what has to be done, this will be an ongoing operation for many years to come.
“It depends on funding from the state government, or really, any source we can obtain funding.
“It is a complex issue because the gasworks site sits on the water table near the river. This means any work that has to be carried out has to be done with the greatest of care.
“So, we really don’t expect to see any great action in that location on the short term.”
Mr Shaw said the former saleyards site on the Vale Road was closed in 2009.
“Council has remediated the soil on that site and it’s been cleaned right up,” he said.
“Now it’s up to council in due course to make a decision on what will happen to the site.
“No matter what happens, it should be noted the saleyards sits on the southern gateway into Bathurst. This means whatever development may go there has to be well planned and look great because first impressions coming into the city really do count.
“The first step is for council to form a working party and that should happen later in the year.
“It is a key site and we believe it would be attractive to a range of developers.
“It isn’t sitting on the floodplain and the site itself covers a number of hectares.
“The adjacent holding paddocks do sit on the floodplain, however, which really negates any real development on them.”