In January, Bathurst Regional Council called for a quotations for a scoping study into the park that “would assist council in determining a range of possible options for the future use of Centennial Park”.

At the time, former mayor Gary Rush said all options were being considered, and he would not rule out buildings being constructed on the site.

Since then, The Friends of Centennial Park Facebook group has been behind a push to keep it an open space.

In a recent poll by the Western Advocate, participants overwhelmingly agreed.

We asked: ‘What do you think should happen to Centennial Park?’, and the results were definitive – 78.3 per cent (354 people) of the 450-plus people who voted selected – ‘Beautified, but still left as an open space’.

Far behind that at 4.8 per cent (22 people) was to ‘leave it as it is’, followed by 4.2 per cent (19 people) who selected ‘additional housing’.

Eighteen voters selected ‘entertainment centre’, nine selected ‘new council chambers’, and six voted for a ‘new community building’.

Other people had suggestions of their own, including: a water park for children, a fenced off-leash dog park, a botanical gardens and sports ground to name a few.

Meanwhile, Integrated Design Group was selected by council to conduct the scoping study into the park’s future.

New mayor Graeme Hanger said an in-depth community consultation would be conducted in the study which would involve liaising with interest groups and a public discussion forum.

“A public discussion forum, open to all members of the community, will also be arranged, as will a working party with councillors to generate ideas for the park’s future use,” he said.

“The scoping study will provide a preliminary assessment of the park and will take into account existing plans such as the LEP [Local Environment Plan], DCP [Development Control Plan] and the area’s heritage status.”