Our Say | Time to show some progress on old TAFE building

Council has asked for – and so far received – patience while it considers its options for the imposing CBD landmark.

But at what point does asking for patience start to look like procrastination?

It’s been almost 18 months since the building was formally handed over to council by the NSW Government, which is not a great deal of time in local government. 

But council knew the handover was coming well before that. Council voted to accept the NSW Government’s offer back in June 2013, in fact, so there has been no lack of time to mull over the options.

Given the size, the significance and the location of the TAFE building, locals would want to see the right decisions made.

But after all this time, perhaps it’s starting to become important to see any sort of decision made, no matter how small: a timeline, for instance, or a shortlist of options for using the building.

Even ruling something out would show that council is getting closer to ruling something in.

Asked about the old TAFE building last week, council general manager David Sherley talked about a conservation management plan for the site and determining how its significance should be preserved.

The conservation management plan, he said, “outlines a range of management policies for the Bathurst Town Square generally and the former TAFE site specifically”.

More tellingly, two Bathurst Regional councillors said the time had come to start making some decisions.

Councillor Bobby Bourke said he would like to see something happen this year and Councillor Monica Morse said it should be “as soon as possible”.

Of course, council needs to meet no deadline other than those it sets itself as it tries to determine what to do with the William Street landmark.

Council will say a quick, bad decision will be lamented for longer than a slow, considered decision is criticised.

And that’s fair enough.

But council has had more than four years – since that vote in 2013 – to think about the future of this site now.

It’s hard to imagine any radical new ideas are going to emerge.

Perhaps it’s time to bite the bullet and start to get on with things.