IF history is any guide, we should expect some animated discussion over the next few days concerning plans for a new “entrance statement” for Bathurst.
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Bathurst Regional Council previously commissioned dsb Landscape Architects to undertake a scoping study to develop options for the entrance statement, to be built on council-owned land near Evans Bridge.
The dsb consultant team “undertook an extensive consultation process to assess views on possible entrance statement options”, which included liaising with a council working party, a community survey and a community forum.
And while it has to be said the input from the community was minimal, dsb has still managed to supply four options for the statement.
One draws on the circuit design at Mount Panorama for inspiration; one is a nod to Bathurst’s railways heritage; a third combines the inspiration of the Armor All arch on Conrod Straight and railway tunnels; while the fourth is a water feature, as required by the tender documents.
However, council is under no obligation to accept any of them if they are deemed unsuitable.
And that could be an important clause given the reaction of the Bathurst public in the past to this type of project.
Perhaps the most similar experience we’ve had was in 2007 when council was trying to settle on a design for a memorial to the great Peter Brock, who had died in a rally crash 12 months earlier.
It came down to a choice of two modern, abstract designs that were both widely panned by the Bathurst community and the wider motorsport world.
In the end, council knocked back both designs and instead commissioned the lifelike – and much-loved – memorial that now stands outside the National Motor Racing Museum.
And just 12 months ago council felt the searing heat of public criticism after engaging a consultant to create a new branding strategy for the region, resulting in the despised “Forever Young” debacle.
The campaign against “Forever Young” was driven by social media and, in the end, council again had no choice but to dump it.
So now we wait to see what the public will make of the four entrance statement options.
What is certain, though, is that in this current age of social media, we won’t have to wait very long.
