A WALKWAY in Kelso will be closed to pedestrians in a bid to put an end to anti-social behaviour that has become common in the area.
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Bathurst Regional Council has resolved to close the three-metre-wide concrete walkway that provides a thoroughfare for pedestrians between Ryan Place and Bonnor Street and will register an easement to drain water.
Following that, the value of the land will be determined and the land will be offered to neighbouring property owners to buy from the council.
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The decision comes after Councillor Alex Christian raised the issue of walkways in the Bathurst area.
"Over the last 18 months, I've had probably three or four people contact me who lived directly next to these laneways and basically complaining there is anti-social behaviour occurring - people riding motorcycles through there, people maybe doing illegal activities in the dark," Cr Christian said.
Some of the illegal activities the residents suspected were occurring were drug use and drinking alcohol in public spaces.
Cr Christian spoke to council staff and together they've decided to take a close look at certain walkways across Bathurst to see if they are "beneficial" or if they are "a hub for anti-social behaviour".
He said closing the walkways was the only option being considered, not any other deterrent.
"The conversations just simply involved closing them off, but that's why we've had to have serious conversations in regards to how useful these walkways are; do people find them beneficial and do they take people somewhere they need to go," he said.
"Some of the walkways are just there; they had no particular benefit to anyone."
While the walkway between Ryan Place and Bonnor Street is the only one that will be officially closed at this time, Cr Christian also wants council to consider the same remedy for a walkway between Horan and Amber Closes in Kelso.
A resident raised the issue of that walkway with Cr Christian, expressing his concerns about anti-social activity in the vicinity.
The resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, spoke to the Western Advocate about what he has witnessed since moving into the area almost a decade ago.
The behaviour includes what appears to be drug deals, people throwing rocks at fences on either side of the walkway, people driving vehicles through it and people using it as a way to evade police.
"I don't even know why the lane is there; you don't see any old people walking down there," the resident said.
He believes that closing the walkway entirely will help to solve the issues and hopes council will agree to it.
