AN unsealed car park is finally going to get an upgrade, and all it took was a flood to finally make it possible.
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The car park near the Hereford Street low level bridge was submerged by floodwaters in March after significant rainfall around the region.
It came around 12 months after councillor Warren Aubin renewed his calls for the car park to be sealed, saying it was damaged after every significant rain event.
Sealing it would also increase safety for its regular users.
Due to a lack of funds, the project didn't make it above the line in Bathurst Regional Council's 2020-21 budget as had been hoped, but now there is some good news.
Cr Aubin said on Thursday that council had received a flood grant that would allow the car park to be sealed.
"It was in the budget, but it was obviously put below the line again, but we've brought it out with a grant; we apply for grants all the time and this one got a tick, so it's going ahead," he said.
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Council has already approached a contractor about doing the works and is under taking preparations now to ready the car park for a bitumen spray seal, which needs to be applied before the bitumen is put down.
Cr Aubin said council is waiting to find out when the contractor is available to do the job, but he expects the work could be done in the next few weeks.
After the disappointment of seeing the car park flood, he's thrilled that there is finally money available for the long-overdue works.
"You always look at it and go 'Not again', but to actually have something permanently put on there now to seal it and make it a proper car park, and it'll be flood proof, that's fantastic, absolutely fantastic," Cr Aubin said.
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