THE fence around land that had been proposed for a go-kart track will not be taken down any time soon.
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Bathurst Regional Council fenced off the land behind McPhillamy Park not long after it approved a development application for the go-kart track in 2015.
With the intervention of Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley, the land can no longer be used for the go-kart track development, and council has set its sights on a new location.
It has left many demanding that the fence be removed so the land can be used by the community, but it's not as simple as that.
After councillor Monica Morse raised questions about the fence at last week, director of Engineering Services, Darren Sturgiss, explained that several issues have to be resolved before the fence can be taken down.
"The fence ... that can't be removed at this stage given that the site remains a construction site. We have sought advice as to what process we need to go through to have the safety concerns dealt with," he said.
Council had already substantially commenced the DA, undertaking earthworks and demolishing a house, prior to the issue of a temporary protection order in March.
Addressing these issues is not simple, as the Section 10 declaration on the site prohibits the undertaking of "any bulk earthworks in the declared area", which would be necessary to make the site safe for public use.
Council also can't undertake "any action that will, or is likely to, directly alter the topography or landform of the declared area".
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