RECENTLY, I attended a meeting organised by U3A with the mayor and a member of Bathurst Regional Council (BRC) staff to discuss the proposed new medical centre.
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We were told that the proposal put to BRC was unsolicited and also that it involved the proposed expenditure of significant private funds on a BRC-owned asset, the car park behind the RSL.
Many concerns were expressed by those present about the increase in traffic which will be generated by the development, and the height and bulk of the proposed building, the height proposed being 29 metres where the height of the current Post Office is 12 metres, for instance.
If there is such unsolicited interest from one group to build such a facility on the proposed site, the developers must expect to make significant profit.
So I asked what other expressions of interest BRC had sought from other parties, to gauge how this proposal might measure against any other in terms of cost and benefits to the community, to assist in negotiations by increasing BRC's knowledge of what else might be possible, and perhaps to uncover a competing offer which might be more acceptable to the community in its placement, size, and future benefit to the community.
OTHER RECENT LETTERS:
To my disappointment, we learned that no other expressions of interest had been sought by BRC from any other parties.
I believe any sound business would operate in this way, and we can only hope that BRC now becomes pro-active in seeking to get the best deal for our community, not simply accepting the first offer made.
