PESKY cockatoos are proving to be the bane of the Bathurst Indoor Sports Stadium.
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Bathurst Regional Council invested $70,000 to fix the stadium's roof in the summer because the venue was leaking water when it rained.
New sheeting was installed on the stadium's roof to combat the leaks, however, the cockatoos have had other ideas.
The birds have taken to chewing at the new washers and screws on the newly installed sheeting and lighting, causing fresh holes that have caused more leaking.
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Bathurst Indoor Sports Stadium manager Andrew James said council and Oakleigh Plumbing have been working together to solve the problem.
"Council and Oakleigh Plumbing are actually doing a really good job at the moment. Every time it rains, they're popping up and having a look," he said.
"We've put new Laselite sheeting down, but the problem is the local cockatoos have decided to camp on our roof and take to chewing at the new washers and screws, which are creating new holes in the roof.
"That means we've got new leaks we don't know about.
"We've actually fixed the issues that we had here before, but because we have brand new washers and screws, the cockies have decided to take them on."
Mr James said the problem should be resolved soon.
"We're hoping within the next fortnight that we can get something up on the roof to stop the cockatoos camping up there," he said.
"Hopefully, with all the other leaks fixed, we might be able to get somewhere.
"It's obviously been a long time coming, but council has been really proactive with it. I can only give them compliments."
Due to the leaks, Mr James was forced to cancel Thursday night's competitions.
"It's [the cancellations] been better than last year and, to be fair, there's only small leaks up here and we've had like 30mm of rain. The roof is holding up pretty well," he said.
"We always knew the old Laserlite was the main issue but we never said it would fix every problem.
"The Laselite has only been replaced, it's not like a brand-new roof. But that was always going to be the first thing we could improve and fix, which has been done."
Bathurst Indoor Sports Stadium upgrade timeline:
- June 2021: Bathurst Regional Council allocates $70,000 in its 2021-22 budget to upgrade the stadium's roof
- Summer 2021-22: Works are carried out to repair the stadium's roof
- July 2022: The Western Advocate first reports that council's upgrades haven't fixed the leaking issue
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