THE high volume of flying foxes has forced Bathurst Regional Council to close Machattie Park.
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Councillors made the decision at a working party on Wednesday, November 8 after being presented with information by council staff.
At least 5000 flying foxes, also known as bats, are thought to be roosting in Machattie Park at the moment.
The numbers are significantly higher than in recent years, creating a threat to public safety from both the trees that are being damaged by the animals and their urine and faeces.
Mayor Jess Jennings said a major tree branch came down in Machattie Park recently, which was believed to have been caused by excessive weight to the branch from a significant number of flying foxes.
"During the programmed works to remove the obvious tree branch failures sighted by park staff, arborists identified a significant amount of additional branch detachments and failures throughout the canopy of many trees within the area they were working that have been caused by the sheer numbers of flying foxes roosting within the trees," he said.
"Due to the significant liability council is faced with in respect to public safety of park users and the inability to successfully mitigate the risk of injury or death from falling limbs, in addition to the health hazards to public and staff, council has no alternative other than to close Machattie Park from public use until further notice."
The closure will be in effect from November 9, 2023.
Speaking to the Western Advocate, deputy mayor Ben Fry said the information presented to councillors left them no other choice but to close the park.
"When public health comes into question, you've got to act on the facts in front of you," he said.
"The facts are the bats are making that park an incredibly unsafe place to be for respiratory reasons, but also for safety in terms of falling limbs and branches from trees that are being damaged.
"We've looked at every possible measure that we could employ to deter or remove or relocate the bats, but no measures are effective or legal from a NSW Parks and Wildlife perspective.
"Public safety is our utmost priority and we want to make sure that people in the city aren't negatively affected by falling limbs or bat behaviour."
Cr Fry said rope will be used to cordon off the park, but if members of the public continue to enter the area, other barriers might need to be put in place to restrict access.
At this stage, the public toilets on the Russell Street side of the park will remain open.
Cr Fry said no decision has been made about how long the park will be closed for, but he expects the situation will be assessed on a regular basis.
Council is seeking a quotation from a specialist arborist to undertake an in-depth assessment of all trees within Machattie Park to identify remedial tree pruning and weight reduction options.
It is also continuing to work closely with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (Biodiversity & Conservation Division) in respect to the Machattie Park flying fox camp.
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