A decision on Bangalow’s historic weir has been delayed after councillors yesterday all voted to wait for funding application results and the approval of a development application (DA), which is still being prepared.
Cr Sol Ibrahim’s motion went against staff a recommendation which suggested taking the structure down. During debate he praised the community for its active role in trying to preserve its heritage.
The decision was praised by Bangalow Weir Group representative, Terry Bleakley, who earlier this week told Echonetdaily, that ‘after having so many meetings with Council, to have staff point blank deny the fact that our community simply does not want the weir wall removed, not to mention the reality of the cost of demolition, is incredible.’
Mr Bleakley told ABC radio this morning ‘We’ll have the DA completed within two weeks. We expect to hear the result of the grant application in early December. We want to have the weir, not restored to former glory but restored to a slightly lower level than it formerly was.’
He added that the changes would allow fish passage and, while it was not intended to promote it as a swimming pool, ‘if people are going to swim in it anyway, we want to make it safe’.
It’d be nice to know if there are actually fish that require the need to have the weir removed to go upstream. I want to be wrong but the only indigenous fish left in that water system seem to be catfish and eels.