The joint announcement on Thursday 4 February between the Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Hon Scot MacDonald MLC & the Mayor of Great Lakes Council Councillor Jan McWilliams that they will jointly fund a study on the vexed question of providing a trailer boat ramp for North Arm Cove, is a positive move forward towards providing this number one priority on the Coves “wish list”.
It gives rise to the possibility that this vital piece of infrastructure could be constructed before the North Arm Cove settlement turns 100 years old in 2017.
Nearby communities of Bundabah & Pindimir have long since been able to secure boat ramps for their communities by working together positively .
For at least the past 40 years the NAC community has been trying to achieve the funding & construction of a trailer boat ramp for a whole host of reasons such as giving residents access to the waters of Port Stephens especially for those not living on the waterfront , for giving access of tenders to reach moored large craft & for a means of escape from serious bushfires & of course for the simple pleasure of being able to launch a tinny , canoe or kayak for recreational enjoyment of our unique area.
The study to be funded & completed by an independent consultant will cover areas such as their preferred site for such a ramp , its provision for car & trailer parking & more importantly the safe launching & retrieval of trailer craft. We all know that the area is tidal & that there is no perfect site that ticks all the boxes , however the community will be looking for a positive report that selects the site which best covers all the issues involved & then provides information so that tenders can be called for its construction , once it gets funded from one or more of the State Government sources which are available for this purpose.
Previous reports have defined some 7 sites of Government land on which a ramp could be considered.These included Wide Bay , Medina Bay ,Water Street ,Casuarina Park, North of residential area on the eastern side , then Heros Reserve & Brackens Bay on the western side of the Cove.
Yes things are happening slower than waiting for paint to dry , but we must hope & pray that the consultant get this task completed within a productive time frame so that this long hoped for vital piece of infrastructure can finally be achieved for our community. I wish all participants best wishes to get the job completed.
John Blackbourn
As you say John - progress is
As you say John - progress is very slow. My cousin's pitch drop experiment even had more movement per decade. This latest PR exercise was mostly a re-announcement of a re-announcement of something first reported back in early March 2015. Apparently there was even a ceremony for it held last Thursday in Casuarina Park! It all rather reminded me of an episode of the ABC show: Utopia.
At least we know that Council are now committing $20,000 towards the project. Tenders for the Boating study closed just before Christmas and we are expecting an announcement of the successful tenderer any day now. I have been assured by RMS (Maritime) that they recognise that the "contribution of the North Arm Cove Community is vital to the success of this investigation study".