REGIONAL ISSUES
No.1 Barton Highway duplication & Murrumbateman bypass.
Major national road corridor for region. Need to accelerate completion of duplication, particularly bypass Murrumbateman stage, currently a choke point with high safety risk. Speed reduction measure to 80K does not alleviate safety risk. Traffic accidents, fatalities & injuries, have long term impacts upon community.
• Duplication project needs to incorporate a strategic cycleway corridor.
• Bypass stage sooner will provide saving in the long term
• Critical to keep pressure on State & Federal Governments for funding
• Provides certainty for region’s growth & master planning.
No 2 Future provisions for the Yass hospital to 2036
High priority for towns & villages of Yass Valley. Specialist & community services limited or not currently available within the local region. Alleviates travel delay for serious health matters & reduces impact on ACT health system
No.3 Emergency services infrastructure.
Urgent requirement with growth in region. Climate change impacts & natural disasters on the increase. Inefficiency in current depot locations pose delays & risks to community. Co-locate SES depot, emergency response, police service etc infrastructure in Murrumbateman.
No 4 Yass water treatment plant upgrade
Town water - specifically required for Yass town housing developments growth & future Murrumbateman expansion. Only Murrumbateman village core on town water fed from Yass River. Cost to Council for development infrastructure can be prohibitive
Community sceptical that Yass River source will never be high quality. Water from ACT is considered the only solution for water security & high quality. Further growth in this region cannot occur without water from ACT.
No 5 Protect rural character & lifestyle
Policy implementation Consistent approach & sensitivity required to ensure that development only occurs in suitable locations that does not impact high environment values, cultural & heritage, or rural landscapes. Development should not increase pressure on recreation, infrastructure or services. Murrumbateman is attractive because of its rural character & lifestyle, but it is being threatened.
