In a long and heavy meeting of the Armidale Regional Council tonight, the long running saga of the rail trail appears to have hit a dead end.
The Council had sought almost ten million in grant funding for the project, but were only awarded $5.4m. A proposal for a mini rail trail was put forward to the Council meeting to make use of the funding allocation.
Trains North had organised a rally of supporters before the meeting to demonstrate the commitment of people opposed to the development, preferring to keep the railing for structure for a potential return of trains to the Northern Tablelands.
“It’s ridiculous, after all that has been claimed for the rail trail proposal, that the elected Councillors are now being asked to endorse this miniature substitute,” Matthew Tierney, President of Trains North, said.
“Anyone can see that on its own the Armidale to Dumaresq rail trail will bring no growth in tourism and contribute nothing to the local economy, because only a few locals will use it.”
There was also a ‘have your say’ session prior to the Council meeting which was also dominated by the issue, with speakers both for and against.
There was a level of anxiety in the packed room, with Councillor Margaret O’Connor and Mayor Sam Coupland’s debating of council process at the beginning of the agenda item clearly strained.
Councillor Paul Gaddes moved and spoke in favour of the motion to establish ‘stage 1’ – a 9.8 kilometre stretch from Armidale to Dumaresq.
“While the grant funding will unfortunately not complete the entire rail trail at the moment we will be able to get phase one underway,” Cr Gaddes said.
“This provides a great opportunity to establish a community asset followed by an even better tourist attraction.”
“It’s time to get on with it. It’s time to seize the opportunity, and it’s time to embrace the change thank you.”
Deputy Mayor Todd Redwood also spoke strongly in favour of the project.
“We’ve investigated with the government and they’ve confirmed that there’s no intention to return rail or trains north of Armidale.
“And after hearing the speakers for the rail trail in the ‘have your say session’, I’m very surprised with there’s even any debate about this,” Cr Redwood said.
“The benefits that this will bring to our community as well as the broader tourism benefits, to me, far outweigh leaving a railway line dormant for another minute let alone another 36 years.”
Cr Deborah O’Brien was steadfast in her opposition to the project, emphatic that the loss of the rail infrastructure would be significant, and that none of the arguments in favour of the project had merit in her view.
“None of the arguments have persuaded me… we won’t all get fat if there is no rail trail.”
When Margaret O’Connor finally got to move her motion, she called for another delay for another report, and was laughed at by many in the gallery.
She persisted with her argument that this is a different project, and the costs to rate payers were unknown.
“The fact is all of the figures relate to a completely different project.”
“So we have a slew of essential capital works… we don’t have the workforce to implement them, and we don’t have the capital,” she said.
“All that this amendment asks for is a bit of a deep breath and a bit more information about what impact this project is going to have on the ratepayers.”
Councillors Brad Widders and Paul Packham agreed with the sentiment expressed by Councillor O’Connor, making the point that this motion was about the funding, not taking sides on trains versus bikes, and that Armidale has other priorities.
Mayor Sam Coupland, a strong backer of the Rail Trail project, repeatedly used procedural rules to try and stifle debate and bordered on threatening his colleagues in his final remarks before the vote.
“Make note of this: saying no to this, [the $5.4m] is not going to be repurposed, that money is gone.”
“This becomes this council’s hydrotherapy pool moment,” Mayor Coupland said.
“The reputational risk is going to be significant.”
“If this is passed, that’s the end of the Rail Trail.”
The amendment was carried 6-5.
“I declare that motion carried,” the Mayor said, “that means there is no rail trail north of Armidale.”
The crowd both booed and applauded the decision.
It is unlikely that this is genuinely the end of the issue. With Local Government elections later this year, both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor may have their positions in doubt given they were unable to deliver this project that they both stridently supported. Disappointed Rail Trail supporters are also likely to mount a significant campaign.
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