Mayor's Column

What a fantastic Local Government Week it's been! On Tuesday, we held our popular Coffee with a Councillor event down at the Rail Museum cafe. It was a great, sunny morning for mingling with residents and chatting all about the current projects taking place across the Bathurst Region. This is such a terrific opportunity every year to meet with residents and hear their ideas and concerns. Thank you to those who attended, it was wonderful to speak with you all.  

Coming up, ChemClear is making its way to Bathurst. This service offers farmers and agricultural businesses across the region the opportunity to safely clear out unwanted or expired agricultural and veterinary chemicals. This is an easy, effective way to protect your property, our Bathurst community, and the environment all while supporting a cleaner, safer future for agriculture. To participate in the upcoming collection, you'll need to head online and register your chemicals with ChemClear by 31 August. They will then provide you with instructions, including a date and location for collection. 

Additionally, don't forget to head to Council's YourSay webpage to review and respond to projects we currently have on exhibition. This includes our Safer Cities project which is designed to improve perceptions of safety and accessibility for women, girls and gender-diverse people in the Bathurst CBD. The project is looking at the area within approximately 800m of the Howick Street Bus Interchange, with a particular focus on the surrounding footpaths, parks, bus stops and the connected CBD precinct, and we want to hear from you. Your feedback will help identify the places that feel safe, those that are uncomfortable, and the practical changes such as lighting, clear views across public space, public art, signage, updated seating or events that could help make Bathurst feel more welcoming and inclusive, particularly after dark. The first stage of engagement is an interactive YourSay survey, allowing for pins to be dropped on a map of the CBD to identify areas of concern and share ideas for improvements. Head to Council’s YourSay website to engage. 

Robert Taylor 

Mayor of Bathurst