From Hilltops Council – Brian Ingram

The public consultation period for the Draft Hilltops Local Environment Plan (LEP) has now closed. Residents were given 42 days to provide submissions on the plan. There was a high level of interest shown in the Draft Plan and mapping during public consultation with more than 10,000 visits made to the Draft Hilltops LEP website. Council staff will now commence reviewing the submissions received to inform a finalised Hilltops LEP for Council’s consideration.

The first stage of much awaited road works commenced last week on Milvale Road, between Chillingworks Road and Penrose Bridge, near Rockdale Road in Young. This first stage of works from Penrose Bridge to Wickham Lane will continue over the next five weeks and will involve pavement and shoulder works. The overall project is to reconstruct the pavement on Milvale Road from Penrose Bridge to Chillingworks Road. This project will provide a sealed shoulder area for heavy vehicle parking among other improvements including stormwater drainage upgrades which have also commenced.

It was great to see Anzac Day services across the region able to be held again this year. The services were well organised and well attended, congratulations to all involved.

Over the weekend I attended the unveiling of a new addition to the Sports Walk of Fame in Young. Congratulations to Brett Mullins on his induction. Brett played his Junior football with the Young Cherry Pickers Rugby League Football Club. He went on to play for the Canberra Raiders, and represented both NSW and Australia.
Council is currently undertaking a process of public consultation in relation to the harmonisation of Council’s rating structure. A letter will be distributed to property owners next week in relation to this. The changes to the rating structure will impact all rate payers as we move to a single rating structure across the Hilltops Local Government Area (LGA). Harmonisation is one of the final stages of the amalgamation process and involves merging the rates systems of the former Boorowa, Harden and Young Council’s into a single structure for all of Hilltops. Please be reminded that Rates Harmonisation is a requirement of the NSW Government on all merged Councils.

Council’s aim in the harmonisation of the rating system is to develop a fair and equitable structure that distributes the burden fairly across the LGA while balancing the impact of harmonisation on the majority of ratepayers.

A calculator will soon be available to access on Council’s website for ratepayers to see impact of harmonisation on their rates by comparing current 2021 rates against the proposed rate after harmonisation. Answers to frequently asked questions will also be available on Council’s website.

Brian Ingram

• Topics:

• Local Council