North Wagga residents angry council okays Marah Street depot development

Tensions simmered in an emotional council meeting on Monday night with over 20 people filling the council chambers to hear the outcome.

A development application was put to council last year for the erection of a shed to be split into seven depots, designed to be leased to tradies.

Dr Graeme White addressed council in objection to the development, and told councillors that an industrial site that is "ginormously huge" should never have been contemplated for North Wagga.

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There is a "fair bit of angst in North Wagga", he said, evidenced by the outcry by community members.

Council received 28 submissions and one online petition of 203 signatures objecting to the development, which locals say is not in keeping with the village aesthetic of the area.

They fear North Wagga is slowly becoming industrialised.

A key issue of contention was the definition of a depot and what could be built under zoning laws in North Wagga.

North Wagga Residents Association member Dr Michael Friend told councillors that the premises will be "essentially a storage premise" and the developer is attempting to get around the rules by classing it as a depot.

Dr Friend also told councillors that the development would have an effect on the "efficiency of evacuation" in the event of floods.

Developer of the land Gordon Moore said he felt he was doing North Wagga a "favour, bringing them out of the 1880s".

He said residents have nothing to fear from the build and that it could in fact have a "positive impact" on the area, bringing higher property values and better services.

Councillors were split on the merits of the build, with Councillor Mick Henderson questioning demand for the depot in the area.

Deputy mayor Jenny McKinnon argued the "cumulative effect" of this depot, alongside other industrial builds, would affect the rural character of the village and voted against the application.

Councillor Rod Kendall was jeered by residents as he said he felt the development meets definitions of a depot, and there was nothing to suggest that it won't coexist with "very variable" use of North Wagga village.

"It gives some of the character of that area the fact that there's such widely varied use," he said.

Plans for the $1 million development on Marah Street were approved by councillors with a vote of four to four - Mayor Dallas Tout carried the yea votes.

Residents gathered after the meeting said they were "devastated" by the vote.

Heather Payne lives behind the proposed property and said she will now be sandwiched by two industrial units, which she fears will funnel flood waters toward her home.

"I'm disappointed, but in North Wagga we have come to expect it," she said.

"We feel council is anti-North Wagga, we feel we're second-class citizens."

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