Concordia and council boundaries

I AND several still serving Councillors opposed Mayor Redman’s push for boundary reform (BR) from the start.

There was no financial modeling ever provided, no mandate, and no convincing rationale…just a motion on notice to council in early 2019 from Mayor Redman declaring that she wanted BR to be the centre piece of her second term.

The announcement of the residential land release in Concordia inspired Mayor Redman to once again wax lyrical about BR in last week’s Bunyip.

Barossa Council have made it abundantly clear that they have no intention of allowing Gawler to grab Concordia…just like Light Regional Council and the residents of Hewett have also said regarding their land and assets.

Gawler Council seems incapable of managing what is already within its boundaries, and has a terrible track record when it comes to development and developers.

What sort of a dog’s breakfast would result if Gawler were to get its hands on Concordia?

Council has never solved its parking and traffic problems, can’t fix its potholes, roads and footpaths, and for decades has done absolutely nothing for residents of its so called ‘rural zone’.

Council gave us a 50km/h Gawler East link road, and frustrated the Springwood developers to the point that they abandoned trying to negotiate.

Let’s not forget how council recently treated those Aspire Estate land owners.

Would council do to Concordia what it has done to the rural zone, and to those who dared to try and develop within Gawler’s existing boundary?

Rather than eye off Concordia and Hewett, and rather than throw $600,000 at a BR bid, how about putting that time, effort and money into trying to address the multitude of needs that are already on the books for your existing boundary Mayor Redman?

Ian Tooley, Gawler East