EVERY day, I say a little prayer for Lyndoch. My peaceful, beautiful, country hometown since 1951.
Practically overnight, with no notice of and the usual time given for resident’s consultation, discussion, appeal and prevention that I’m aware of, a security fence is erected around our oval area and extra vineyard land purchased.
A demolition team, earthmovers and construction equipment then obliterated all facilities except the tennis courts, and a large number of our planet’s precious trees.
Changing the nature, character and “living amenity” of our wonderful historic town, irrevocably, and forever.
I always thought that with our local government elected system, council exists solely to represent and carry out on voter’s behalf – not just the roads, bins, footpaths libraries etc, but a clearly defined notice, planning and approval system with a future plan, created with community consultation over countless decades, which I have been part of, as one of the first members of the Barossa Region Resident’s Association.
These actions, I believe, have fundamentally, morally changed our democratic system as follows.
Team Council, with all the inside information and vision, includes elected members, some paid white-collar staff, MPs and an elite number of residents with a current or future financial interest.
Team Barossa is 99.5 per cent of us, the unwashed and uninformed voters, but deeply and permanently affected by these actions.
Team Council is now top of the ladder.
Since the press conference announcement, all sports-betting was cancelled as the winner, under this now apparent autocracy, is a forgone conclusion.
Williamstown, Goldfields, Hills-face and Lyndoch residents should know there’s a dirt airstrip long enough to take powerful, noisy, variable-pitch large fixedwing passenger planes, just 2.5km from Lyndoch’s town square.
In the ‘80s, I appealed the planning application by a flying instructor, then a resident of Trial Hill Road, to start a flying school using this strip.
The then Barossa District Council quite rightly refused it.
How are the multimillion dollar stars, teams, fans etc going to arrive at Lyndoch for AFL, cricket and soccer?
With our new look team, anything now becomes possible.
“Our children will be paying for this,” one of, I understand, many angry town residents told me.
My heart, for my hometown and council, is totally broken. So I say a little prayer, every single day. Gone forever.
Tim Barritt, Lyndoch
