Community & Business
15 September, 2025
In Brief: Council News
News from Gilgandra Shire Council’s August Meeting
Council approves tank storage facility development
Gilgandra Shire Council (GSC) approved a development application for a large warehouse and tank storage facility, along with an ancillary office, at 7 Enterprise Drive. The project, linked to deputy mayor, councillor Ash Walker, was endorsed unanimously by councillors at the August meeting. Cr Walker was an apology for the meeting.
The decision required variations to chapters 10 and 15 of the Gilgandra Development Control Plan 2011. Despite the adjustments, councillors resolved that the proposal complied with the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, subject to a series of conditions of consent.
The approval followed the statutory requirement under section 375A of the Local Government and Planning Legislation Amendment (Political Donations Act) 2008, ensuring that councillors’ votes were formally recorded. All present councillors supported the motion.
Conditions attached to the approval, outlined in council’s documentation, will be key in determining how the facility is managed and integrated into the industrial estate. The development is expected to expand storage capacity for bulk liquids, though concerns about environmental and safety impacts were noted in earlier discussions.
Quarterly Budget Review Shows Deficit in General Fund
Gilgandra Shire Council has adopted its quarterly budget review for the period ending June 30, 2025, showing tighter financial conditions and a general fund deficit of $1,405,510 deficit (depreciation not included). Other funds including water, sewer, and some aged care funds recorded a surplus.
General manager David Neeves explained to the meeting that the deficit was influenced by works undertaken and paid for by council under Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) funding (Naden Drive project), which council had not yet been reimbursed by the federal government funding body.
The review highlighted other variances from the original 2024/25 budget estimates, with councillors agreeing that any LRCI funds received in 2025/26 should be retained to offset the shortfall.
The original budget estimate for GSC was an end of year result of a $343,100 deficit. The quarterly budget review indicates an actual overall result of a $1,025,478 surplus which is an improvement of $1,368,578 (depreciation not included).
Despite the challenges, the report confirmed that council’s overall financial position remained satisfactory, considering the scale of recent capital projects.
The Gil Library Hub to be “officially opened”
The Gil Library Hub will be officially opened during an event to be held at the end of September. During the August meeting as part of the budget review discussion, councillors called for a detailed report on the hub’s final costs to be presented at the September meeting.
Hunter Park Sports and Recreational Precinct Multi-Purpose Indoor Sports Centre
At the August meeting council also officially endorsed and noted the successful application for $14 million in funding from the federal government’s Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program Stream Two. Council has also allocated $2 million in its long-term financial plan to the project. Bringing the budget to $16 million. Council’s staff were acknowledged in the minutes for their efforts in successfully obtaining this funding.
Green Space and Youth Strategies adopted
GSC has adopted both ‘the Gilgandra Region Green Space Strategy’ and ‘Towards 5000: Youth Strategy’ at the August Meeting. The Green Space Strategy was publicly exhibited in June and received two short submissions endorsing the document.
The University of Newcastle’s Institute for Regional Futures was engaged to deliver the Youth Strategy. Community sessions were held along with a public exhibition period. No public submissions were reviewed through that process, and the draft strategy was presented to GSC in May.
