General News
30 January, 2023
'Neglected' suburb in fighting mood
Residents of a "neglected" suburb are taking their fight to Horsham Rural City Council through a newly-formed committee, describing vision statements and years of waiting as "unacceptable". Horsham North locals say they are fed up with "decades-long...
Residents of a "neglected" suburb are taking their fight to Horsham Rural City Council through a newly-formed committee, describing vision statements and years of waiting as "unacceptable".
Horsham North locals say they are fed up with "decades-long neglect north of the railway line", and remain unsatisfied despite council calling a public meeting several weeks ago.
The new committee is demanding specific action, accompanied by timetables, and a list of works members want actioned.
One Horsham North resident said council's behaviour at the meeting was "just meaningless".
"They spoke a language which people won't understand – it was just above their heads," she said.
"Horsham North is a middle-class area and they are losing retail because council doesn't have money for the area's infrastructure.
"I have never seen council with such behaviour towards the community."
The new committee's spokesperson, Lester Stehn, said attendees overwhelmingly agreed that the council had no firm plans for the region.
“Those attending the council planning meeting believe the council has not been proactive addressing issues in Horsham North in the past, and the community is disappointed,’’ Mr Stehn said.
He said many people attending the meeting were confused by the prevalence of "bureaucratic speak," claims which he described as "pie-in-the-sky", and a lack of specific information on the next course of action.
Mr Stehn said the council had for the past 15 years only talked and made promises rather than executing plans.
"The government talks about creating jobs, and all they have done is create jobs for the council people to run studies and no projects have been completed," he said.
"There was a talk of new school in the town when I was involved in Horsham North primary school committee, and at the end they just did renovation of the school rather than replacing it.
"Only the child care centre which is the hub came out of it."
The committee has formed four groups, and is developing a priority list of works, accompanied by a timeline, that it will present to council.
Among their prioriities are better footpath lighting, speed hump repairs, more walking trails, increased retail business and boosting connectivity between Horsham North and the rest of Horsham.