Bowling club packed out as roadshow hits town

With such big aspirations it made sense for The Land and Good Fruit and Vegetables’ The Next Crop roadshow – a Q&A style panel discussion loaded with people who can help regional communities help themselves – to hone in on Grenfell.

On April 5 at the Grenfell Bowling Club the second such panel discussion in a series of eight across the state took place.

This summer the town’s new $5.5 million aquatic centre opened, it has a new ambulance station on the way and a new $2.5m medical centre under construction.

Within 12 months a new TAFE connected learning centre is to be built, an entire renewal of the town’s sewage treatment works is underway and the first tranche of funding for beautification of its main street has been approved.

When the spectre of forced council amalgamations appeared on the horizon, Weddin Shire was declared “fit for the future” by the state government and avoided any such amalgamation, choosing instead to engage closely with Forbes and Lachlan shires and increase efficiencies. More than a quarter of Grenfell’s population is employed in the agricultural sector and moving produce most efficiently is a major issue.

The council now has before the state government a proposal to allow intensive agriculture on landhoildings of 100 hectares or larger and the Marsden-to-Bogolong section of the Mid-Western Highway and the Bogolong-to-Forbes section of Henry Lawson Way is being assessed for road train capability.

Alongside the main street upgrade, which will eventually cost more than $2 million, there is a reassessment of planning provisions in the street to allow for smaller shopfronts to make room for residential development behind those shopfronts.

Council believes that move alone will bolster small business in the town by $4 million in the next three years.

There are also plans to have fibre optic cable laid to the town’s industrial estate and new medical centre, TAFE to provide training for staff at the medical centre and a major fixed wireless project throughout the shire to better support agriculture and people not living in town.

The town is also looking to develop more aged-care facilities and an overall Weddin Shire Health study is currently being conducted.

At the Grenfell discussion there was some ire about internet speeds and capability.

But it seems solutions are presenting themselves, with two internet companies, Bitwave Networks at Parkes and NB Tech out of Sydney offering solutions for Grenfell’s troubles.

Since the forum the business community has kicked into gear, with membership of the Weddin Business Development Commitee increasing and talk of “evolving” the organisation with an initial meeting next week.

Also a women in business networking evening is being arranged with the aim of establishing a new group for professional women in the Weddin Shire.