Tonight on Council – 22/09/2026

After a few meetings in a row of relatively few agenda items, there is a decent chunk to get through at this one. And this meeting is pretty policy-heavy, with several new draft policies being requested to be put up for public feedback.

Infrastructure and Services

Item 7.1 – Tamworth Regional Contaminated Land Management Policy

This item asks Councillors to place the Draft TRC Contaminated Land Management Policy out for public feedback for 28 days, and to bring back a further report on the submissions received before the final policy is adopted.

Land contamination is managed in New South Wales through two pathways. Where contamination is serious enough to warrant State-level regulation, the NSW EPA steps in under the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997. For sites that don’t meet those thresholds, the responsibility falls to local councils through the planning framework under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. This policy is about how TRC manages that second category, and the report notes that the State’s own Managing Land Contamination Planning Guidelines recommend councils adopt a formal policy like this one, on the basis that a standalone document is more transparent than simply burying contamination provisions inside other planning documents.

The draft policy isn’t entirely new territory for TRC. Back in 2019, through the former Namoi Joint Organisation of Councils made up of member councils throughout the New England North West, a contaminated land management policy was prepared for the region by Moss Environmental. That policy was never formally endorsed by TRC but has been used as a reference framework since then. Legislation has moved on since 2019, including the introduction of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Resilience and Hazards) 2021, and the references to Namoi Unlimited are no longer relevant, so a new policy is needed.

The goal for this draft policy is to establish a consistent framework for how TRC identifies, assesses and manages contaminated or potentially-contaminated land through the planning process. In practice, that means when a Development Application or Planning Proposal is lodged, TRC considers whether the site’s history or current use raises contamination concerns. Not every DA will trigger this, and the report states that the requirement is risk-based, depending on the site’s history, the nature of the proposed development, and whether there’s any reason to suspect contamination in the first place. Where there is such a reason, the proponent may be required to undertake a Preliminary Site Investigation, and if that identifies issues, a more detailed investigation and, ultimately, a remedial action plan, validation and monitoring, and site auditing. The policy sets out this staged investigation process in line with NSW EPA guidelines.

A couple of things that are worth noting for the community. First, under the draft policy, TRC is not required to proactively advise landowners that their land is or may be contaminated. Consideration of contamination generally only happens when a DA or Planning Proposal is lodged, though TRC does still carry a separate statutory obligation to disclose certain contamination information on section 10.7 planning certificates. Second, TRC is developing a Contaminated Land Information Register to capture historical and newly-identified contamination information, with the aim of improving record-keeping and supporting better decision-making over time. Third, the Contaminated Land Management Act also places a duty on certain people, namely those whose activities have caused or contributed to contamination, and landowners whose land meets the reporting thresholds, to notify the NSW EPA if they become aware of contamination. Anyone else can report suspected contamination to the EPA as well.

TRC’s environmental staff are also now participating in the NSW Council Contaminated Land Management Central Capacity Building Program 2026, which provides training, technical mentoring and access to specialist advice, and the report notes this has led to a suite of internal tools to improve consistency and governance in this area.

Item 7.2 – Result of the Trial of Bulk Mulch Sales at Selected Rural Transfer Stations

Councillors approved the trial of selling bulk mulch produced from green bin organic waste at rural waste centres around the region back at our meeting on 27 May 2025, with the idea being to test whether there’s demand for Council-produced mulch in the region’s outlying communities, and whether selling it locally stacks up operationally and financially. Eight sale events were run across the three sites over the year, and in total 65.5 cubic metres of mulch was sold, with Nundle the strongest performer at 24 cubic metres, followed by Manilla at 21.5 and Barraba at 20.

At the trial price of $50 per cubic metre, total revenue came to $3,275, against estimated operating costs of $6,400 across the eight events (with each event advised as costing around $800 in additional labour, equipment and transport), leaving a net shortfall of roughly $3,125. Averaged out, each event sold about 8.2 cubic metres and brought in around $410, against that same $800 cost. The report calculates that to fully recover costs at the current price, each event would need to shift a minimum of 10 cubic metres, or alternatively the price would need to rise to around $80 per cubic metre.

Back when this first came to council I was very supportive of the trial, recognising the water-sustainability and soil-enhancing function of mulch and wanting to make it easier for residents to access bulk mulch across the region. So I’m glad that this was likewise recognised within Council, and rather than reading the financial deficit as a reason to scrap the programme, staff have landed on a recommendation for keeping it going in a different form. The recommendation is to continue permanently but scaled back to one sale event per year at each of the three facilities, held in spring, on the logic that spring was the most popular sale period in the trial. The report also proposes better advance promotion for future events (through Council’s website, social media, local papers, newsletters and signage at the facilities themselves, with at least four weeks’ notice) on the theory that consolidating demand into a single well-advertised annual event per site is more likely to shift the volumes needed to improve cost recovery than the more frequent, lower-volume events run during the trial.

It’s also worth noting Council isn’t locked into the once-a-year option. The report flags two alternatives if Councillors would rather keep more frequent sales given the loss involved is relatively modest: a six-monthly sale in autumn and spring, or retaining the trial’s quarterly event structure.

On pricing, the recommendation is to retain the trial charge of $50 per cubic metre for now, to be reviewed annually through Council’s Annual Operational Plan process. Because Council doesn’t currently hold an adopted fee for rural mulch sales going into 2026/27, that charge needs to go on public exhibition for a minimum of 28 days under section 610F of the Local Government Act before it can be formally adopted. The recommended motion also suggests that if no submissions are received during that exhibition period, the charge is taken to be adopted without needing to come back to Council for a further vote, and a further report is only required if submissions are received.

Item 7.3 – Tender T021/2026 – Civil Construction of Road Safety Infrastructure at the Sports and Entertainment Precinct – Contract Negotiation Outcome

This item is a follow-up report advising Councillors and the public alike that a contract has now been awarded for the civil construction of road safety infrastructure at the Sports and Entertainment Precinct.

As some background, last year five tenders were received for this work, and four of the five submissions came in over budget. Because of the complexity involved in the construction logistics, staff requested to negotiate further on the construction programme and methodology before Council could commit to a contract. As a result, at the 14 October 2025 meeting, Councillors resolved to decline all five tenders and instead authorised the General Manager to negotiate with one or more of the tenderers under section 178(3)(e) of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021.

The report advises that those negotiations have now concluded, and SRC Projects Pty Ltd’s tender complied with the tender requirements and was the only one of the five that was affordable within the project budget. Since October, staff have worked through the construction logistics with SRC Projects and a contract has since been entered into.

Governance, Strategy And Finance

Item 8.1 – Council Investments August 2026

This is Council’s routine monthly investment report outlining the holdings and performance of investments held by TRC at the end of the month, which are included in full in the meeting annexures.

The report itself has some commentary on the Reserve Bank’s August meeting pointing to spending growth slowing gradually, and bank economists leaving the door open to a further rate rise at some point this financial year. In regard to TRC’s own portfolio, the average return continues to trend upwards, as investments placed back in 2025 at around four per cent for twelve-month terms mature and get rolled over into new investments at closer to 5.3 per cent, which is helping lift the overall return.

Item 8.2 – Tamworth Regional Council – Long-Term Financial Plan

This item asks Councillors to formally adopt the Draft Long-Term Financial Plan 2026/2027 to 2035/2036. The draft plan went on public exhibition for 28 days following the 14 July meeting, with that exhibition period ending on 19 August. Only one submission was received during that time, from a Manilla resident asking for longer opening hours at the Manilla disposal facility. That feedback has been passed on to Council’s waste manager, and the report notes it’ll feed into a survey currently underway to help inform the next Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy, rather than being addressed directly through this plan.

The Plan itself is worth the read, but as I mentioned in my agenda summary post from back in July, there is expected to be a level of imprecision with the plan as the further out you look, the less precise the picture becomes. Things like wage costs and grant income were mentioned in the report that went to Councillors at the time, but major infrastructure spending also plays a large role in this, and decisions in the not-so-distant future have ripple effects into the future. What’s on the forefront of my mind here is the Aquatic Centre, because I (and it seems most councillors) are in the dark as much as the community about how the discussions for additional funding for that project are going. But I touch on that more in my item on motions to submit to the LGNSW conference.

Item 8.3 – 2025/2026 General Purpose and Special Purpose Financial Reports for Audit

This item is a procedural but statutorily-important one. This is also a very statute-process-heavy read, so bear with me. It kicks off the formal process for TRC to sign off on its opinion of its own annual financial reports for the year ended 30 June 2026, ahead of those reports being audited and then presented publicly.

Under section 413(2)(c) of the Local Government Act, councils are required to record a formal opinion on its General Purpose Financial Reports, via a statement signed by the General Manager, the Responsible Accounting Officer, the Mayor and one Councillor. The recommendation asks Council to record that opinion now, essentially certifying that the reports have been prepared in accordance with the Local Government Act, the Australian Accounting Standards, and the Local Government Code of Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting, that they fairly present Council’s operating result and financial position for the year, that they accord with Council’s own accounting records, and that the signatories aren’t aware of anything that would make them false or misleading. A parallel opinion is sought on the Special Purpose Financial Reports, which cover Council’s declared Business Activities (water and sewerage), including a specific statement that overhead charges reallocated to those businesses are fair and reasonable. It’s worth noting this statement of opinion isn’t legally binding in itself; it’s a governance step rather than a guarantee.

The audit itself commenced on 7 September 2026, with a draft set of the financial reports reviewed by Council’s Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee on 8 September. Once the audit is complete, the NSW Audit Office will issue a client service report, which will go back to the Committee alongside the audited financial reports before everything is presented to Councillors and the public at the Council Meeting on 10 November. The General Manager, Paul Bennett, and the Responsible Accounting Officer, Sherrill Young, have already certified that to the best of their knowledge the reports are compliant and fairly present Council’s financial position.

Item 8.4 – Annual Operational Plan 2026/2027 Budget Variation Report – July and August 2026

This is one of Council’s regular budget variation reports, asking Councillors to note and approve the changes made to the 2026/2027 budget processed during July and August 2026 that haven’t already been the subject of their own specific report, with the full detail sitting in the annexures.

Some of the more notable items in this round commented on in the report include a new grant-funded project for level crossing improvements at the Brisbane, White and Darling Streets intersection, worth $85,600; preliminary costs of $100,000 for air-conditioning improvements at TRECC and the Town Hall; subdivision costs of $165,103 for the Tamworth Global Gateway Park; a new fuel tank for the Forest Road Landfill costing $104,218; and $30,000 for mechanical and fire compliance works at the Capital Theatre.

Item 8.5 – Draft Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Policy

This is another item that asks Councillors to place a draft policy out for public feedback for 28 days, and to bring back a further report on the submissions received before the final policy is adopted.

TRC doesn’t currently have a policy governing how it exercises its regulatory compliance and enforcement functions, and the report notes it’s standard practice across NSW councils to have one, based on the NSW Ombudsman’s Model Compliance and Enforcement Policy from 2015. The intent behind the draft is to give TRC’s Authorised Officers a consistent framework for assessing risk, allocating resources and responding to complaints of illegal activity, so that decisions made in this space are fair, impartial and applied the same way regardless of who’s making the call or who’s on the receiving end. It’s also meant to help TRC be clearer with the community about how complaints are handled when they’re raised.

The regulatory functions this policy would cover are broad, spanning things like unattended articles in public spaces and on roads (think abandoned vehicles), companion animal management, biosecurity and weeds, development and building compliance, environmental, public health and food safety matters, fire safety, and parking management.

The draft policy can be found in the meeting annexures.

Item 8.6 – Draft Animal Management Policy

This third item about placing a draft new policy on public exhibition looks to formalise Animal Management Procedures into a single policy. At the moment, Council manages complaints about companion animals and other animals in the region by relying on a mix of the Companion Animal Act, the Local Government Act and various health legislation. The draft policy is intended to, once adopted, become the go-to document Council’s Authorised Officers work from when dealing with animal management issues.

The stated focus of the draft is as much about education as enforcement. It’s built around community education, awareness and engagement, with guiding principles aimed at maximising responsible pet ownership, animal welfare and community safety, while minimising the negative impacts pets and animals can have on neighbourhood amenity. Alongside the guidance for Authorised Officers, it’s also meant to give pet and animal owners clearer information about what’s expected of them and their obligations to their neighbours.

Like the other draft policies at this meeting, the policy can be found in the meeting annexures.

Item 8.7 – Motions for the Local Government NSW Annual Conference 2026

This item asks Council to authorise three motions to go forward to the LGNSW Annual Conference, being held in Wollongong from Sunday 22 to Tuesday 24 November. Back at our 14 July meeting we voted to send Mayor Webb, Cr Budd, Cr North and Cr Rodda as this Council’s voting delegates, with Cr Sutherland, Cr Sharpham and I going along as non-voting delegates.

This year three motions have been submitted for endorsement: two from me, and one from council staff. I’ve already done a dedicated post about these motions in more detail that you can read here:

https://ryanbrooke.au/my-motions-for-the-lgnsw-2026-conference/

Community Services

Item 9.1 – Draft Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2026-2030

Councils are required under the Disability Inclusion Act 2014 to undertake this kind of action planning, which means demonstrating genuine engagement with people living with disability and showing how inclusion is being promoted and delivered across the local government area. TRC’s process here has involved reviewing its own existing functions, processes and policies relating to disability inclusion, mapping how the plan connects to the goals already set out in the Integrated Planning and Reporting Document suite that operate as the core plans all other council strategies link back to, consulting with the Disability Action Working Group, people living with disability, and the broader community through a survey and consultation sessions held across Tamworth, Barraba, Manilla, Nundle and Kootingal.

Out of that consultation, four focus areas have been identified as priorities: fostering positive community attitudes and behaviours, creating more liveable communities, supporting access to meaningful employment, and improving access to mainstream services through better systems and processes. The draft plan itself, sitting in the annexures, sets out how Council intends to address the issues raised under each of those four areas.

Once adopted, the Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) will need to be published in an accessible format suitable for people with specific access or communication needs and promoted within the community, and TRC will be required to report on its progress annually through its Annual Report to the Minister for Disability Inclusion. The report also notes that individual actions under the plan may be funded through existing annual operational budgets where they align with the Annual Operational Plan and Delivery Programme, though some actions may instead need external grant funding or partnerships, with costs to be reviewed and reported back to Council as those actions are worked through in more detail. Legally, the DIAP sits alongside the Disability Inclusion Act 2014 and is also underpinned by the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977.

The recommendation is to place the draft plan on exhibition for 28 days and to bring back a further report on submissions, with a recommendation on adoption, once that period closes.

Item 9.2 – Back to the Bush Event Funding Request

This item asks Council to approve $10,000 in funding to support the delivery of the Back to the Bush event in Barraba, with the money to come from the General Fund via the creation of a budget allocation within TRC’s Creative Communities and Experiences Directorate.

Back to the Bush is an annual event that’s become a fixture on the Barraba calendar, drawing participants and spectators from across regional New South Wales and beyond. It’s run by a volunteer community group, Aircooled Assembly Inc, and delivered as a free event, which keeps it accessible to local residents while still pulling in visitors from further afield. Economic modelling provided in the report puts total economic output at around $172,700 from day visitors and a further $58,636 from overnight visitors, with the overnight figure particularly relevant given it flows through to local accommodation providers, hospitality, retail and fuel spending, rather than just passing through the town.

The reason funding is being sought is due to the committee’s usual funding model falling over. Historically, Back to the Bush has been subsidised by revenue from the group’s other annual event, Muddy Mayhem, but that event was cancelled after the committee lost access to its venue at the decision of council due to compliance risks.

Closed Council Reports

Item 11.1 – Proposed Licence Agreement – 15 Britten Road Tamworth – Radio Broadcast Tower

This item concerns Council-owned land at 15 Britten Road, Tamworth, and asks Councillors to authorise entering into a new licence agreement with a party for a radio broadcast tower on that site.

Item 11.2 – Proposed Acquisition for Road Repair – Lot 71 DP 755335 Happy Valley Road, Hanging Rock

This item seeks Council’s approval to acquire Lot 71 DP 755335 at Happy Valley Road, Hanging Rock, to facilitate permanent repair works finally being carried out on the section of Barry Road damaged in the 2022 landslip.

As some background back in 2022, a section of Barry Road collapsed during a severe weather event, roughly 7.2 kilometres east of Nundle. A temporary detour has been in place since then to keep the road, including access to Sheba Dam, accessible for local residents and other users, but a permanent fix has been a long time coming. Funding for the permanent repair has in more recent times been secured through the NSW Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, under the Essential Public Asset Reconstruction Works stream tied to the September 2022 severe weather and flooding event.