Kempsey street lies in ruined state with locals fuming over council inaction

This NSW Mid-North Coast street is so cracked, crumbling and covered in potholes that it resembles a cratered moonscape, with one local furious his pleas for major repairs keep being ignored.

Albert St, South Kempsey, is in a shocking state. Pictures: Supplied.

A suburban street is in such a shocking condition it isn’t fit to walk a dog on, a frustrated resident says as he accused the responsible council of “sitting on their tushes”.

Retired nurse Dallas Miles said Albert St in South Kempsey on the NSW Mid-North Coast had been a “mess” since he purchased a house there in December 2023 and the deterioration pre-dated the May floods.

“I usually go for a walk and I take my little dogs and you can’t walk decently on the road because of the damage,” Mr Miles said.

Mr Miles said he had raised the condition of the dilapidated street countless times with Kempsey Council.

“The normal response was ‘we will get to it when we can, we have other areas a lot more important than your area’,” he said.

Albert St....more like pothole city. Pictures: Supplied.

“I always thought that every area was important. Especially when it is in a town.

“They don’t say where the higher priority areas are, they won’t stipulate which areas they are concentrating on, to me it is nothing but excuses.”

Mr Miles said the only work he had seen done on his road was at best a “Band-Aid” solution.

“Since I’ve been here they have done a little bit of patch-up work here and a little bit of patch-up work there,’ he said.

“They shove a bit of bitumen in a hole and expect it to be done. They don’t fix it properly and cars are getting damaged.”

Mr Miles said he has lived in the Mid-North Coast region all of his 70 years but had moved back to Kempsey from Port Macquarie to be nearer where he grew up in Frederickton.

“I came back home because I love Kempsey but it has the worst roads in our area,” he said.

“Port Macquarie has the cheapest rates and some of their roads are bad but they get in and do the best that they can.

South Kempsey resident Dallas Miles is not happy about the state of Albert St. Picture: Supplied.

“That’s one thing I will give Port Macquarie Council they will get out and do the work and that’s why Port Macquarie is growing and Kempsey is not.”

Mr Miles said he understood Kempsey Council faced funding challenges but it wasn't a sufficient excuse.

“The government is not giving enough money to small councils but you have place like Port Macquarie and their council is working hard there,” he said,

“All they are doing here is sitting on their tushes, deciding which one they are going to fix first and the holes are getting worse.

Mr Miles said other nearby roads, such as West Street, were also in an appalling condition.

“Every time you mention it to the council they say ‘we’ll write it down, we’ll then record it, then we’ll inform you’ and then you don’t get anything’,” he said.

Kempsey Shire Council Acing Director Operations and Planning Dylan Reeves said council staff had inspected the Albert St as is standard practice when complaints are received.

“Council staff do respond with a patching team and will do so again at this location,” he said.

Mr Reeves said numerous natural disasters over the past six years had “a cumulative impact” of damaging the area’s road network.

“Council recognises that there are a number of roads within the LGA that require significant investment, Albert Street is no exception,” he said.

Mr Reeves admitted full repair for Albert Street could take years.

“Other roads have received priority for a number of reasons, being damage relating to the above disasters, where the road falls on our hierarchy, traffic counts, bus routes, speed limits and many other factors,” he said.

Council admitted full repair for Albert Street could take years. Pictures: Supplied.

However, Mr Reeves said council was making a “record investment’ on repairing roads and other vital infrastructure.

“The financial year we are currently in will see the largest reseal, rehabilitation and patching program completed to date, with over $4 million committed to resealing and patching alone,” Mr Reeves said.

“Council is also committing over $15 million for other road rehabilitations and upgrades.”

There will also be $80 million in “approved funding” to repair damages arising primarily from the natural disasters.

Mr Reeves said to fund these works and remain financially viable Kempsey Council was applying to raise property rates in a “Special Rate Variation” (SRV).

A council website states the Special Rate Variation is a cumulative increase of 42.7 per cent including the rate peg, over three years commencing July 2024.

“This will consist of 7.9 per cent in year one and 15 per cent in years two and three which compounds to 42.7 per cent over three years,” the website said.

Mr Reeves said Kempsey Council is firmly committed to improving the condition of roads around the Kempsey local government area and will continue to invest in roads for our local community.”

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