Mitchell Shire Council cancels $5.4m restoration of Old Goulburn River Bridge in Seymour
Newly elected Mitchell Shire councillors have voted to scrap a “wasteful” multimillion-dollar restoration project — but tearing up the lucrative contract comes with a catch.
Victoria
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A newly elected Victorian council has moved to bin a “wasteful” multimillion-dollar project, saving vital funds in a major win for the community.
Mitchell Shire councillors voted in a confidential meeting last month to cancel a $4.5m contract for the restoration of the dilapidated Old Goulburn River Bridge in Seymour.
The bridge is in such a bad state that it hasn’t been crossed in nearly three decades.
It comes after five councillors voted last year to borrow a total of $5.4m to restore the heritage-listed relic despite uproar from residents, who urged the council to dedicate the funds to repairing the shire’s broken road network instead.
The councillors argued the bridge would be a “tourism magnet” and said they were “legally obligated” to restore the heritage-listed bridge as its owner — despite having received no orders from Heritage Victoria to repair it.
With only one of the councillors who voted in favour of restoring the bridge re-elected this term, the new faces of Mitchell Shire Council quickly moved to reverse the “awful decision” in a bid to better manage council’s resources.
In a major backflip, the new councillors determined the $5.4m pet project “could not be justified and would not support the long-term financial sustainability of the council”.
But the council didn’t get out of the contract unscathed.
“Including the cost of works completed to date, the settlement of the contract reached today will cost $858,484.97,” the council said in a statement.
“Council believes this cost provides a better outcome for the community compared to proceeding with full restoration.”
It comes after the Herald Sun uncovered the council did not apply to have the bridge removed from the state’s heritage register before deciding to splash millions on its facelift.
This was despite another council, Strathbogie, deciding to demolish its similar heritage-listed Chinamans Bridge, also on the Goulburn River an hour away in Nagambie. That council last week received the all clear from Heritage Victoria to knock down the bridge entirely.
The Herald Sun also uncovered that Mitchell Shire Council had diverted funds from other infrastructure projects, including road repairs, to fund the restoration of the bridge. The bridge would have guzzled a whopping 12 per cent of the council’s entire infrastructure fund.
Mitchell Shire Council is still obligated as the bridge’s owner to maintain the Old Goulburn River Bridge. Council is now considering its next steps for how to manage the relic.
“This decision represents Councils intent to best align our investments, especially those for which we borrow, to areas of highest community need,” Mitchell Shire mayor John Dougall said.
“Councillors could not confidently see how this investment would contribute to broader tourism outcomes that benefit the community, and despite advocacy efforts across all levels of government, Council would have needed to fund the project independently.”
Residents on Wednesday night celebrated council’s decision, calling it “common sense in action”.
“Congratulations to the mayor and all the councillors for ‘reading the room’. Putting the wishes of the majority residents first. Democracy at its best,” one resident said.
Others called out former councillors Bannister, Stevens, Sanderson and Goble and re-elected councillor Nathan Clark, who voted for the full restoration of the bridge last year.
“Now we just need the councillors who originally voted for it to repay the wasted funds and we’re all square,” one wrote.
“Can the councillors who originally voted for this waste of money resign,” another said.
In response, Mitchell Shire Council said: “We will not be taking that action, although we can understand the frustration some people in the community felt in the original decision, it was the result of the result of several years of planning and analysis to determine the best approach for its implementation”.
Former councillors Eldrigde, Lowe, Cornish and Chisholm fought against the restoration last year, of which councillor Cornish was re-elected this term as deputy mayor.
See Mitchell Shire Council’s full statement here.
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