OBERON Council is looking ahead so it can plan for the toll to be taken on district roads by hauled timber.
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At council's recent ordinary meeting, councillor Clive McCarthy moved a motion, which was carried, for council to write to the Forests NSW state manager seeking the intended route to haul the pine plantation timber which is bound by Abercrombie, Mozart and Murrays Lane that has no council road frontage.
Cr McCarthy said contact with the local manager had been fruitless and council needs the information for its long-term planning.
Council general manager Gary Wallace's note to councillors said that in December 2019, council resolved to write to Forestry Corporation of NSW asking for its intended haul road for the plantation bordered by these roads and ask about the intended access to council roads.
The following response was provided by Forestry Corporation to council:
There is a patch of state forest surrounded by private property and located north of Mozart Road. This section of state forest is referred to as Narebo. Narebo was planted in 1997, so based on a nominal rotation of 30 years, clear felling of this forest is likely to occur in another 8-10 years; access to the site is challenging; while existing access is currently provided from the north, it is not suitable for log haulage; an informal agreement is held with a neighbour to the west of Narebo which would provide access to Abercrombie Road following the construction of a new road using the neighbour's land; if the above arrangement failed to materialise, Forestry Corporation would seek to establish a road (via a Crown Road Reserve) to the south joining Mozart Road.
Cr McCarthy said council needs to know this information so it can plan ahead.
"What we got was not really a response. We don't have to accept the 'when we're ready' approach," he said.
"Impact on local roads from logging is huge, so we need a response so we can plan these haulage routes."
Cr Andrew McKibbin added that council needs to know if Forests NSW is going to contribute to the upgrade of roads to cater for large haulage trucks.