Coffs Council refuses child safety action

Following my letter to the editor of the Coffs Coast Advocate I was pleased to do a phone interview with a personable reporter named Mel, on the dangerous state of the fence around the park, and when I got home from Sydney last weekend I found that it had been published quite faithfully.

Read how Coffs Harbour Council justifies the fact that after years of inaction on this they are still "in the process of finalising" a solution. My question: Why can the obvious danger to children and adults not be removed immediately while "the process of finalisation" goes on? Demolition is cheaper and easier than construction. I doubt that any reader of the Advocate last Saturday would have had a very different question in their mind. Quite clearly, the danger should be removed and then a new fence constructed. This is what you and I, and the Coffs Council bureaucrats would do if the danger were in our own houses.

This is a matter of safety to our families and visitors, because the park has many children playing in it every fine day. There are several hundred rusty iron straps surrounding the park, many of them sharp and jutting out from the rails. I hate to put a financial spin on it (but the appeal to reason and compassion has been unsuccessful): let's guess how much ratepayers' money would go in compensation to a family whose child had an artery slashed while running past the fence. Yes, Coffs Council has been aware for a long time of a serious threat to life as well as limb.

I'm just a relatively insignificant local resident and if one email to the local newspaper can get this much action, I hope some Sandy Beach Almanac readers will also have a word in the ear of:

The Editor, Coffs Coast Advocate, advocate@coffscoastadvocate.com.au

and more importantly:

The General Manager, Coffs Harbour City Council, Locked Bag 155, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450

Council website ::: Council contact

Read some more ignored urgent matters sent to Council

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Categories: coffs, australia, safety, parks