A resident in Gunning has hit back at a local lobbying group for “unsubstantiated” claims made to the council at the ordinary council meeting in November.
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Scott Heffernan said that the Collector Road Action Group (CRAG), which lobbied on behalf of the local community for road and footpath improvement in Gunning, did not have his support.
CRAG presented a case to the Upper Lachlan Shire Council that included 16 letters of community support. Following lobbying by CRAG, the council had said they would initiate a process to change the name of Gundaroo Street in Gunning to Collector Road.
However, resident of Gundaroo Street Scott Heffernan said he was not consulted about the name change, and only became aware of the issue following reports in the Crookwell Gazette.
He has lived on Gundaroo Street for 15 years, he said, and he is not supporting the name change: “There has been no [direct] correspondence from anyone,” and “The people on the road did not give consent for the name changes.”
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Mr Heffernan said that CRAG’s claims about mail returning to the depot and confusion with emergency services were “not substantiated”.
Although, Hume District Police had supported CRAG’s position in a letter addressed to the council.
Mr Heffernan, who runs a business from his home address, was concerned that he would have to change every business and personal registration if the street name was changed.
While, the council has yet to contact the residents who live on Gundaroo Street about the proposed name change, Mr Heffernan has already drafted a letter to the council in opposition.
CRAG organiser Gavin Douglas has disputed the claims that residents on Gundaroo Street were not notified of the lobbying.
"There are two residences on Gundaroo Street between Cullavin Street and Yass Street and CRAG spoke with a resident in each of these.
“One told us that she already uses Collector Road for her mailing address and the other told us that she had a package that was returned to Yass because her address could not be found," Mr Douglas said.
"Council's Road Naming Policy allows for members of the public a chance to make further submissions during this process.
“We welcome the involvement of all residents,” he added.