MidCoast Council’s manager of community spaces, recreation and trades Daniel Aldridge has defended the original development and allegations of a flawed design for the Aviation Business Park at Taree Airport.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Local aviation identity, Tony Ryan and managing director of Taree aviation services provider Aerotisan, Neville French have spent the last five years rallying against the then Greater Taree City Council, and MidCoast Council, by launching an investigation into the park.
An extensive document entitled “The Failure of the Taree Aviation Business Park” was completed in October 2014 and was sent to multiple entities in hope of instigating an investigation.
The men joined with several aviation industry bodies to claim the site did not follow standard local government protocols for the execution of the site, which resulted in it allegedly not meeting the requirements of the business aviation community.
Mr Aldridge insists this is not the case.
“If the claim is that they believe the design is flawed, we can confirm that it was developed by an independent engineering company with substantial aviation experience,” Mr Aldridge said.
While suggestions have been made that the park is yet to attract any business interest and For Sale signs have been removed, Mr Aldridge said the process is well underway.
“On the contrary, we have had a healthy interest in stage one and are currently in discussion with several prospective purchasers,” he said.
“The For Sale signs remain in place for stage one of the development.
“Stage two will be advertised and signage will be erected only after the completion of stage one (and after additional civil works are undertaken to make stage two saleable).
“The process involves the developer (council) lodging a subdivision application for approval, followed by it being lodged with Land and Property Information (LPI) for registration.
“Once the subdivision has been registered, the individual parcels of land can be made available for sale.
“The process is underway and it’s anticipated contracts will be available in coming months,” Mr Aldridge said.