Outgoing Committee 4 Wagga CEO Chris Fitzpatrick expressed serious concern over the limited time frame allocated to public response and suggested council should extend the submission period accordingly. 

“The response time is too tight for such a major document,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

“This is going to have widespread effects on the city and different communities have different investment and different things they want to.

“From C4W’s point of view, if these proposals restrict growth in the inner city then we need to reconsider our approach and plan rather than just having a reactionary response.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said the submission period was poorly timed given the complexity of the issue.

“The noise I’m getting is lots of people are concerned and they’re coming from all angles but residents don’t know how to respond appropriately,” he said.

“For example, North Wagga residents would have different opinions to Central and Eastern residents so there’s all these factors that will come into consideration.”

“It’s just too big a document for people to wrap their head around and common sense would dictate that we give this a little more time.

Pure Urban Planning’s principal town planner Susan Dickerson voiced similar fears, claiming she was “astonished” by the “lack of robustness" in the report. 

“The content of the draft report is somewhat of a concern – it is neither clear nor transparent,” she said.

“Under the proposed changes contained in the draft, council would be able to make significant planning changes to areas of flooding with very little effort.”

Ms Dickerson admitted council documentation could prove vexing to the untrained eye but insisted local communities take the time to ask questions and carefully consider formal submissions.

“Currently, there would appear to be an ad hoc approach … permitting council to change direction at will.”