A GELSTON Park resident has aired her frustrations after learning new red tape will restrict the community's decade-long Clean Up Australia Day event.
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Coming into its 11th year, the Gelston Park community has "successfully, enthusiastically and safely" cleaned up the rubbish on the Gelston Park Road.
It came as a shock to the event's supervisor Elizabeth Cooke when Wagga council told her it will not support the event unless they adhere to the new set of rules.
These guidelines include appointing traffic wardens, slowing down traffic to 40 kilometre speed limits and enforcing a three-metre buffer zone from the roadside.
It comes in response to the Clean Up Australia Day's registration form, which stipulates a number of roadside terms and conditions.
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However Ms Cooke said she could not understand why these regulations had not "reared its ugly head before" this year.
"It's a pity that these events, which are designed to bring communities together, is being hampered by, to my mind, unnecessary OHS restrictions and red tape," she said. "We have never had a problem."
Ms Cooke said the most "unrealistic" rule was the buffer zone stopping the event's participants from cleaning up rubbish from an area where it is mostly located.
"As you would appreciate, on a lot of country roads there is not three metres between the edge of the road and the fence," she said.
Ms Cooke said she was told the council will foot the bill for traffic management, but thought it was "unfortunate" that ratepayers' money was spent on unnecessary restrictions.
A Wagga City Council spokesperson said the council's priority is the health and safety of all participants.
The spokesperson said the community group was offered support in organising the event and adhering to the guidelines, which they agreed to when registering their event with Clean Up Australia Day.
"This [support] includes the provision of highly visible safety vests and an offer to co-ordinate and pay for traffic management to ensure a 40 kilometre an hour speed limit and a three-metre exclusion zone is maintained during the event," they said.
The spokesperson said the council supports the community's Clean Up Australia Day event, but they are working closely with the organising body to ensure its terms and conditions were adhered to along council-owned roads.
"Council has a duty of care under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to provide a safe place of work for its workers, which is extended to volunteers in this instance," they said.
This year's Clean Up Australia Day is set for March 1.