Lake Albert residents up in arms over Wagga City Council's sandstone block decisions

Wagga City Council is currently installing sandstone blocks to replace the existing post and rail fencing along Eastlake Drive, but the move has drawn sharp criticism from local residents.

Dennis Pinnock, 77, built his Eastlake Drive house 42 years ago and is appalled at the sight unfolding along his street.

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"I am totally disappointed with the Wagga council and what they are doing," Mr Pinnock said.

"I don't know how much all this has cost them, but there is so much machinery out here.

"It's an absolute waste of money, because the timber [fence] that was already there was all in great condition, especially the rails."

Mr Pinnock said the money should instead be put toward something more urgent like fixing potholes around the city.

He said the council should have left the former fencing as it was and cleaned up the surrounding vegetation instead.

Aside from being a waste of money, he also said it will prove a prime attraction for vandals.

"Graffiti artists will have a picnic," he said.

Wagga councillor and lake proponent Mick Henderson said he was "disappointed there wasn't community consultation prior to council going ahead with this".

"One of my major concerns is the cost of the project," Cr Henderson said.

He also raised concerns about the timing of the upgrade.

"I'm a little disappointed, because there's a lot of other things that need to be done around the lake such as removing all the dead trees and doing road repairs," he said.

"I feel the money would have been better spent [elsewhere]."

Cr Henderson said he would have preferred a different approach.

"I would have been quite happy [if the council] removed the existing pine logs and leave it [as is] for a trial period to see if there were any issues with people driving on the grass," he said.

Responding to the criticism, a council spokesperson said the condition of the post and rail fencing along Eastlake Drive had been identified as being in a poor state of repair.

The spokesperson said it had been deteriorating for several years with internal discussions raising several options as a possible replacement for the fencing material.

"Ultimately the sandstone blocks were chosen," the spokesperson said.

The council spokesperson said there were several reasons behind the decision, including staff having received negative feedback about the wooden bollards.

"The costings of the blocks were competitive as a per-unit price when compared to the previously installed bollards on the western side of the lake," they said.

"The sandstone blocks have a low profile, and the natural colour means they will have minimum impact on the amenity of the high-profile area.

"The blocks have been used previously to great effect in the Botanic Gardens, Riverside playground and Gissing Oval for a variety of applications.

"The blocks require minimal maintenance and will have an extremely long asset life."

The council spokesperson said the blocks also allow flexibility if events are held on the foreshore in the future as they can be moved, with machinery, to allow temporary access before they are put back in place after the event.

"When reviewing the options for the replacement of the fence on Eastlake Drive one option that was considered was not to replace the existing fence," they said.

"This is standard practice on all asset renewal projects.

"In this case it was determined to move forward with the asset renewal as it was anticipated that vehicles would end up driving over the kerb and down to the waterfront causing damage to the open space area.

"Even with the existing fencing in place around the lake there have been multiple incidences of this occurring historically."

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