Rocky road to Hedland footpath approval

The Town of Port Hedland has approved development of a controversial footpath linking the West End with the Spoilbank Marina despite residents claiming the development would have adverse impacts for ratepayers in the precinct. At its March meeting, the Town Council deferred consideration of the matter to hold a public survey after an outcry from Kingsmill Street residents. The survey found 54.5 per cent of people were “very unsupportive” of the proposal, compared with 36.4 per cent who were “very supportive”. Some 83 per cent of survey participants indicated a need for better connectivity between the West End and the future Spoilbank Marina precinct, while 89.9 per cent strongly agreed environmental mitigation should be taken into consideration. In public statement time, former councillor Bill Dziombak urged the council to defer the matter until the marina was built. “Let’s build the world-class marina first, giving us more time to investigate these significant issues which we don’t believe have been addressed at this stage,” he said. The matter was eventually passed six votes to two. Some attendees in the public gallery left the council chambers saying it was an “absolute disgrace”.