ALBURY Mayor Kevin Mack says council will push ahead with a sub-division of 55 hectares at the Nexus industrial hub after a bitter blow that saw $7 million in funding wiped earlier this week.
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The money promised by the federal government for the Davey Road interchange upgrade north of Albury was pulled from the table after the NSW Government rejected matching funding for the project.
Albury Council was advised by the NSW government industry department it wouldn’t be providing the $6.8 million that would have upgraded the crossing to a full-diamond interchange status with the addition of two south-facing ramps.
A department spokesperson said the fund targeted projects with “strong job creation outcomes”.
The council hoped better access to the nearby Nexus industrial hub from Davey Road would be the catalyst for the creation of more than 1100 jobs.
But Cr Mack said council would re-apply for funding and push ahead with the sub-division at Nexus.
“We’ve got a couple of land sales pending, but they weren’t pending because of the ramps,” he said.
“We are committed to stage 1 and we will still go ahead.
“It is just a case of the ramps being delayed and the money isn’t available.”
The council has committed to spending more than $12 million developing Nexus in the next four years.
It will spend almost $8 million in the area previously known as Kenilworth in the next two financial years with the long-term aim of generating more than 1100 jobs.
The council has also agreed to connecting water and sewerage services to the area at a total cost of $4.4 million.
The twin funding setback is a blow to negotiations between council and a developer interested in building a large scale truck stop near the Davey Road interchange.
Cr Mack said council would lobby NSW Roads and Maritime Services about the importance of the upgrade.
“We don’t have the federal or state government money now so the project sits on the back-burner,” he said.
“The indications from the federal government is we have a very strong case for round 2.
“But we aren’t going to get $14 million from round 2 and will still be looking for matching funding.
“RMS should be the ones applying for the money, not us.
“It is disappointing you had this money sitting there and can’t access it now.”