VISIONS LOST
THE current 'limbo' situation with the CBD rejuvenation brings to mind other ambitious schemes that never eventuated over the years.
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Among them a serious proposal put to Lithgow council some time back for a regular seaplane service between Lake Lyell and Sydney.
Seemed like a promising thought bubble at the time but sunk without a trace. Then there was the Big Barrel planned for Marrangaroo that was to be a tourist targeted outlet for Mudgee district wines and produce.
Council was supported but local publicans mounted a campaign and won a court ruling scuttling the plan. Another rather bizarre plan was for the world's biggest walk in sun dial, a sort of maze arrangement, near Lake Wallace at Wang. Lost in space and time. But probably the most ambitious of all was a grand plan for an Eiffel Tower type landmark on the clifftops at Hassans Walls with a blaze of lights heralding the approach to Lithgow.
Council at one time even set up a working party and voted planning funds but decades later it's a long forgotten fantasy. Imagine the howls from environmentalists if that idea is ever revived.
Success stories
IF there is one thing Lithgow Council does well it's the development of playgrounds across the LGA. In Queen Elizabeth Park during the school holidays the playground was buzzing with happy visitors and locals alike. The children’s squeals of delight with the constantly evolving equipment was a happy backdrop to the day, irrespective of the big chill.
Playground improvements of recent years have been a positive for an organisation that rightly or wrongly cops its share of criticism.
HOW COLD?
ACCORDING to a lot of older residents this has been our coldest winter in years.
And why shouldn't it be when we roasted through our hottest summer? But take heart while you're contemplating the latest king frost - Mid summer is just days away and if you can trust the calendar things should then start to improve.
Then again, maybe we’ll get another September or October snow dump.