Erosion at Gilgandra’s Biddon Creek has come to the end of the road, with nearby power lines at risk of exposure causing the Gilgandra Shire Council to urgently fund remediation works. 

The Biddon Creek Scouring Rectification is ongoing, but works delayed by wet weather has seen a budget-blowout, with the revised estimate leaving a project shortfall of $89,000.

In the meantime, a nearby power pole has had to be repeatedly relocated as erosion encroached. 

According to Essential Energy, the pole can’t be moved any further away, with the span of the powerline at its maximum. 

In a recent council meeting, council resolved that they would re-allocate funding from elsewhere to finish the project out of necessity. 

“If that pole goes, it means considerable new infrastructure for Essential Energy to put in. It’s not just one pole…they’d have to replace three or four,” Gilgandra Shire Council Mayor Doug Batten said. 

“It’s quite an urgent situation. With another couple of rain events, we could be out for another $100,000,” he said. 

It was suggested in the original proposal that the funds be reallocated from the unsealed roads budget, however Cr Batten is hopeful that the upcoming end of financial year review will find spare cash elsewhere. 

“There’s an opportunity in the budget process to take some of the under expenditure and allocate it to this project without touching the rural roads money,” he said. 

The decision will be made in August. 

Both Essential Energy and local landholders have repeatedly lobbied council to carry out the remediation works. 

To date, council has spent over $30,000 on the project in preliminary costs, such as environmental assessment and geotechnical investigation. So far, no quotes have been accepted to carry out the works.