No decision made on Lillico Road

No decision has been made on the possible renaming of Lillico Rd, Warragul.

Baw Baw Shire Council received a report at its recent meeting but mayor Joe Gauci made it clear that no decision had been made and nothing would happen until further consultation.

Council agreed to undertake further community consultation with Lillico Rd residents to consider the potential renumbering of properties and renaming of the road.

Officers will report back to council on the best options for renaming or renumbering the northern section of Lillico Rd.

The report presented to council on September 27 said realignment of Lillico Rd occurred as a result of the local road network being reconfigured for subdivisions in the area.

The road changes were foreshadowed in the Warragul precinct structure plan adopted by council in 2014.

Officers said because of the realignment, it was necessary to review the name of Lillico Rd.

The report said council had a number of options including:

Renaming the northern section of Lillico Rd to Dollarburn Rd and renumber the existing Dollarburn Rd;

Renaming the southern section of Lillico Rd to Carrington Rd;

Renaming the northern section of Lillico Rd to Carrington Rd; or,

Amend the PSP to enable the subdivision plan to be redesigned and retain the existing Lillico Rd alignment.

The proposal to rename a section of road was made with consideration to the impact on the least amount of resident, historical information regarding the name Carrington and public safety.

Officers said if the name change was adopted, council would provide the $25 change of address pack to affected residents.

Council received 18 objections to the proposal.

Cr Mikaela Power said this had been a confusing process for residents along Lillico Rd.

She said a number of people who spoke to council had talked about Lillico Rd being a place of significance.

Cr Danny Goss said it was about doing community consultation and then considering a report.

“I want to explore all the options rather than just consider the choice between renaming the northern or southern sections.

“It does worry me that we have a neighbour versus neighbour situation.

“They all have a deep connection with that area,” he said.

Cr Goss admitted initial consultation could have been handled better.

Cr Peter Kostos said he was on the place names committee.

He said Carrington, Saunders and Lillico were all significant names to the area.

“We need to sort out the significance of this and sort out a priority,” he said.

Cr Michael Leaney said there needed to be more consultation.

“But we also have to realise there is the option of changing the design of the road so the alignment doesn’t change because that would solve a lot of angst for a lot of people.

“Then the onus would be on the developer to redesign the road.

“Just because the precinct structure plan was set down two years ago doesn’t mean it is set in stone,” he said.

Residents address council p 23