With the disruptions around the Clyde Street West and Old Punt Road boat ramps visitors wishing to launch into the Clyde River have been redirected to the Hanging Rock facility or upstream to Nelligen.
The Hanging Rock boatramp presents dangers to the casual weekender fisher in their runabout with the exposure to winds, waves and currents, often combining as one to challenge most smaller craft.
The safer family option for the smaller fishing boat is now Nelligen and this year the demand on the Nelligen boatramp has been high. This in itself has presented not only traffic and parking issues in the town but also traffic issues on the water with the mix of speed boats, water skiers, kayakers, canoeists, fishers and jets skis.
Fortunately the grass section between the boat ramp and Section 1 of the new carparking has been able to accommodate most of the overflow.
It is not surprising to learn that locals are angered this week at learning that Council has done an about flip of their original advice to the village regarding this open green space.
On 26th September, 2017 Council advised councilors that to accommodate further carparking, land acquisition of Lots 6 and 7 Section 6 DP 758762 was required. The land owners had consented to the acquisition and have agreed to a purchase price
On April 10th, 2018, the Director Infrastructure Services advised Councillors in a report that "Council has already purchased two vacant lots for the development of the first stages of the proposed boating car park and is currently negotiating the acquisition of a further two lots to accommodate future stages.
"The demand for additional boat parking at Nelligen on the western side of the Clyde River is high, with boat and trailer combinations often spread across the natural foreshore areas and within the urban streets of Nelligen township.
"This level of activity reflects the strategic importance of Nelligen as an access point to the Clyde River for boating and fishing. The boating facility at Nelligen township is the main boating access to the Clyde River west of the Batemans Bay bridge. The facilities in Nelligen attract users to the area and support local businesses, employment and tourism growth within the township and region."
Above: Council provided additional carparking to the east of the boatramp on land that it acquired in 2017 . The green section is the area that Council indicated in April 2018 it was "currently negotiating the acquisition of a further two lots to accommodate future stages." This week locals discovered that the two lots that comprise the open green space that they thought Council was buying for the "future stages" has a development application pending for a new home on Lot 9. The news is of interest to locals and historians who recall the previous floods to the town. The status of the remaining vacant Lot 10 is unknown.
