North Coast Road recommended for funding – and then snubbed

One of the state’s most maligned roads has been overlooked for funding, despite the original assessors deeming it more worthy than other projects that have received grant money.

Yorke Peninsula Council applied for $1.141 million over two years for North Coast Road, Point Turton, through the Local Government Special Local Roads Program 2021-22.[1]

Council applied to seal four kilometres from the existing bitumen area, for the benefit of the vast majority of residents and tourists who live along and utilise the road.

Council’s application, submitted May 27, was ranked fifth by the end of the initial review process by the Legatus Group.[2]

However, Yorke Peninsula Council has been left off the final list of successful applicants after a subsequent review by the Local Government Transport Advisory Panel.

Light Regional Council, whose application was initially ranked seventh, has leapfrogged Yorke Peninsula Council’s North Coast Road application.

So has Copper Coast Council’s Roach Street, Kadina, application which the Legatus Group ranked sixth[3].

Yorke Peninsula Council Mayor Darren Braund has expressed his concerns about the process with the Local Government Association, and called for North Coast Road to be awarded funding.

“We are incredibly disappointed to have missed out on this funding and with the assessment process after being passed over for projects the initial assessor, Legatus Group, felt were not as worthy,” Mr Braund said.

“Why did these lower-ranked projects gain funding, and why was it Yorke Peninsula Council that missed out?

“The residents of North Coast Road, and the many locals and visitors who use North Coast Road, deserve answers.

“Council has tried for years to source funding to fix these problems and we thought, based on the Legatus Group recommendation, this was finally the year – but instead we are left wondering what went wrong.”

[1] Yorke Peninsula Council applied to the Local Government Special Local Roads Program 2021-22 on May 27, 2021. The Local Government Association requested additional information from all applicants, including Yorke Peninsula Council, due to one section of the application form having been accidentally disabled, at 11.59am on June 10, 2021. This request had a deadline of June 9 – the day before Council (and assumedly all Councils) had been notified. Yorke Peninsula Council supplied this information within an hour and a half, submitted 1.21pm June 10.  The Local Government Transport Advisory Panel requested additional information from Yorke Peninsula Council at 9.55am on July 6; Council supplied this information at 12.05pm that same day.

[2] LGTAP’s Terms of Reference state it will give preference to projects developed through transparent planning processes – in this case, the rigorous Legatus process.

[3] Legatus Group determined the Final Funding Priority for the applications mentioned here as: Yorke Peninsula Council, North Coast Road 8th; Copper Coast Council, Roach Street 9th; Light Regional Council, Gerald Roberts Road 13th. After other applicants withdrew, the final rankings were YPC 5th; CCC 6th; LRC 7th. In its Summary of Road Proposals, Legatus Group wrote “… the likely SLRP funded projects are R1 to R5”.