(Photo: SBRC)
April 18, 2013
The dog-leg portion of Heights Road in northern Nanango will be renamed Bradford Road in honour one of Nanango’s long-standing families if neighbours living along the road agree.
The proposal to rename the road was discussed at the South Burnett Regional Council’s meeting yesterday.
Council had received a request from the Bradford family to name an unformed road running off a corner of Heights Road after the family.
Records showed that the Bradord family had owned property in the immediate area in 1910 and still do today – the family farm is located at the end of Heights Road near Barker Creek.
Council records also showed that the name “Bradford Road” isn’t currently in use anywhere in the South Burnett Regional Council’s area.
Cr Barry Green recommended the proposal to Council, saying that while he recognised the unformed road “would probably never be a road”, naming it would at least give the family’s descendants some formal recognition of the family’s contribution to the area.
However, Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said he was opposed to naming unformed roads because the SBRC doesn’t put signs on them.
In addition, the unformed road was approximately a kilometre away from where the family actually lived.
He suggested it might be better to change the name of the dog-leg portion of Heights Road to Bradford Road, since this terminated at the family’s property.
Cr Cheryl Dalton said she agreed that without a sign, naming the unformed road wouldn’t be much of a tribute.
Cr Keith Campbell said that the SBRC periodically receives requests to name things after long-standing local families. The Council maintains a list of these requests so they’re not forgotten and if opportunities come up, it acts on them.
Infrastructure Manager John Kersnovski agreed Cr Campbell had correctly described the usual procedure.
If the Mayor’s alternative suggestion of renaming a portion of Heights Road was followed, though, then a consultation process with property owners along the affected section would need to be carried out. This was because changing the road’s name meant their addresses would change.
However, he added that dog-leg roads were uncommon in the Shire, so renaming that part of Heights Road would be a good outcome all round.
The Council agreed to consult with neighbouring property-owners on the matter.
