The Rural Fire Service (RFS) is set to have a bigger control centre located close to the saleyards in Bega which will combine the Bega and Jellet Jellet brigades.
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Council will enter into a formal deed of agreement with the RFS over land at Bega Saleyards. Council has been seeking to rationalise the land arrangements at the saleyards to provide a clearly defined area for saleyard operations and identify land for other uses - in this case for the RFS.
RFS controller John Cullen said that it was about improving the control room facilities and being able to bring all the emergency control committee in one room as well as combining the two brigades under one roof.
"We looked at what worked during the fires. We want to get all the emergency management committee to be able to meet under one roof. We'll have a bigger area and more parking and may be able to bring in other services such as VRA and SES," Mr Cullen said.
Council said officers had conducted a site visit with RFS personnel regarding the potential land for the establishment of "a fit for purpose emergency control centre and regional facility".
"Following the recent bushfires officers have held discussions with RFS to see what can be done to ensure the future of a dedicated fire control centre is maintained by RFS within the Bega Valley," council said.
Mr Cullen said Bega control centre worked as a team with the Moruya control centre but highlighted the large land areas south of Bega that the service had to look after, as seen during the recent bushfires.
Council said the agreement to transfer of land to the RFS for an emergency control centre and regional facility was about the important task of "securing an RFS presence in the Bega Valley".
A further six-month lease has been given to Sapphire Horizons Pty Limited, from June 30 to December 31, 2020 on the same terms and conditions as the existing lease for the saleyards.
Council said the Bega Saleyard is in the top 20 cattle throughput saleyards in NSW (2017-18) and is a vital infrastructure facility that enables transparent transaction of livestock on behalf of livestock producers in the South East of NSW and to a number of buyers and sellers in Victoria.
"The saleyards play a vital role to the agribusiness industry by enabling transparent price discovery, presenting significant lines of stock in a central location and enabling smaller lots to be combined into larger lots for transport efficiency," council said.
Read also: Bega Saleyards upgrade
