SMALL business owner and resident of High Street, Bowraville, Dan Boermans addressed the public forum of Nambucca Valley Council’s 25 November general meeting to plead for help with ongoing stormwater issues.
Mr Boermans, who has spent 20 years as a successful broadsheet cartoonist, reopened the Bowra Emporium 12 weeks ago at 45 High Street, Bowraville.
The shop offers an eclectic mix of treasures ranging from pre-loved books on many specialist subjects to ceramics, garagenalia, kitchenalia, records, curios and other collectibles.
Mr Boermans told NOTA the shop represented his “masterwork” of creativity.
He bought the property in 2009, but it was in 2022 that major stormwater inundation first began to become an ongoing concern.
Although he admits he is “not an engineer”, Mr Boermans has arrived at the conclusion that a 1.7m long concrete bung installed sometime in the last century is a significant contributor to the problem.
He believes the shallow street gutters lead water toward a metal grate (newly installed by Council) but hit the aforementioned concrete bung before it, diverting much of the flow down his driveway and under the shop and residence.
“Polluted storm water flows into my foundations and under the shop door,” he told Council at the public forum.
According to Mr Boermans, Council representatives have visited him numerous times since the problem first arose, with the most recent town planners also concluding the troublesome bung should go.
“They arrived with clipboards but I would have rather they had jackhammers and work boots,” he told NOTA.
“But they also decided that piece of concrete was the problem.”
Despite this, nothing has yet been done to improve the situation and with summer storm season approaching and his “masterwork” at stake, Mr Boermans has again contacted Council seeking urgent attention to the problem.
“Has nobody ever given you a timeframe for works to commence?” Councillor James Angel asked Mr Boermans at Tuesday’s meeting.
“No,” he replied.
Councillor Susan Jenvey reassured Mr Boermans that she would call for a report into the issue at the following night’s meeting (Wednesday, 26 November).
In the meantime, Mr Boermans hopes for clear skies.
By Ned COWIE
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