I am yet to fully take in the full Draft of the Transport for NSW‘s (TfNSW) Draft SRITP for New England and NorthWest. The highlights for me that hit me are:
- It’s pretty clear from the draft that Glen Innes is being treated as a corridor, not as a growth centre.
- The projected population increase is literally 10 people in 15 years, and the medium term actions reflect that.
- The next 5 years are all about REZ construction traffic not community mobility, not public transport, not livability.
- Anything community facing this increase in traffic is pushed into the “aspirational” basket.
Meanwhile, real investment is flowing to Tamworth, Moree and Armidale, while Glen Innes residents is left with lots of heavy trucks on the A15 and infrequent unreliable coaches
For residents in Glenn Innes region, it’s maintenance, resilience and freight access.
Glen Innes is framed as:
- A through route between Armidale, Tenterfield, and Queensland
- A freight connector
- A REZ access point
- A town centre needing “activation”, not a growth anchor
There is no medium term investment narrative that treats Glen Innes as a strategic centre in its own right or as a Destination for that matter !!!
Sooooo dissapointing, compared to what could be achieved with strategic investment in rail freight and passenger services, as proposed by New England Network!
Cheryl Evans
Glenn Innes Resident
2-may-2026
