Road upgrades inbound for Uralla, Gwydir, and the Liverpool Plains

While Tamworth isn't seeing a cent from the latest round of the state government's Fixing Country Roads program, neighbouring councils Uralla and Gwydir were given $3.9 million and $7.6 million respectively.

In addition, the Liverpool Plains Shire Council has received $4.5 million from the NSW government to improve road access to the Werris Creek Economic Precinct.

Tamworth Regional Council did not respond to an enquiry from the Leader asking whether it applied for the funding.

While Tamworth has recently benefited from several state government road initiatives, the local government hasn't received funding from this particular program since 2018, despite being a major regional logistics hub.

The money going to the Liverpool Plains, Uralla, and Gwydir is from round six of the Fixing Country Roads Program, designed to improve freight access, support jobs, and improve productivity in regional NSW.

Local governments with successful applications were announced in February, but the funding was thrown into question during the change of government in March.

Liverpool Plains Shire mayor Doug Hawkins said the Werris Creek upgrades will be a huge boon for the area's agricultural economy, and he's excited to finally see the delayed project nearing completion.

"We were actually underway with the work but we stopped because we didn't want to go on with the work and then have a big debt. Now that the funding deed's been signed we can carry on with it," Cr Hawkins said.

The economic precinct is an inter-modal shipping area which the former Coalition government said would "put Werris Creek on the map" back in 2020 by connecting road and rail freight.

"It's disappointing it took so long, but I'm very, very happy now that it's been signed off on because it's a project that's important to the Liverpool Plains and important to what this term of councillors have been working on to develop our agricultural precinct," Cr Hawkins said.

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In a statement, NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison blamed the former Coalition government for the funding's delay.

"The former Liberal National Government tried to rip this $80.3 million out of the Fixing Country Roads program and it was Labor who exposed this blatant theft of funds," Ms Aitchison said.

"I'm proud to say it's the Minns Labor Government that's now delivering that $80.3 million to councils that should have received the money years ago."

But Cr Hawkins said it doesn't matter to him who gets the credit for the funding nor the blame for its delay, so long as residents of the Liverpool Plains get the best deal possible.

"We had a very close working relationship with the previous government and there's no reason we can't have that same relationship with the new government. We're bipartisan in that space," he said.

"Politics is politics. They'll both blame one another if they can, there's no doubt about that."

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