Firgrove Estate wooden street signs to be repainted

The signs were installed when Firgrove Estate was developed in the 1990s. However, they have only been maintained by the residents.

Now, Dubbo Regional Council has agreed to pay for the 33 timber signs in the estate to be sanded and repainted.

The issue was first raised with mayor Ben Shields by the Firgrove Executive Committee member Ross Sawtell.

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According to a report from council's director infrastructure Julian Geddes, development records for the estate say the developer had to have street signs installed at their own expense with the design to be approved by council.

"As the timber signs were not approved by council, and did not meet council's standards the signs have not been maintained by council," he said.

"Councils intent would be to replace them with standard mental posts and aluminium street signs blades, consistent with all other roads across the LGA (local government area), when the timber signs are no longer legible."

However, after concerns were raised and council looked into the cost, it was decided to fix the signs.

On Monday, it was decided $12,000 would be spent to repair the signs.

They will be sanded, a wood filler would be used where needed and then three coats of paint will be applied. It will then be up to the residents association to deal with any ongoing maintenance.

Mr Geddes said the option "would not rectify all defects in the existing timber" but would ensure it did not deteriorate any further. It would also ensure the look of the signs was significantly improved, he said.

Cr Shields said it was a positive outcome for the estate.

"I think the residents of Firgrove are going to be very happy with the outcome because it is a very, very pretty estate, even though it's rural," he said.

"It offers a point of difference to people who may wish to come to Dubbo... they've got these large acreages that they can have that you simply couldn't get in the city and therefore we need to look after it."

The mayor said he hoped council could work with the Firgrove residents group to ensure the street signs were maintained.