THE debate over the future use of the Margaret River Community Resource Centre by the Regional Producers Association and its Farmers Market has stirred emotions.
Suggestions by Augusta Margaret River Shire chief executive Gary Evershed to replace the resource centre committee will only inflame more emotion. The committee has done a fantastic job of managing a facility the local community should be proud of.
It has 45 user groups, many of which represent the disadvantaged. Each year the committee gets together at Christmas time and puts together hampers for those in our community who are less well off.
This is only a small example of the commitment these people have. The Regional Producers Association has been one of these groups and the centre has bent over backwards to accommodate its needs.
The fact is the association has grown since its inception and members need to consider where to go with their organisation. If they want the Farmers Market to continue to grow, they need to consider another venue.
I like the idea of using the education campus as a venue, close to town and on the highway with plenty of parking. A market surrounding the Secret Garden (Margaret River Organic Gardens) seems to me an ideal location. Don't get me wrong, I like the markets.
It is just they are starting to have an impact on other members of our community.
The Community Resource Centre is not the only one to feel this. The Margaret River Library, Silver Chain, St John Ambulance Centre, Silver Vines residents, the traders on Fearn Avenue and indeed local residents, including me living on Stewart Street, have all felt the impact of the markets on Saturday mornings.
It is time for some more sensible debate over the future of the Margaret River Farmers Markets.
Bill Gibson, Margaret River
