Residents of The Channon are calling on Lismore City Council to halt plans to complete construction of a footpath on Standing Street, a proposal the community has consistently opposed since 2023. A footpath has been built at the front of The Channon Public School, which is also on Standing Street.

During Council's final meeting on 9 December 2025, Council voted 10–1 in favour of completing the footpath along Standing Street to the General Store, despite objections from residents and local organisations.

As part of that meeting, councillors were told that The Channon Public School and its Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) supported the project. According to a statement from The Channon Public School P&C, both the school and the P&C have since confirmed this was incorrect. However, the Lismore App could not contact Principal, Kylie Henshall to confirm the school's position.

The Channon Public School P&C has written formally to councillors stating it does not support the footpath.

P&C President China Tisdall said the decision was unanimous.

“The P&C has met, and it is unanimous that we do not support the proposed footpath at all.

“We believe it would reduce safety for our children and represents an unnecessary waste of resources,’ Mr Tisdall said.

The project is funded under Transport for NSW’s Get Active program, intended to encourage active transport. Under Get Active guidelines, shade trees should not be removed.

In 2023, residents of every occupied house in the village signed a petition* opposing the footpath as detrimental to the village. After continued objections, in 2024 Council commissioned a safety audit and argued the footpath was required due to pedestrian risk.

Residents say key questions remain unanswered, including why no safety audit has been conducted on other, more hazardous streets in the village, and how concreting over an existing grass verge improves safety.

Standing Street resident Billie Beasley-Payne, who grew up in the village, said the street has long been a safe route for children.

“I walked and rode my bike to school along this street for years,” Ms Beasley-Payne said.

“We don’t need this path. Concrete paths are slippery in the wet, increase runoff and drainage problems, and this 1.8-metre-wide path would remove shade trees and permanently change the character of our green village.”

(Billie Beasley-Payne on the existing shaded path. Photo: supplied)

Councillor Jasmine Knight-Smith has lodged a rescission motion, giving Council the opportunity to reconsider the decision when it holds its first council meeting on Tuesday, February 10.

“We are asking councillors to listen to the community this time and take our very real concerns into account,” Ms Beasley-Payne said.

A community letter calling on Council to review its decision has been endorsed by a wide range of local groups, including The Channon Public School P&C, The Channon Pre-School Committee, The Channon Hall Committee, The Channon Resilience Hub, The Channon Tennis Club and The Channon Fishing Club.