Council has hit back at criticism they have done nothing but "write a few letters" and blame other levels of government over plans to reopen a long-closed Blaxland park.
Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill said the council was now confident grant money for the redevelopment would happen after they funded a traffic study and lobbied the Roads and Maritime Service to fix access issues.
His update came after local residents campaigning to reopen the park accused council of neglecting the issue.
Former Blue Mountains mayor Peter O'Toole said he was dismayed at council's "indifference".
"Apart from writing a few letters and blaming other tiers of government, council is just not interested," he said.
Long-time Blaxland resident, Davina Curnow, said an almost decade long community campaign has "changed nothing".
"It's very disheartening," she said.
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Blaxland resident Andrew Curnow said he was "puzzled by the council's attitude" towards Blaxland War Memorial Park, which is bigger than Glenbrook Park but "is allowed to deteriorate".
"In terms of council funding, it's pretty clear that Blaxland is the poor cousin. Nothing has changed in Blaxland for years. The park has so much potential as a community asset, particularly with many young families moving back into the area. It's a hidden gem," he said.
But the mayor said previous councils, including the one Mr O'Toole served on, failed to take action to save the park.
"Years later, when I was elected, I commenced a campaign to get the park reopened," he said.
"The park is on state government land. It is not even council's park."
The mayor said several resolutions he put to the council have gone to the state government.
"I even convinced council to pay for a traffic study because the state government wouldn't, even though both the park and the highway belong to them," he said.
"As a result of those actions, a further resolution of this council has asked for the matter to now receive grant funds that will see the park's redevelopment and we are confident, at last, this will happen."
The mayor said he has kept local campaigners informed about progress on the issue.
"I was pleased to arrange for Andrew Curnow to have two ZOOM meetings personally with our director and me about all of this and he was very supportive at those discussions," he said.
The park is located between the railway line and the Great Western Highway at Blaxland but was effectively landlocked by road developments that took place decades ago.
