Kempsey Shire Council has been allocated $374,141 for "shovel-ready" infrastructure from the Regional Development Australia Fund (RDAF).

Council's Infrastructure Services director Robert Scott had identified the park upgrade as having the best cost benefit to the community.

In a report prepared for Tuesday’s monthly meeting, he highlighted that improving Service Clubs Park could generate more dollars.

It would allow the council to sell small blocks of land with ageing, barely-used playgrounds, and upgrade other playgrounds around the shire with the income generated.

This would also reduce maintenance costs.

But councillors chose to prioritise the airport fence and use the remaining money towards the park, while still allowing blocks to be sold.

The motion on the director’s recommendation was amended by Cr Bruce Morris after lengthy debate and initial opposition to any funding for an airport fence from councillors Liz Campbell, Anthony Patterson and Sue McGinn.

They argued the ‘windfall’ grant would be better spent on giving Kempsey an improved park that would in turn fund other parks in the Macleay.

Kempsey aviator Bob Palmer had addressed the meeting earlier, warning of the dangers faced by pilots from animals on the runway.

The council has an employee on call 24 hours a day to clear animals from the airport if pilots are concerned this could endanger plane safety.

Mr Palmer was grateful for the outcome.

“I’d like to thank the councillors that voted for safety,” he said.

“I’m very grateful to Anna Shields, Dean Saul, Bruce Morris, Ashley Williams and Betty Green who all recognised the importance of making Kempsey Airport safe.

“I’d like to see a return to regular public transport at the airport.”

Cr Green failed to win backing for her proposal to have the amenities block at Crescent Head beach torn down and rebuilt in addition to an airport boundary fence.

She described the Service Clubs Park project as the “luxury option”.

Cr Campbell said she felt calls to fence the airport with the RDAF grant were a “knee-jerk reaction” to Mr Palmer’s presentation and said there were more incidents at airports involving birds than kangaroos.

The amendment was passed by five votes to four, which resulted in it becoming the motion, superseding a vote on allocating all the money towards the Service Clubs Park upgrade.

The new motion was then passed unanimously.