THREE years after a ruling by the then federal environment minister brought plans for a go-kart track to a grinding halt, Bathurst council will consider a development application (DA) for a new site.
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Mayor Jess Jennings said the DA, which is currently with an independent assessor, is likely to come before the council at the June, 2024 ordinary meeting.
The DA, lodged by the council in October, 2023, is for a Mount Panorama-Wahluu site off Conrod Straight, adjacent to the location of the old drive-in theatre.
In April, 2024, the council amended some of the plans and associated documentation in response to the public submissions and having considered requests for additional information during the assessment period.
The cost of the project has also increased by $1.1 million to $5.8 million, inclusive of GST and a 10 per cent allocation for contingencies.
The updated documentation, which can be viewed on the YourSay Bathurst website, is still undergoing assessment by an independent party.
Cr Jennings said, once the assessment is complete, a recommendation will be provided to the council.
"The independent assessor could only come back with three options: approve it, do not approve it, or delay," he said.
"I think, realistically, council will be presented with a yes or no recommendation, and then it's up to the director of planning to assess that recommendation and then present his recommendation to the council about the independent assessment."https://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/2600415/track-needs-new-location/
Where mayor stands on the project
The go-kart track project has a long history in Bathurst, spanning decades, with it proving extremely difficult to find a suitable location in Bathurst.
This site that's the subject of the current DA has been ruled out before, along with Alec Lamberton Field, and most notably McPhillamy Park.
Construction was just days away from starting in March, 2021 when then federal environment minister Sussan Ley issued a protection order that prevented work commencing.
Then, on May 3, 2021, she delivered the final blow when she made a Section 10 declaration under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (ATSIHP).
The declaration protects the site from the construction of buildings and significant earthworks, which forced the council to abandon the go-kart track project at that site.
In June that same year, the site off Conrod Straight was raised again and that location has been the focus ever since.
Cr Jennings consistently voted against plans to progress the go-kart track on land at the back of McPhillamy Park, and he did not support the motion on June 16, 2021 to fast-track the project on a new site.
His position was based on his questions to the director of Engineering Services that night, who said that site had been ruled out previously as the necessary noise abatement measures had made it "uneconomical".
That same night Cr Jennings also said he could not support the motion because of the $2.25 loan for the go-kart track, saying it "should have never been taken out".
Cr Jennings has since become mayor, but he says that hasn't swayed his position.
"Prior to becoming mayor, I was of the opinion that this project needs to be put to the ultimate test, which is a development application, and if that development application was deemed viable, then it needs to be considered on those merits," he said.
"So, I'm really keen to see it actually brought to a head, in terms of a development application being assessed.
"We've gone to great extent to make it an independent assessment, and so I will be very keenly looking at what the result of that independent assessment is and also factoring in what council, through the director of planning, then recommends to council in terms of the independent assessment's position."
He said it's possible the recommendations of the independent assessment and the director won't align, which would influence his opinion.
"It will depend ultimately on what those two recommendations say," he said.
"If they both say do approve it or if they both say don't approve it, the merits of those arguments will be what determines my position."
Cr Jennings said it's still unknown whether or not the site is viable, with noise being the primary concern, which is why he is waiting until the independent assessment is complete and both recommendations are available before forming his position.
"The independent assessor will give us the answer on that due diligence and we'll have to see what that says," he said.
Rachel Chamberlain
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
