A proposal to amend the Local Environmental Plan for a site at 34 Racecourse Road was blocked by Ballina Council at their last meeting, preventing the redevelopment of the site for a proposed gym school and dance studio.
Despite staff recommendations to proceed to a Gateway determination, it quickly became obvious that councillors thought this was the wrong location for the idea, with horse racing to be prioritised over other uses.
Cr Eoin Johnston said he didn’t know much about horses but he knew strange noises and horses were not a good combination, with stables close to the proposed gym/dance studio. ‘It seems to be something in the wrong place,’ he said.
‘Although a lot of people don’t like the horse racing industry or the gambling industry, it is an integral part of the economy of this country and it is something that’s much loved by a certain strata of the community,’ he said.
Staff member Matt Wood said councillors would have the opportunity to block the DA later, if they felt it was inappropriate, but there was little enthusiasm in the room to take the idea further, despite the many pages of work already put in by the proponent.
Wrong place?
Cr Stephen McCarthy said ‘I’m not a lover of horse racing, but I did drive out there and have a good look around this particular block… I think it’s just in the wrong place. And I think it would cause problems in the future.’
Cr Kiri Dicker said she was ‘wary of catastrophising the potential impact on the horse riding and horse racing industry… I’m not convinced that this is going to threaten its existence or threaten jobs, necessarily.’ She said it was premature to block the whole idea before a DA had even been presented.
Cr Jeff Johnson said he was excited about the proposal when it first came up because he thought it would include a squash court, but was since disappointed. ‘Given the location, I don’t think it’s compatible with surrounding businesses.’
On the potential noise issue, Cr Nigel Buchanan said he put two daughters through dance classes and was still suffering the hearing loss after going to pick them up.
He said the development stuck out like a sore thumb in what was fundamentally a precinct devoted to horse racing.
Cr Rod Bruem said the local gymnastics group needed a home after ‘being moved from pillar to post’ over recent years, and maybe one of the young people there would represent Australia in the Olympics one day, but in this case he thought it sounded like the developers were just ‘having a go’.
‘It is like a pimple in the middle of our very important horse racing precinct – either we’re serious about that or we’re not. I just think the whole Ballina Jockey Club setup is amazing. It’s a great venue and has so much further potential with the right support,’ said Cr Bruem.
‘So yeah, I hope maybe this investor finds somewhere else, because there’s clearly a need for more indoor sports facilities for gymnastics in Ballina. It would be great to have a facility, but this is not the right spot.’
Cr Chate said he agreed that the location was wrong, but felt that Ballina Council owed it to the gymnastics community to try to find them somewhere else.
Drifting from the issue at hand, Cr Eoin Johnston then spoke about the late Queen of England’s enthusiasm for racing. ‘What it does for the economy is unbelievable.’ He said the Jockey Club also hosted community events, and Ballina Council shouldn’t do anything that might impede their operations.
Council then voted unanimously to block the LEP change from proceeding. Cr Eva Ramsey was not present at the meeting, with Cr Phil Meehan absenting himself from this discussion due to a potential conflict of interest.
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