Sports facility saga motors on

THE Cardinia Casey Joint Working Party for Regional Motor Sports decision to support the Wayne Maslen application to establish a motor sports facility is a major step forward.
However, whether or not the southeast gets a regional motor sports facility of any kind is now poised on a knifeedge.
Mr Maslen has been offside with the Shire of Cardinia over his proposal to build a ‘Motor Sportz Park’ at 945 Kooweerup Road, Pakenham.
And the council is obviously against the proposal.
His application goes before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on Wednesday 12 October with a brief that the council failed to decide.
Cardinia Shire Council is expected to oppose the application so I see a David and Goliath situation where motor sports could be the loser.
If VCAT says no then the land will very likely go off stream because it is situated in the green wedge zone.
My view is that the atmosphere and thinking of the council is such that if this site is lost, no other site will be available.
Mr Maslen has tenure only because his application was made a few days prior to the green wedge legislation.
The recommendation to support Mr Maslen’s venture came from a meeting of the committee held at the Casey civic centre on Thursday, 15 September.
Committee member Mayfield Ward councillor Kevin Bradford said he wasn’t sure whether the working party support for the Maslen proposal had enhanced the chances of getting a motor sports facility for the southeast.
I believe, however, that it must be a positive step, provided Mr Maslen has given VCAT sufficient material to argue that activity at the centre will not impact unduly on the surrounding environment.
Cardinia mayor Garry Runge said residents in the area would oppose the facility and it was up to Mr Maslen to convince the tribunal that his venture would not impact on them.
Wherever such a proposal is mooted, it is likely to draw residential opposition, but if the facility is run correctly it should create little more noise than the nearby main road.
Without the facility a bigger pest is created through the escalation of illegal trail bike riding.
Cardinia has a stated policy to provide resources to support a community based motor sports facility, but Mr Maslen’s project is commercial.
On the other hand Cardinia has an in principal policy to support development of a shared motor sport facility pending identification of a suitable site.
Cr Runge told me that Mr Maslen’s site was not suitable based on the lack of information Mr Maslen put before the council.
“How could we make a decision when we do not have sufficient information?” he said.
So the argument goes to and fro.
A public meeting held at the Cardinia Cultural Centre during August left little doubt that motor sport enthusiasts wanted a facility.
So where are the people involved in this ongoing saga coming from; why not a little more amelioration over this longrunning issue?
Cr Runge said the council would do nothing until after VCAT made its decision, yet a council motion on 1 August indicates that it may be in there fighting to have the tribunal decide that no motor sports facility will ever exist in the southeast.
We’ve seen petty squabbles, political infighting, resignation of the working party’s original chairperson Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato and a separate committee formed.
Then Cr Runge took over Ms Lobato’s role on the working party and it subsequently came up with a decision that appears to be at loggerheads with his own council.
Also a cloud hangs over the future of an indoor motorsports facility at Hallam, only last week approved by the City of Casey.
Ms Lobato’s new committee is made up of the Kooweerup and District Motorcycle Club, Pakenham Auto Club, and Berwick Gokarts, but these groups appear to be moving toward an alliance with Mr Maslen.
If Mr Maslen receives the okay from VCAT I would like to see Ms Lobato, the two councils involved, and the motor sports clubs come together in a round table conference to make this facility work and become a strong part of the community.
This, in the interest of what is a healthy and exciting sport.