THE Shire of Gingin has backed away from a recommendation which would have closed golf and bowling facilities in Lancelin.
Adopting the proposal would have resulted in Upper Coastal golfing and bowling facilities in only one location – Ledge Point.
Some residents who want the golfing and bowling facilities in Lancelin to remain showed up at the Gingin council meeting on Tuesday, August 18.
At the meeting councillors agreed that all the sporting clubs could remain as part of the Upper Coastal sporting facilities plan as long as they were sustainable.
On Monday, August 17 Lancelin Golf Club president Leon Temby spoke to ABC Mid West & Wheatbelt Mornings about the shire’s recommendation to close both the nearly 40-year old golf club and the bowls club.
Mr Temby said the golf club had tried to get information from the shire about the proposal for many months before it was released on its website on Friday, August 14 and club members were angry and disappointed.
He said if implemented the proposal would affect many people, including retired people and visitors and not just those who played golf.
“It’s a bit like a men’s shed in a way all the people who go out there and work on it constantly,’’ he said.
It would affect tourism especially the town’s caravan parks and shops.
He said the golf club had been built with volunteer labour and club members did not understand the shire’s stance as both clubs were self-sufficient.
“We don’t think we cost them anything,’’ he said.
The Upper Coastal sporting facilities master plan said the shire had proposed a $5m budget to invest in sporting facilities in the Upper Coastal area of which 66 per cent was subject to attracting successful grant funding.
Therefore implementation of the Upper Coastal sporting facilities master plan (UCSF) could be dependent on state government funding via its community sporting and recreation facilities fund.
The report said the 18-hole (nine reticulated) golf course at Lancelin was in a fair condition while the 18-hole golf course (nine fairways) at Ledge Point was fully reticulated and in a good condition – both courses required a big ongoing maintenance commitment.
The officer’s report recommended that councillors should agree continued duplication of facilities would not be supported with the UCSF master planning process saying a possible relocation of sporting facilities would concentrate active sports in Lancelin and more passive sports in Ledge Point.
“This strategy is based around the shire’s wish to create a more sustainable sporting community that maximises the existing amenity and takes into consideration the future demands and uses,’’ the master plan said.
The officer’s report, which defined active sports as netball-basketball and hockey and passive sports as golfing and bowling, included the estimated costs for two redevelopment options.
Option 1 for Lancelin was estimated to cost from $6.93 million to $7.81m and Option 2 for Lancelin was estimated to cost from $6.7m to $7.59m while the estimated cost for the Ledge Point (tennis court upgrade) was from $220,000 to $264,000 for both options.
