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South East Queensland
Regional Plan
Cover Letter
Monday, 21 February
2005
The Honourable
Terry Mackenroth MP
Draft Regional Plan
Feedback
Office of Urban
Management
Reply Paid 31
Brisbane Albert
Street BC QLD 4002
RE: Motorsport Zoning Strategy Needed for South East
Queensland
Dear Minister,
I write to you to consider including a strategic plan for
creating and managing motorsport zones in the South East Queensland Regional
Plan.
We seek your assistance to address the unnecessary conflict
arising in our communities when the noise associated with amateur motorsport, of
any kind, is too close to residential property. In particular, we refer to the
proliferation of reports in the media of ‘hooning’ by cars and motorcycles,
trail-bikes and personal watercraft (jet skis).
Whilst we deplore the vindictive nature of the media label
‘hoon’, Lakeside Motor Racing Enthusiasts, Inc. supports the State Government’s
‘anti-hooning’ legislation. However, we are certain that this legislative
strategy will fail if it is not supported by a plan to provide people with the
choice to do the right thing.
There is simply no safe alternative for amateur
motorsport enthusiasts on the north-side and south-side of Brisbane. Currently,
a young person living between the Brisbane River and the Sunshine Coast is
expected to drive over 2 hours to Ipswich to enjoy their sport, which just won’t
happen no matter how severe the penalties become.
More importantly, we fear more young people will
unnecessarily die on our roads and the situation is racing toward a crisis-point
as the population increases. The marketplace is demonstrating to us quite
clearly that more people want motorsport as part of their lives with sales of
high-performance cars, trail-bikes and jet skis at record highs.
We desperately need more facilities for motorsport. In the
past 20 years we’ve seen the population triple and yet there is only one
full-service motorsport zoned area in Queensland at Ipswich. For people living
in the west, the Willowbank precinct has successfully satisfied most popular
forms of on-road motorsport, particularly when considering young drivers, with
it’s drag strip and road circuit providing both day and night time options. This
is important to consider as most ‘hooning’ complaints occur after dark.
The primary reason for a purpose-built motor racing circuit
of any kind is to provide safety for the public, as well as the participants,
by separating the activity from the public environment. So far, local government
bodies have failed their communities miserably with their Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY)
attitude. Council’s have found it too easy to pass the buck and demonize the
individuals, rather than find a real solution.
We are calling upon the State Government to take control of
this issue so that local councils can't continue to allow residential developers
to encroach upon pre-existing motorsport facilities. I’ve read Pine Rivers Shire
Council (PRSC) files from Lakeside neighbours and all of them say something
like, “I know the race track was here first, but…”.
At present, private enterprise cannot entertain the idea of
developing a motorsport facility simply because the local bureaucratic battle to
get the required zoning would send anyone broke, insane or both.
We are not asking for money, we simply want suitable areas
to be zoned for motorsport as part of the SEQ Regional Plan. In order to be
successful, these areas can’t be 100 kilometres from the CBD and they must be
available at night. We implore you to separate motorsport activity from
residential areas. This will have the immediate effect of decreasing stress in
the community and increasing safety for everyone.
With the Lakeside complex closed by the PRSC, law
enforcement has lost a valuable tool as police officers are unable to make a
logical suggestion to offenders to, “take it to the track”, because there isn't
one. We believe the anti-hooning legislation is the stick, but a carrot hasn't
been provided yet. As Police Minister Judy Spence was quoted in a recent Courier
Mail article, "Hooning is dangerous and there is no place for this behaviour on
our roads". Well, we agree absolutely, but there's no place for it anywhere else
either!
We are not asking anything new, we just want to see the
same logic that has been successfully applied to other social issues, such as
skateboarding, applied to the problem of hooning. If there’s no park, the kids
will play in the street.
Lakeside Motor Racing Enthusiasts, Inc. is requesting that
a mixed-use motorsport precinct, similar to Ipswich, be identified and zoned
‘Motorsport Only’ by the State Government for both the Southern and Northern
Regional Organisation of Councils.
Specifically, we suggest that the State Government work
with the Pine Rivers Shire Council to re-open the existing motorsport facility
of Lakeside International Raceway and possibly extend the zoning to a boundary
that would be able to accommodate all forms of on and off road motorsport.
In closing, I invite you to review the attached submission
to the South East Queensland Regional Plan to recognize Lakeside International
Raceway as the logical candidate for a motorsport zone for the Northern Regional
Organisation of Councils.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss how one
of these motorsport zones could become a reality, please do not hesitate to
contact me directly on 0418 771 849.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration,
Ian Milton
President
Lakeside Motor
Racing Enthusiasts, Inc.
PO Box 153
Kallangur QLD 4503
info@lakesideraceway.com
Attachments: South East Queensland Regional Plan Submission
Appendix A – Media Articles (page
3)
Appendix B – Economic Evidence (page 4-5)
Submission
1. Objectives:
The objective of this
submission is to acknowledge and distinguish the important, integral and vital
role the complex known as Lakeside International Raceway may play in assisting
with the objectives of the South-East Queensland Regional Plan (SEQRP).
2. Submitter
Organisation:
a)
Lakeside Motor Racing Enthusiasts, Inc. (LMRE) is a grass-roots group of
fans, competitors and officials, as well as Pine Rivers Shire rate payers and
business owners, with the shared goal of re-instating club level motor racing at
Lakeside International Raceway as soon as possible. The web site for the
organisation is
http://www.lakesideraceway.com/
b)
We are comprised of both drivers and riders from 17 to 70 years old and
hail from all various motoring fraternities and niches conceivable. We desire to
preserve Lakeside's history and insure that it is available for future
generations.
c)
We do not seek the future management rights or ownership of the circuit.
d)
LMRE recognise that the Lakeside International Raceway is a community
asset, with the potential to facilitate and accommodate a number diverse
community, cultural, sport and leisure activities.
3. Background on the
Complex to date:
a)
Lakeside International Raceway commenced operation as a racing circuit as
a result of the combination of private enterprise and motorsport enthusiasts on
19 March 1961. The then Governor of Queensland, his Excellency Henry Able Smith,
opened this facility. The facility ran as a motoracing circuit until purchased
by the Pine Rivers Shire Council (PRSC) in 2001.
b)
In December 2001 the circuit was provisionally entered onto the
Queensland State Heritage Register. Lakeside International Raceway was
permanently entered onto the Register in April 2003. The permanent entry is
subject to an appeal in the Planning and Environment court by the current owners
and/or negotiation with the State’s Environmental Protection Agency.
c) Currently
it would appear the PRSC only allow the facility to be utilised to an by
arbitrarily selected groups,
including bicycling, RACQ and QLD Police. However no motorsport activity
appears to be taking place at the
circuit.
d)
The facility’s building environment, despite its State Heritage Listing,
presents from last inspection by qualified persons, to be rapidly deteriorating
from a combination of a lack of scheduled and appropriate maintenance and
vandalism. This deterioration is occurring to such an extent that it is
bordering upon wilful neglect. Information to hand discloses that no
Conservation Plan and/or Study has been written, as should be the case with a
State Heritage listed property.
e) The
facility is well serviced by basic transport infrastructure that includes road
access and rail. The closest train
station being only a few hundred metres away at Dakabin. Road access is
via Lakeside Road.
f)
The SEQRP discloses the facility as being designated as a Regional
Landscape and Rural Production Area, being located between Lake Kurwongbah and
the Pine Rivers Golf Club grounds.
g) Currently
there is no other dedicated motorsport facility catering for track motorsport
located north of the
Brisbane Area within the proposed SEQRP Area.
4.
SEQRP Submission:
This submission is based upon
the following points:
a)
It is submitted that as the Lakeside facility presents as an existing
leisure and sport complex that has been
designated as a Regional Landscape and Rural Production Area, the
opportunity exists for Lakeside to function
as a major or minor sports facility which would meet the needs of an
emerging community and would not conflict with the intention of the SEQRP nor
disturb or alter the current designation. Further, as such, Lakeside does not
require land resumption, limit or impact upon future urban growth and is able to
operate with minimal risk or harm to the environment (in particular Lake
Kurwongbah) and does not require new major infrastructure such as rail or roads
to successfully meet the needs of the Pine River Shire Community, greater South
East Queensland Community, as well as particular sporting groups and
associations.
b)
It is submitted that Lakeside as a state heritage listed complex fulfils
principle 3.2 “Cultural Heritage and Development” of the Strong Communities
Concept of the draft SEQRP, in that the motor sport racetrack is particularly
unique to Queensland, and has world wide recognition to such an extent that if
utilised for the same purpose it was listed for, the circuit offers high
potential for the development and promotion of a unique facit of Queensland
culture, with the bonus opportunity to develop future generations of motorsport
persons. Utilising the circuit also facilitates the addressing of contemporary
social issues such as “hooning”, driver education, and in general providing a
recreational motorsport facility that allows on and off road use of all types of
vehicles without risk to the general community within reasonable and accessible
travelling distance in the north of the envisaged SEQRP area.
c)
It is submitted that the Lakeside motorsport complex affords the
opportunity for the region, in particular the Pine Rivers Shire to more than
adequately fulfil the draft SEQRP’s Desired Regional Outcome 4, “A Diverse
Economy”, in that it is able to generate income and employment for the immediate
area and Queensland as a whole. Prior to the purchase of the complex by the Pine
Rivers Shire Council the circuit was a profit making and viable concern which
benefited private motorsport companies, both local and international, local
businesses and charities. Many tourists and competitors were attracted to the
area to view competitive motorsport on a highly regarded and unique circuit.
Since its closure the local business community and charities have noted a marked
loss of income. This is in addition to many motorsport businesses opting for
other locations where they are able to develop and test their products.
5.
Recommendations:
We would ask that the Office
of Urban Management and the Minister consider the following recommendations in
light of the points raised above:
a)
that the proposed SEQRP ensures and requires that Local Authorities
utilise such community assets as Lakeside International Raceway and not allow
these assets to lie fallow to the disadvantage of the community and specialist
sport and leisure groups; and,
b)
that consideration be given to ensuring compliance with Principle 3.2
“Cultural Heritage and Development” with regard to the Local Authorities dealing
with cultural assets within the SEQRP Area, with particular reference to PRSC’s
current dealing and approach to Lakeside; and,
c)
that consideration be given to ensuring co-operation, involvement,
community consultation and negotiation with specialist interest groups with
regard to Local Authorities dealings with cultural assets such as Lakeside
International Raceway; and,
d)
that consideration be given to ensuring diverse economic and cultural
assets, in light Desired Regional Outcome 4, “Ä Diverse Economy”, that could
provide income and a boost to the local economy and to employment, held by Local
Authorities are utilised to their full potential in light of community
representations. This is particularly so with regard to the Lakeside
International Raceway; and,
e)
that as Lakeside International Raceway is such a valuable and unique
cultural asset within the northern portion of the envisaged SEQRP area which is
owned and controlled by the PRSC, be allowed not to deteriorate and be allowed
to be utilised to redress such social issues as “hooning”, provide for a safer
driving environment and be utilised as an sport and social outlet for
competitive and club motorsport.; and,
f)
that in consideration of the objectives and requirements of the SEQRP
seeks to achieve with regard to accommodating growth while seeking to provide
efficient use of land, and economic diversity, in light of Lakeside
International Raceway’s land designation, unlikely potential for housing
development, State Heritage listing and environmental compatibility, that the
facility be again fully utilised primarily as a motorsport facility offering
club and competitive motorsport, driver training and education, in addition to
being utilised by the general community and other specialist interest groups.
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