Council eviction threatens Ballarat Light Car Club
- 27th June 2024, 9:39am
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by RallySport Magazine
The Ballarat Light Car Club has been told by the City of Ballarat that it has to leave its leased site at the Ballarat Airport within three months, leaving club members fearing for its future.
The club originally formed in 1949 as a branch of the Light Car Club of Australia, but gained independence in 1991.
While it will retain its clubrooms, the club has been told by the Council that it needs to vacate the 16-hectares it has leased since 1979 at the motorsport complex site at the Ballarat Airport.
Started in 1949 by local businessmen with a common interest in cars, the club has more than 200 members and hosts autocross events and other motorsport activities.
The club has looked at several alternative sites over the years but hasn’t been able to find a solution. With a deadline looming, it is now appealing to the public for support while also seeking a lease extension from the council.
Former president and secretary Wayne Drew said the club’s future was on the line. “Without a piece of land, the club won’t exist,” Mr Drew said.
Mr Drew, who joined in 1983, said the land was “the core of the club”.
“People join the club to compete although it goes much further than that. A lot of families get involved after taking part in come-and-try days and we provide a safe environment to teach real-life driving skills to kids. We help to build family relationships.
“Parents don’t just drop the kids and run – they have to be there as the guardian and they can compete in the same vehicle.”
Mr Drew said the club needed 15-20 hectares of land to build a suitable complex.
“We would love if a farmer has a parcel of land that doesn’t grow anything that might be suitable for us. There could be complexities about getting zoning change approvals to run a motorsport complex but we want to look at any opportunity.”
Life member, Keith McElroy, said the club co-operated with the council from 2001 on various committees and contributed thousands of dollars to the cost of consultant fees in an effort to establish a new motorsport complex, all to no avail.
“Council money was budgeted for a deposit and a site, but after more recent elections the initiative was scrapped,” he said.
