By Sarah Schwager
PLANS to build a motorsports track in Pakenham will be taken to another council after they were withdrawn from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Motorsport enthusiast Wayne Maslen withdrew his application, citing a lack of support from Cardinia Shire Council and local motorsports groups for the Pakenham plan.
The case was to be heard at VCAT on 27 February and followed two years of work by Mr Maslen to get the proposal for the track on the outskirts of the town on the PakenkamKooweerup Road.
“Basically, I thought there would have been more support by other motorsport groups,” he said.
“Everyone was waiting on the fence to see whether I would get the permit or not.”
Mr Maslen had submitted the plan to VCAT saying Cardinia council had taken too long to make its decision. The council said the application lacked enough information and was waiting for more details.
Mr Maslen said he would have run into many difficulties even if the application had been approved by VCAT.
“It never gelled together. It was just one problem after another,” he said.
Mr Maslen said young people were once again being overlooked by the council.
“The only ones missing out are the kids,” he said.
But Cardinia mayor Bill Ronald said the council was reforming the committee to build a motorsports facility after it was disbanded by the previous council and would hold a meeting early next month.
He said the council had already located a block of land as a possible site for a councilfunded facility.
“Council will conduct planning and investigation to see whether it has got potential,” he said.
“I am quite confident that this site will be up and running by mid this year.”
Cr Ronald said a community run facility was a much better option as it would be controlled by the council representing Cardinia residents as opposed to a private setup.
“I would have been happy to see the motorsports facility up and running,” Cr Ronald said.
“But there are a lot of reasons why it never got to see the light of day, reasons which we’ll try to overcome so we don’t run into the same problems.”
Pakenham Auto Club president John Hill said the club had been more than willing to give support to Mr Maslen’s scheme but could not negotiate anything until a permit was available.
“I believe there were several other issues that needed to be addressed first, such as commercial and planning issues,” Mr Hill said.
Mr Hill said Cardinia certainly needed a motorsports facility and the club’s membership had dropped significantly due to the fact that there was no nearby facility.
He said membership had dropped from 300 to 170 in the past 15 months and the club’s junior membership had dropped significantly from 100 to 25.
“The juniors are more affected by the fact that there is nothing happening locally,” he said.
Mr Maslen said at the moment the closest places to ride trail bikes legally were in Frankston and Bacchus Marsh.
“It’s ridiculous that they are so far away,” he said.
“You hear of kids riding around the estates.
“It’s a passion and people are going to pursue it whether legally or not.”
