A HARNESS track at Copland Street would help establish a new sporting precinct in Wagga and avert “catastrophic” flooding at the porposed North Wagga site, a former builder and harness driver has claimed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As debate rages over a planned $6.5 million harness track in North Wagga, John Hogan has implored council to have an urgent rethink on the alternative site at Copland Street.
It comes after Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) CEO John Dumesny last week warned further delays in approving North Wagga as the site could plunge the project into jeopardy.
Both Wagga council and HRNSW are pushing for North Wagga as the preferred site, despite furious protests from surrounding residents and others.
At the heart of the issue is money. Council has gifted HRNSW the North Wagga site and maintains Copland Street, which has railway lines running through it, is too small for a harness facility and is a more valuable piece of community land.
But Mr Hogan claims the North Wagga site breaches planning guidelines and defies commonsense.
“They’re claiming it’s not a floodplain, it’s flood prone, but they’re wrong,” he said.
“I’ve seen every flood in Wagga since 1952 and a serious flood would destroy that (North Wagga) site. Everything would need to be replaced.”
He said if the railway line was removed at Copland Street, the site would be “more than adequate” for the harness facility.
He claimed the site could be rezoned to “public recreational” and have six playing fields built on the inside of the track.
A ruling on whether the track is permissible at North Wagga will be made by the Southern Region Joint Planning Panel in the coming months.
Wagga councillor Garry Hiscock, a staunch advocate of developing the Equex precinct, has also emerged as a supporter of Copland Street.
“There are far more benefits for the community by moving it to Copland Street than to North Wagga,” Cr Hiscock said.
