Council staff say a proposed entertainment centre for Bomen should be rejected, despite strong demand from the community.
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According to a council report, the proposed rezoning was not compatible with growth at Bomen, with city strategy manager Tristan Kell saying it would put odour, noise and visual restrictions on existing businesses.
“Industrial land plays a vital role in supporting job growth in our region and this proposal conflicts with the strategic direction council has set out,” Mr Kell said.
“The assessment found the planning proposal was incompatible with surrounding land uses and would impose additional constraints on existing large scale industries within Bomen.”
It comes just weeks after staff used their discretion to advise councillors to rubber-stamp a strawberry farm off Travers Street, despite finding there were zoning, noise, smell and health concerns with the proposal.
A poll found almost 70 per cent of respondents wanted the multi-million dollar, 8000-seat indoor arena to go ahead and Chris Egan, one of the developers of the Bomen Entertainment Complex, was shocked when he heard about the recommendation from The Daily Advertiser.
“It’s very disappointing that I had to find out about this from the media and not be contacted directly,” Mr Egan said. “Council say they want more employment in the city and then they don’t want to support this… but that’s their prerogative I suppose.”
The Bomen Entertainment Complex was planned to repurpose much of the former Riverina Woolcombing plant, including a 35,000 person outdoor amphitheatre with camping facilities and an 8000-seat indoor arena.
“Big groups are constantly going to Sydney and Melbourne for concerts and festivals,” Mr Egan said. “There’s massive demand for this kind of venue, we’ve seen how fantastic Rock at the Races is and we’ve been inundated by people who want to hold events here.”
But Mr Kell said existing businesses near the site had contacted council to express concerns about the proposed facility.
“Some of the region’s largest investors are concerned that additional sensitive uses would jeopardise their operation and future expansion,” Mr Kell said.
Councillors will decide whether or not to approve rezoning the land to allow the concert venue at next week’s council meeting.