NEWCASTLE HERALD ARTICLE 17/05/2022
SHOOTING STRAIGHT
In response to some inaccurate statements and ridiculous rumours that have circulated since the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel rejected our development application for Hillsborough last week, I would like to sort the fact from the fiction for you.
While disappointed our DA was rejected, we have been working on our preferred site at Glendale for about six months and there are less restrictions and constraints associated with this option.
Situated close to the Stockland Glendale shopping centre and the Hunter Sports Centre, it is an ideal location for our growing membership base.
We will continue working with the state government and Lake Macquarie City Council to get the best possible outcome for basketball and the broader sporting community.
We have a signed funding agreement with the state government to build this incredible facility that we have been accessing throughout this project and it will be owned and operated by Newcastle Basketball.
I’ll just repeat that bit. It will be owned and operated by Newcastle Basketball.
We have a commitment to lease the land at Glendale from the state government and we will have a development application lodged as quickly as we can.
Our commitment to operating two or three courts as part of the Hunter Park precinct remains but it needs to be mentioned that this project has been going for 27 years, it’s had seven different proposals, and none of them have even been costed.
Unfortunately, Newcastle council, unlike many other councils in NSW, do not build, own or operate any indoor basketball facilities and they confirmed last week that they have no plans to do so in the future.
So, we will press ahead with building our own, as we have done for the past 60+ years.
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