NEWCASTLE Basketball has welcomed a play from City of Newcastle to keep the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre on home turf.
The council made it clear the state government is the one calling the shots on the court during a long debate on Tuesday night about the controversial location proposed for the new Newcastle Basketball Stadium.
Ward 3 Greens Cr Sinead Francis-Coan and Independent Cr Mark Brooker co-signed a motion asking the council to investigate alternatives to the Wallarah and Blackley ovals site in areas such as Lake Macquarie or Port Stephens.
After several amendments at Tuesday's council meeting, it grew to an almost 20-point motion that effectively reiterated the Hunter Park sports and entertainment precinct, not the ovals, as the preferred location for the stadium with the recently sold former Jemena gas works site as runner-up.
Labor Cr Deahnna Richardson, who moved the amendment, confirmed the 'Hunter Park sports and entertainment precinct' refers to land which is part of the urban revitalisation project, not Wallarah and Blackley Ovals.
Newcastle Basketball chief executive Ian McKensey said the support of the motion last night would allow the Broadmeadow site to be considered independently on its merits.
"As we always have, Newcastle Basketball will continue to work with all stakeholders in our community to ensure that this much needed facility finally comes to life," he said.
"Our current facility is over 55 years old, not fit-for purpose, and will no longer be available to us after January 2028.
"The support of council last night is critical in making sure we're not left with nowhere to go."
The council voted to support a "merit-based" assessment of the Lambton site for the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre as a State Significant Development (SSD) and seek reassurance the community's concerns would be taken into consideration.
The issue has been ongoing since 2019, and Liberal Cr Jenny Barrie says that, since then, it's been a game of "political ping pong".
"There are no funds for the state government to buy more land, to take it elsewhere, so I think we really have to look at the facts," she said.
"It is very difficult to lose green space, but it is also difficult to lose a $25 million state-of-the-art, all-weather facility, which the school and our children throughout the Hunter will be able to use."
Independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge told councillors he met with NSW Premier Chris Minns and Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp on Tuesday morning and was assured the $25 million in state funding for the project is secure.
The council decided not to ask chief executive Jeremy Bath to formally withdraw support for the Wallarah and Blackley ovals site by notifying the state government and making a submission on the development application.
Instead, the council voted to invite the community and councillors to make individual submissions to the SSD process by November 11.
Meanwhile, objectors to the proposal refuse to sit on the bench.
A Save Our Lambton Ovals spokeswoman said she was confused that councillors seemed to imply the community lacked understanding of the proposal, the process and the role the council plays in the choice of the site.
"City of Newcastle may not be the final decision-maker on this site, but they certainly started the ball rolling," she said.
"... the council's own website states that 'City of Newcastle has provided in-principle support to enable the development application to progress'."
Wallarah Oval is subject to an undetermined land claim by the Awakabal Aboriginal Lands Council.
The motion noted that the Department of Crown Lands has petitioned to prioritise the determination of the land claim in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
The Save Our Lambton Ovals spokeswoman said she was "surprised" to hear councillors were unaware of the undetermined Aboriginal land claim on the site.
"This has been known since January 2024, when the NSW Department of Planning released the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements for this project, of which the council had submitted their own set of requirements to be met," she said.
"We were also confused to hear the councillors stating that they would refer the matter to the Independent Planning Commission (IPC).
"It is our understanding that for an SSD to be referred to the IPC, it will have to not be supported by relevant councils or where the Department of Planning receives more than 50 unique public objections.
"It does not simply go to the IPC because council made a request."
A request will be made for the SSD to be referred to the IPC for determination and for a public hearing to be held before any decisions are made.
The council will also seek a commitment from the state government and local MPs to explore an appropriate alternative site and ensure the $25 million in funding will be retained while investigations take place.
Any green space lost due to a stadium build will be requested to be compensated for with dedicated new green space, preferably in the nearby Broadmeadow Place precinct.
Newcastle Basketball has been searching for a new home since 2019.
The site has to be vacated at the start of 2028 to make way for the Broadmeadow Place redevelopment.
Labor Cr Nuatali Nelmes said killing a planning process halfway through public consultation would do everyone involved a disservice.
She said allowing due process to take place would ensure sound decisions were made.
"Everyone has been hoodwinked into thinking there is some special power within this council to do something extra about it," she said.
"It's absolutely one of the biggest falsehoods."
Cr Nelmes said the community had been "messed around" by different versions of the state government for close to seven years.
"It is not fair to our community to not have an all-year round indoor sports centre, and we can't allow that to happen on our watch," she said.
"But we have to allow these processes to take place."
Independent Cr Mark Brooker said that, in his 10 years publishing a community newspaper, he had not seen a proposed development generate as much discord as the new stadium.
"The community are quite rightly angry that their pleas that have not been heard," he said.
"These residents, some of them are here tonight, they are not NIMBYs, they are not a noisy minority that live exclusively in the narrow streets like Duke, Marina, Hitchcock and surrounding areas."
Cr Brooker said he did not believe denying the community green playing space forever was the best outcome for the city.
"You don't ever get green space back, it only ever goes away," he said.
Greens Cr Sinead Francis-Coan said she felt the outrage was indicative of a "flawed process".
"I think it is loud and clear the community do not feel they have been heard with their concerns and opposition," she said.
The public can make submissions on the SSD until November 11.
