Council has made the decision not to follow through with the proposal for major drainage works and lighting at the E.J. Biffin playing fields in Nambucca Heads after advice was sought from the Office of Sport and Recreation.

That proposal was originally one of four presented to council for consideration as part of the Regional Sport Infrastructure Fund grants program.

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Under the $100 million fund, Nambucca has the chance of a lifetime to secure a $1 million grant, or two, on projects to improve existing sporting facilities and improve community fitness. 

However, there is also a distinct possibility that Nambucca could miss out altogether.

“What we’re looking at here is roughly 25 projects per year across NSW, so we’d be very lucky to get one,” Cr Susan Jenvey said.

So council has used advice given in a teleconference from members of the funding body, Grant Egan and Cathy Gorman, to eliminate the Nambucca Heads proposal which was not considered ‘viable’ when assessed against the list of funding priorities.

The List of Priorities for Funding Allocation

There is a chance that the project will be a strong candidate for the ‘Stronger Country Communities’ funding next year.

For now council has decided to hedge its bets on the remaining two proposals: the Hennessey Tape Oval precinct in Bowraville and the Macksville Memorial Aquatic Centre. 

At a council meeting on August 31, the Macksville Marlins turned up in droves as president Dianne Wall advocated for the council to consider their proposal to heat the 50m outdoor pool at the aquatic centre.

Ms Wall detailed the impressive range of economic and social benefits from an upgrade to the aquatic centre, including benefits to other sporting codes.

“In less than two weeks, we have received more than 44 letters of support from local businesses, sporting groups and individuals and over 300 signatures in support of this project,” Ms Wall said.

But the funding body advised council via teleconference that the Macksville proposal must include a ‘stronger package’ and be about more than ‘just heating a pool’.

At the September 28 council meeting in Scotts Head, council moved to engage architectural consultants from King and Campbell to workshop with stakeholders through a range of possible facility upgrades for the aquatic centre, including disability access improvements, a new grandstand, or a development room.

At the August 31 council meeting, Paul Le Cerf spoke in favour of the second proposal—the restructure and refurbishment of the Hennessey Tape Oval and surrounds into an integrated sporting complex.

Mr Le Cerf said that while the other three proposals all had merit, the Bowraville sporting upgrade ‘ticked all the boxes’ according to what the government was looking for—and the funding body agreed.

Of all the proposals submitted, the Bowraville one was the most comprehensive and the most ready to proceed with an Expression Of Interest (EOI) submission.

Cr Finlayson spoke about reservations he had in spending a million dollars on sport in Bowraville when the existing facilities are not being utilised.

“They’ve got a skatepark there that’s better than anything Macksville or Nambucca Heads has,” Cr Finlayson said.

“They’ve got four tennis courts that I’ve never seen anyone using—they’ve got weeds growing out of them.

“The place is pretty well abandoned most of the time, and I don’t see that changing.”

Cr Martin Ballangarry agreed with Cr Finlayson that the existing sports facilities in Bowraville are the best in the Valley.

“We’ve already got stuff sitting there, why not use that?” Cr Ballangarry said.

Cr Janine Reed added in favour of the Macksville proposal that there were at least a thousand people per week that regularly used the sports facilities around the Macksville fun and fitness precinct.

But Cr Susan Jenvey put her hand up for the Bowraville project, saying that it would be an integral part of a new phase for the town.

Despite the reservations put forward, the council unanimously moved to proceed with both proposals.