Eurobodalla Shire Council is to be congratulated for the purchase of the old Batemans Bay Bowling Club. The challenge is to maximise the site’s potential, whilst keeping the community interest at the forefront.
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There have been numerous advocates for the purchase of the site, including the Batemans Bay Chamber of Commerce. The chamber prepared an initial feasibility study that showed its potential, utilising the current zoning.
The income generated would enable arts, cultural and tourism-related activities to generate a commercially viable net return.
The proposed redevelopment of this gateway site needs to reflect well documented current and future long-term strategic plans. As Batemans Bay is the shire’s designated commercial hub and since we are essentially a self-drive community, this precinct should be developed into the anticipated community and commercial facility required by visitors and locals.
Past council reports and public tourism data highlight the importance of an integrated multi-use arts, cultural and tourism facility.
The benefits include:
- Arts and cultural events are important to both the community and visitors.
- Hosting both performing and static arts and cultural events in a gateway site provides a tremendous contribution to the community and rates highly for destination tourism.
- Event Tourism within the shire is in decline with the loss of the Blues Fest, the Oyster Festival and other major events, such as the Eurobodalla River of Arts, facing challenges with funding issues. The facility would provide a wonderful venue to re-grow event tourism and allow control of an effective event calendar to encourage higher visitor expenditure in the low and shoulder seasons.
- The declining local visitor economy would get a boost from having a meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions industry.
The council has advertised and now closed its expressions of interest for the site. The task at hand is to develop a vision for this strategic community site with the intention of uniting the community.
Community inclusion is paramount. Evidence-based decisions and sound planning need to be discussed with the community to ensure its needs are met.
Batemans Bay Chamber of Commerce
