Goulburn Mulwaree Council embarks on round of Wakefield Park meetings

It is just one in a round of meetings the council is organising to secure the Braidwood Road motor racing circuit's long-term future following a NSW Land and Environment Court ruling.

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Cr Walker and general manager Aaron Johansson are attending the Country Mayors Association gathering in Sydney on Thursday and Friday, August 4 and 5. He said he would outline Wakefield's operating conditions laid out in the July 13 ruling and the implications for the facility and the industry more broadly.

In a mayoral minute to Tuesday night's council meeting, the mayor said the judgement's severity had come as a "shock" to the council and the owner.

"...As such the facility is now considered unviable under the consent conditions. While this is typically a commercial decision for the owner to consider, the council and wider district business community are grappling with the potential impacts, as many benefit from Wakefield Park's presence," he wrote.

The council and circuit owners, Benalla Auto Club (BAC) had met almost daily in an effort to find a solution that satisfied all parties, including residents who had noise concerns.

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Cr Walker has also sought meetings with the NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, deputy premier and regional NSW minister Paul Toole, the sports minister, planning minister Anthony Roberts and several others.

He and Mr Johansson this week met with Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman. While she advised she couldn't overturn a court decision, she would help facilitate meetings with the state government.

The pair has also spoken to shadow sports minister, Julia Finn, who visited Wakefield Park last week. On August 12 they will speak to shadow Regional NSW minister, Mick Veitch.

Cr Walker said the council and BAC recognised that motor sports' ongoing economic benefit was at a "critical juncture" and that timely actions were required to mitigate the court judgement's impacts.

On July 13, Commissioner Tim Horton handed down stricter conditions than the council had issued a year earlier. Now, if the facility holds more than four events per month, set out in a 1993 approval, it will trigger the court's consent. Owners and managers have branded both approvals "unworkable."

Wakefield Park general manager Steve Whyte said the court's decision could not be appealed.

"We are working with the council to understand the court's conditions," he said.

"The plan is to make sure we're on the same page and working cohesively. So far that is happening. The end game is to work with residents and all the stakeholders and to be respectful of the process.

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"We are trying to understand what's best for Goulburn and the surrounding areas and to liaise with the council because at the end of the day, they are the regulators."

The company is seeking clarity on what constitutes an 'event' and an 'activity' under the ruling. The raceway holds a host of operations, including learner driving, which owners say are now under a cloud.

Mr Whyte said staff were still employed but people like John Boston, who operated Trackschool, were "in a terrible situation" while ever there was a lack of clarity.

"That's why we need to carefully work through the options with the council," he said.

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Mr Whyte told The Post that BAC was not contemplating taking all or part of the facility to Canberra, as was previously indicated. Wakefield Park representatives held meeting with the ACT government last December about the possibility.

Meantime, Cr Walker said he wouldn't like to lose a "vital piece of infrastructure."

"I also see this as an opportunity to relaunch Goulburn as a centre for motor sport and its ancillary industries in regional NSW," he stated in his mayoral minute.

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