Balmain Leagues Club: Wrecked Tigers eyesore to stay with rejected developer of Rozelle site ready to walk away

THE owner of the dilapidated Balmain Leagues Club says he is considering walking away from his investment after yet another development application for the Rozelle site was rejected

• Balmain Leagues Club now a sad lonely ghost

THE owner of the dilapidated Balmain Leagues Club says he is considering walking away from his investment after yet another development application for the Rozelle site was rejected.

Ian Wright told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that he would not submit another development proposal for the controversial Victoria St block unless the Inner West Council changed its current planning guidelines.

Mr Wright and his Rozelle Village development company had proposed two residential towers — one eight-storeys and one 12-storeys, together with a supermarket, 15 specialty shops and space across two levels for a new leagues club.

But the Land & Environment Court ruled last month that the proposal didn’t meet the objectives of the council’s local environment plan.

The derelict Balmain Tigers Leagues Club on Victoria Road has been rejected for redevelopment again. Picture: Toby Zerna

Concerns were also raised about whether the Balmain Leagues Club, which hosted huge celebrations when the Wests Tigers won the 2005 NRL premiership, would be financially viable in the long-term if it returned under a commercial lease agreement.

Mr Wright, who bought the site for $1 in 2009 in return for inheriting the club’s $23 million debt, said that was “simply not true”.

“The Balmain Leagues Club currently rents two premises in Five Dock and out of Flemington,” he said.

“They’re trading well and there is no suggestion at all that they’re not financially viable to come back.”

A proposal to build two towers on the site have been continually blocked Picture: Toby Zerna

Mr Wright said the past seven years of fighting to get a development started at the site had been an expense he was no longer prepared to maintain.

“At this stage I’m not prepared to commit any more resources to this site until, or if, we reach some agreement about the way forward,” he said.

“One option is to exit the site and move onto other things. That would have serious ramifications obviously for the Balmain Leagues Club.”

Mr Wright said he had been prepared to sit down with the club and nut out a 15-year lease agreement, with an option for another 45 years, that worked for all parties.

Fans at the club cheering on Wests Tigers during the 2005 NRL grand final against the North Queensland Cowboys.

“There is a formula there and if the leagues club disagreed with the rent there was a dispute resolution process as any normal lease would have and that could be determined by an independent expert,” he said.

Rozelle Residents Action Group president Mark Wallis said that if Mr Wright was serious about getting the Balmain Leagues Club back home, he would waive the outstanding $10.5 million debt and pay for the fitout of its new premises.

“To go back in there, pay for the fitout of a new club and start trading with that sort of debt behind them — there’s no way they’re ever going to be viable unless that debt is written off,” he said.

Inside the delapidated club Picture: Toby Zerna

But Mr Wright said that was not a viable option.

“We’re in commerce. We’re a business, not a charity,” he said.

Inner West Council general manager Rik Hart said the Joint Regional Planning Panel, the Planning Assessment Commission and now the Land and Environment Court had all rejected proposals for the site.

Developer Ian Wright pictured inside the derelict clubhouse on Victoria Road. Picture: Toby Zerna

“We hope that the developer will accept the judgement of these three independent bodies and submit a new development application that redevelops and restores the site and brings the Leagues Club home without destroying the character and businesses of Rozelle,” he said.

“We’re happy to meet with him to discuss a new DA as early as next week.”

Land and Environment Court Commissioner Annelise Tuor ruled that the development failed on a number of grounds, including that it would not adequately contribute to the “vibrancy” and “active street life” of Rozelle’s CBD, and its public plaza did not conform to requirements.

“Consequently the competitive effect of the proposed development is unlikely to be balanced with flow-on benefits to the Rozelle commercial centre,” she said in her findings.

Developer advocacy group Urban Taskforce accused opponents of the development, many of whom took exception to its proposed “skyscrapers”, of fearmongering.

“We’re talking about an eight storey building and a 12-storey building so these are not skyscrapers,” CEO Chris Johnson said.

“If we’re going to get any density in Sydney, the two boxes to tick for locations are a town centre and a place where a transport interchange occurs, and this ticks both those boxes.”

“Sydney needs to take a more mature approach to how to get decent

development to occur.”