Batemans Bay residents share their thoughts on what should be built at the old bowling club site
Batemans Bay residents have shared their thoughts on what should be built at the old bowling club site. Have your say in our poll.
The South Coast News
Don't miss out on the headlines from The South Coast News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Residents have shared their thoughts on what Batemans Bay needs as the expressions of interest close date for the former bowling club site nears.
Located opposite the Bay Pavilions, the vacant block was used as a construction zone while the new Batemans Bay bridge was built after the bowling club was cleared from the land.
The site is now for sale to developers, and according to the site’s realtor Adam Sadi, a decision on which developer would own the land could be made in a Eurobodalla Shire Council meeting later this month.
“This meeting will hopefully determine which developer will own the land and what will be built on the former bowling club block,” he said.
“We’ve had a huge amount of interest on this site.”
While Mr Sadil could not inform The south coast News which developers have entered expressions of interest and what they planned to construct, he said the community would know “very soon”.
However, despite these claims, council Mayor Matt Hatcher said he is unsure when a final decision would be made.
“Don’t expect a winner this month,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Batemans Bay community has been busy conjuring up ideas in their head as to what they believe should go on the vacant block.
Resident Julie Pallone said the size of the site makes it the perfect candidate to help ease the homelessness crisis in the area.
“If you were to build a cluster of manageable, small cabins on the land, it could be used to house people who are currently living out at North Head Campground,” she said.
“It would also create jobs, because you could have someone who is employed to clean and maintain the area.”
Younger Batemans Bay residents however said the empty block presents the perfect opportunity to bring in more recreational facilities into the town.
“There’s nothing to do in Batemans Bay,” Ollie Aquilina from ‘The Phone Surgery’ in the shopping mall said.
“An arcade with laser tag and ten pin bowling would be awesome.”
Mr Aquilina’s co-worker, Vinnie Quoeling agreed.
“It could be like an arcade on the bottom and then bars and night-life on top,” he said.
“There’s a lot of young people moving to Batemans Bay, but there’s just not much to do.”
The idea of the site being turned into a recreational attraction was popular among residents, both old and young.
Elderly resident Erica Wharton who is 82-years-old said the area needs to be a ‘Luna Park’ style theme park.
“It’s the first thing you see when you drive into the town, so it should be a fun and inviting place,” she said.
Noting the site is next to the newly built aquatic centre, Mrs Wharton said the expansion of more fun activities for families was important.
“That whole area could be a fun activity filled spot,” she said.
“It would be great for the town.”
Nightclubs and bars were also on the mind of Blake Maskell, a former Sydney resident who moved to Batemans Bay two years ago for work.
“This town needs more night life,” he said.
Golden opportunity! First look at teen rugby players touted as future Wallabies
They have been rivals some days, teammates on others and now this close-knit group of young rugby players will share the honour of wearing an Australian uniform for the first time.
‘Ridiculous’: Drink driving nurse’s reading after bottle of wine
A south coast nurse busted drink driving with a “ridiculous” reading after downing an entire bottle of wine should have known better, a court has heard.