THE Bathurst Kart Club hopes to be able to bridge the gap with those against the location of the go-kart track when the facility is built.
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The club was able to breathe easy on Thursday afternoon when Bathurst Regional Council stood by its original decision to source a $2.25 million loan to help fund construction of the track.
It will ideally mean that construction can get under way this financial year, more than five years after the development application was unanimously approved.
"We're extremely excited we might get a chance to make a start," club president Mark Dunbar said.
There is no doubt, though, that the location of the go-kart track will continue to draw criticism from people who oppose it, including the Wiradyuri elders and the Friends of McPhillamy Park.
Mr Dunbar hopes some of those perceptions will change once people see it in action.
"We do want to bridge that gap. As soon as we get the track under way, people will see it's not actually in McPhillamy Park as such and that a lot of people will enjoy it, and a lot of people will be using it, certainly more than 200 people," he said.
The next step for the club will be to continue pursuing grant opportunities for the project that can help pay for the other half of the construction costs.
Mr Dunbar said applications have already been submitted.
The club also plans to open to new members again, after halting memberships until it had a track to offer.
"We'll be having a meeting early next week and we'll be opening up our membership to let people join the club and show their support," Mr Dunbar said.
The club currently has about 200 members, ranging from seven to 80 years old.
Mr Dunbar said the club's youngest members are particularly excited at the prospect of having a track in Bathurst to practice on.
"A lot of the kids are over the moon and they tell their friends that it's finally going to happen for them and they'll have a place to go," he said.
"I've had a lot of inquiries - 'How old can kids be to join?' and 'How do they get into the sport?'.
"Not everybody wants to kick a soccer ball, not everybody wants to kick a football, not everyone wants to ride a motorbike, so what the council's done, I believe, is given a great option for the youth of Bathurst to enjoy something I've been enjoying for a good while."
One of the questions in Thursday's heated debate between councillors, posed by councillor Jess Jennings, was whether there was a guarantee the kart club "will be around in two years, five years, 10 years?".
Mr Dunbar said it was "ridiculous" to suggest the club would fall over now.
"I believe that that is a pretty ridiculous comment to make when there's club members that have been trying to build a track here in Bathurst for the last 20 years and the club is still hanging on, is still going strong," he said.
"[The track] will strengthen it. It's the missing link, we believe, for motor sport in Bathurst."