DEPSITE having a new council, councillor Jess Jennings' luck hasn't changed when it comes to getting the Bathurst go-kart track moved to the second circuit precinct.
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A seven-two vote quashed his notice of motion to last week's Bathurst Regional Council meeting, which sought to have council "take urgent action to save the second circuit project by making it a two-staged development, beginning with the construction of a world class kart track".
He hoped the go-kart track could be built on the land currently marked as a 4WD Experience Centre and Skidpan on the second circuit precinct design prepared by APEX.
It's not the first time Cr Jennings has attempted to have the go-kart track moved to the second circuit precinct.
It is an idea he has suggested before to ensure both projects progress and one he voted in favour of in June, 2020 when then councillor John Fry put forward a notice of motion to do just that.
That motion failed with a six-three vote. Cr Jennings put forward a similar notice of motion in March, 2021, which also failed.
There were five different faces in the chamber last week for the new vote, but only Cr Kirralee Burke supported Cr Jennings. While Cr Marg Hogan said "I'm not against this motion", the timing of it in relation to a pending Section 10 application prevented her from voting in favour of it.
"There's part of me that just feels we are disrespecting the process and we need to allow that to proceed," she said.
Other councillors were also concerned about the potential ramifications of a Section 10 decision, given that a declaration under Section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (ATSIHPA) was made on land on top of Mount Panorama less than 12 months ago.
The pending application is for a much larger area of Mount Panorama and the surrounds, including the land designated for the second circuit.
"I don't see where this can go. I don't know why you keep bringing this up to go in that area knowing that it just can't happen," Cr Warren Aubin said to Cr Jennings.
Councillors have previously expressed concern that if declarations are made under Section 10 of the ATSIHPA it could potentially spell the end of camping and racing on Mount Panorama.
However, Cr Jennings has pushed back on this and did so again during discussion of his notice of motion last week.
"We've had one. It was successful from the applicants' perspective and racing is still occurring on Mount Panorama. We had an event (the Bathurst 6 Hour) just the other day," he said.
"The Section 10 having occurred, the second one, since March 2021 is not an instant game breaker. If it actually was successful, like the first one, it still has to be defined in tangible terms as to how council will accommodate the stakeholders' interests and how we'll manage it."
Council is currently investigating the possibility of building the go-kart track adjacent to Conrod Straight in the vicinity of the old drive-in site, which is another reason why some councillors are reluctant to consider the second circuit precinct.
An acoustic report into the site near Conrod Straight is due back soon.
