Neighbours oppose club's plan to increase caravan park by 50 per cent

The club has a development application (DA) under consideration with Bathurst Regional Council, which was the subject of a submission hearing on April 3, 2024.

While only two people spoke, they made it clear they did not think additional caravan sites were needed and, if approved, they would have a negative impact on the surrounding area.

However, the club says the airfield will be "no busier than our current typical busy day" as a result of the additional accommodation, which it forecasts a greater need for in the coming years.

The soaring club is seeking approval for the general reconfiguration of the 40 existing caravan sites on the property at 167 Freemantle Road and the approval for 20 new caravan sites.

This would bring the total number of sites on the property to 60.

The caravan sites are made available to members of the club to use when accessing the gliding facilities and are not available to the general public.

Only 20 sites would be permitted to be occupied at one time, the club says.

No other changes are proposed on the property, which also contains an airstrip, numerous hangars, numerous sheds, a clubhouse and an amenities building.

The DA was notified to all directly adjoining properties in over 10 days during September, 2023.

In response, six submissions were received.

They raised a number of issues, including noise pollution, air pollution, public safety, the need for a site masterplan, effluent disposal, potential for caravans to open to the general public, fire safety, privacy, and potential intensification of activities.

The Bathurst Soaring Club's president, Charles Durham, responded to these issues in writing ahead of the April 3 submission hearing.

One of the two objectors to speak at the hearing, David Nelson, claimed there were inconsistencies in some of the documents based on his own research.

Further to that, he said he had monitored the time it took for a tow plane to take off and then return to the airstrip, which he said was approximately 10 minutes.

Based on this, he calculated there would be 36 take-offs in a day and, as such, he couldn't see a need for 60 caravan sites.

Another nearby property owner, Bill Mackey, raised his own concerns about low-flying aircraft over his house and questioned the contributions of visiting club members to the Bathurst economy.

"Most of the people coming in gliding are not participating in the Bathurst economy, and I think there is plenty of other caravan accommodation available in Bathurst ... which is quite amenable and should be encouraged to bring the people from the gliding club into town to really participate in the community," he said.

"We find little merit in there being an expansion to the facility."

In its response to the submissions, the Mr Durham explained why the club sees a need for 60 caravan sites.

"The reason why more sites are necessary when only 20 are occupied at any one time is that we have a membership of over 130 flying members with about 60 per cent of these members not being local," he said.

"Every caravan site would be occupied by a different club member or in some [cases a] syndicate of two or three members.

"Out of the 60 sites a maximum of 20 could be occupied at once, but a different 20 each weekend."

He said the proposed caravan sites would not be allocated immediately, but rather released progressively over several years.

Regarding concerns about membership, Mr Durham said visiting members "spend quite a lot of money" on food, drink and petrol when they come to Bathurst.

However, he also said it is "not sustainable" for these visiting members to spend money on accommodation on their frequent trips to Bathurst.

"It is true that most members of the club are not local, hence the requirement for more on site accommodation," Mr Durham said.

"However, it would be remiss for me not to point how that a large number of other club members are not only locals, but were born and bred in Bathurst and have strong local and community connections."

In relation to the other concerns raised, Mr Durham doesn't see any new issues arising in regards to safety or pollution as a result of the additional caravan sites.

He said the club also takes steps to minimise noise, including avoiding flying over residents' houses in powered craft where possible.

"This is something we do not have to do; we choose to do it to reduce the impact of aircraft noise," he said.

Bathurst council staff will now assess the DA, considering the points raised by the objectors and the club, before preparing a report for a future council meeting.