COUNCIL’S failure to require Motoland to lodge a development application for the expansion of facilities and tracks, removal of trees and change of use at Tivoli Raceway was challenged at last week’s community forum.
Member for Blair Shayne Neumann said Ipswich City Council had a lot to answer for over the issues Chuwar residents were facing.
Mr Neumann responded to comments from Motorcycling Queensland about a need for more substantial monitoring on noise, dust and sediment, saying the information would have been useful a year ago with a development application to council before work started to create Motoland.
“Ipswich City Council has a lot to answer for here,” Mr Neumann said.
“Don’t tell us that this is just a motorcycle club that is continuing the work it is doing. It is not. They have developed a brand new facility.
Just look at Motoland’s own website. Motoland are talking about the new motocross facility they have created. They champion it as if it is a brand new facility for all of southeast Queensland and Queensland.
“This is a material change of use. I can’t see why it’s not. The council have failed the residents in this area and continue to fail them by not taking action. Don’t treat the residents with disrespect.”
The comments were met with applause from residents in the room who told the forum Motoland was not a club but a commercial entity, were not running races but continual track rides and were not holding occasional racing meets but open every weekend.
Rivers of Life Christian Church Pastor Fred Muys said the church was no longer able to host religious activities on the drive-in site they owned next door to the raceway because of the noise levels at Motoland.
“That has changed as an impact,” Pastor Muys said.
“I am concerned about Motorcycling Queensland and Motoland’s lack of care about the community.
“On December 11 last year we held a major community Christmas event for the region. The event was in the diary at least 12 months ahead ... but Motoland in their wisdom decided they would try to destroy the event by hosting a parallel event which made a number of the activities on our site, particularly young musicians singing on the stage, impossible to proceed.
“There has been irreparable damage to the koala and fauna reserve. Our company (Tivoli Social Enterprises, which operates the drive-in) has committed to a multi-million dollar upgrade of the 12 acres of bushland on our property to develop a community parkland, koala-safe flora and fauna reserve. The damage to the fauna and flora of the desecration of the bushland adjacent to our property is a crime and has led to many displaced animals.
“I am extremely disappointed by the lack of consultation by our neighbours Motorcyling Queensland and Ipswich City Council and other stakeholders about ongoing use of the property.”
Motorcycling Queensland President Russell Bentley revealed to the forum that they had negotiated with the current council in 2020 about plans to sell the Tivoli site to developers until the State Government adopted koala overlay mapping on the land in December 2020.
“That technically put a third of our block totally unviable for development which devalued the land by anywhere from 30 to 50 percent,” he said.
Mr Bentley said Motorcycling Queensland spent $200,000 on feasibility studies on the first plan to sell the land around 2015 and to relocate to Willowbank and it was estimated the cost of rehabilitating the Willowbank site would be more than $11 million.
“It is not from Motorcycling Queensland’s lack of trying that we are still at Tivoli. We have had two attempts at selling the land to developers to give us enough funds to get out of town,” he said.
“You don’t have to be Einstein to know about urban encroachment. We saw that as a governing body and we looked with council on options.
“We were on a mission to get out of Tivoli and we haven’t been able to. All of the work we have done, all of the money that has been spent, and I am now talking about upwards of half a million dollars, we have done whatever we can to make that site a saleable product to get out of town to get somewhere else.
“We had 35 objections from locals about developing that land. We didn’t even get support to get out.”
Objections related to the developer’s plans for small-lot homes in a large-lot zoned area.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the council’s legal and planning advice showed that the historic approvals for Tivoli Raceway permitted intensified activity under Motoland’s plans and did not constitute a change of use.
“We are doing everything we can to support residents. The DA is an approval, it’s not a change of use under the law. And I think the residents know that,” Cr Harding said.