I am a Lambton resident of 23years and I object to the proposed plan to build an indoor basketball stadium in place of Wallarah Oval at Lambton. This will cause a significant disruption to the local community by way of congested traffic, loss of green space which is used for local sports including cricket and football, playground areas , evacuation point and sporting usage for Lambton Highschool. Those sporting clubs that are using the ovals now would be forced to train and play sport more than 40 minutes away which is not in their local community.
I am concerned about drainage of the area as it is a flood plain. There will not be enough car park spaces for the amount of people using the basketball stadium for training, games, tournaments , therefore overflow will go onto the streets and cause mayhem for the locals who live there . When there are sporting events or concerts on at Marathon Stadium there is not enough road infrastructure to deal with the traffic . There needs to be an alternative site for the building of the new basketball stadium in an area where there is ample room for parking, traffic flow, adequate drainage and minimising losing green ovals that is taking away our natural environment. I am saddened to think what this proposal would do to our beautiful Lambton community in which I love to be apart of. But there will be many residents like myself who will seriously consider moving out of Lambton if this was to be approved .

Attaching a letter of support for this submission

I strongly object to this project going ahead at this location due to the following reasons:
1. Increased traffic flow through the local area:
The increased traffic flow demonstrated when the Rugby League and Soccer games are on, or during a concert at the Stadium across the road from the site will be present all times the Sports Centre is open for games. This is inappropriate for such a residential area and is dangerous to pedestrians as drivers are constantly looking for somewhere to park.
2. Lack of appropriate parking for those using the centre.
As mentioned above, parking is at a premium during sporting games and concerts at the stadium with guests resorting to parking on corners and across driveways. There is often nowhere for residents to park and they have to plan ahead and make sure their car has a park before the crowds appear. How will they do this when the parking is always like this? Having cars parked on corners is dangerous to other drivers and pedestrians and there have been instances where people have parked on other green space and ripped up the grass when leaving.
3. Irreplaceable loss of green space at the site of the project:
One of the reasons I chose to live in Lambton is because of all the green space and open air. It's a suburban area, not urban so it should stay that way. I regularly use those ovals to walk my dogs and run along the track.
4. Loss of sports and recreational facilities for Lambton High
I attended Lambton High, along with my sister and her children. My own children have attended and are still at Lambton High. I would like them to have the opportunity to use these fields as I did and to use them for sports and recreation during and after school.
5. Loss of natural light for Lambton High students and residents of flats which site next to the ovals:
Lambton High is a good school but like most secondary schools, is a bit of a concrete jungle. The students need this green space out the back for a respite from that and for the natural light, not to feel closed in. The applies to the people who live in the flat behind the proposed site. They already have to deal with living in a small area, now they will have any view they had blocked and with it, the natural light into their home.
6. Increased noise for school students and local residents to endure during construction and when the Centre is in use.
Local residents will have to deal with loud construction noise and after that, the constant noise emanating from the stadium. This also applies to the students and teachers at Lambton high, who are trying to teach, learn and sit for important exams.
I am writing this submission as it is important that Planning NSW listens to local residents who in the most part object to the intended location of this project.
Thank you.
Elizabeth Bray
Lambton local resident

I strongly object to using green space for this type of project. We need to preserve what little green space remains in urban areas. The State Governments plan for this site is nonsensical, given there are a range of other options which don't risk the importance of our parks.

I am writing to submit my OBJECTION to SSD-65595459 Hunter Indoor Sports Complex (HISC) for the reason below.

Loss of green space
When the COVID pandemic happened, we all learned how valuable green, open spaces were. During lockdown, the community could only exercise in public outdoor spaces, and we saw so many of them walking around parks and ovals. When lockdown eased and people could meet outdoors, we and so many people met our loved ones in parks, ovals, and fields. Wallarah and Blackley Ovals are local fields for the residents of Lambton, New Lambton, and their surrounding suburbs. See Figure 1 in attached document showing the members of the community in Wallarah and Blackley Ovals enjoying an Elton John concert in McDonald Jones Stadium.

According to the draft Broadmeadow Place Strategy, there will be up to 20,000 new homes for 40,000 people through medium (such as apartments) and low density housing in the precinct across the road from Wallarah and Blackley Ovals (https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/news/community-invited-have-their-say-future-broadmeadow). However, there is no extra green space allocated for this major development, besides the existing green fields. The previous NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said that the pandemic has underlined the crucial importance of amenity within and around our homes, and access to green public spaces is so important to our wellbeing (https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/arbitrary-metrics-government-and-developers-face-off-over-green-space-20210924-p58ukc.html).

According to the NSW Government’s Adapt NSW strategy, incorporating green spaces into urban areas will help balance temperatures and reduce the urban heat island effect (https://www.climatechange.environment.nsw.gov.au/home). It does not make any sense to remove precious existing green space.

According to the Public Open Space Strategy, public open space, which includes parks, sports grounds and courts, and recreation trail for walking and cycling, is the foundation of liveable communities (https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/public-open-space-strategy-for-nsw.pdf). Public open space play an important social and cultural role in our lives, and are beneficial for and not limited to organised and informal recreation, healthy lifestyles and happier people, community participation and engagement. One of the objectives of this strategy is to recognise public open space as infrastructure that is essential for creating great places to live and supporting healthy and active lifestyles, and recognise access to public open space as fundamental to supporting healthy and active lifestyles for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

The proposed HISC will remove valuable public open space, and remove community access to informal recreation and exercise. In Appendix II (Social and Economic Assessment) section 5.2.2, there was a disclaimer that the HISC will meet the needs of Newcastle Basketball Association members. But it failed to report on the detrimental impact on members of the community. In Newcastle Basketball’s initial presentation to Lambton High School, it was stated that there would be 3000sqm of space left at completion of the full development (Figure 2 in attached document). However, as Figure 3 in attached document (from Appendix I Landscape and Report Plans) shows, there is not a significant amount of green space available to students and the community, only 733sqm of open space, approximate 2% of the proposed site.

The lack of access to suitable facilities inhibits the opportunity for many residents to participate in physical activity and sport and excludes them from associated health and social benefits. This statement is true. The proponent claims that HISC will create a social hub that promotes and supports health and wellbeing. However, Newcastle Basketball members themselves petitioned the organisation to reduce their registration and session fees, due to an increase in fees in August 2024 to an exorbitant $40 per game per player, and therefore, participation in basketball socially is cost-prohibitive (https://www.change.org/p/make-social-competition-fees-affordable-in-newcastle-basketball-association). This facility is excludes participation of the older population and pensioners due to the high intensity of the sport of basketball and the costs involved, compared to this demographic being able to use the ovals and fields when there are no organised sports running, and at no cost to them.

I believe the loss of green, open spaces is really detrimental to the physical and mental health of the community, especially of the older population. I do not agree that Wallarah and Blackley Ovals are the right location for the proposed Hunter Indoor Sports Centre.

To Whom it May Concern,
Please see the attach document against the proposed Hunter Indoor Sports Centre on Wallarah and Blackley Ovals New Lambton.
Kind Regards
Kathleen Brewis

I fully support this project. Currently there isn't enough space available for kids to play indoor sports, specifically basketball. Kids that want to play often can't and have to be turned away as there aren't enough courts. It's my opinion that any child that wants to play sport should be able and encouraged to. The government needs to provide adequate facilities to accommodate this.