I STRONGLY OBJECT to the amended proposal for the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre at Wallarah and Blackley Ovals. While I support the idea of upgraded sports facilities for Newcastle, I am firmly opposed to this development being built on this site. I live less than 30 metres away from the proposed works, directly opposite the site, and my home, family and community will be directly and severely impacted. At no stage in either the original or amended proposals have I been contacted or consulted as one of the closest residents. This lack of transparency and genuine engagement is unacceptable and has left me and my neighbours completely disregarded in a decision that affects us most.

The ovals at Wallarah and Blackley are valuable community green space, used not only by structured sporting groups but also by families, children and locals for casual recreation. Removing this open space strips away a rare and irreplaceable asset. With the Broadmeadow 2050 Plan already anticipating significant increases in population, the decision to build over community green space is short-sighted and will only compound liveability issues, urban heat effects and environmental stress. Once these ovals are gone, they are gone forever.

Traffic is already a major problem in this area. Turton Road suffers heavy congestion during peak times and whenever events are held at McDonald Jones Stadium. Adding a 12-court facility with a 2,500-seat show court will make this dramatically worse. The reliance on McDonald Jones Stadium parking is unsafe and impractical, with cars stopping to cross a major arterial road — this will inevitably create more congestion and accidents throughout Broadmeadow, Lambton and Kotara. The amended plans have not addressed cumulative impacts on the road network, the lack of safe and reliable walking or cycling access, or the need for a dedicated Event Traffic and Transport Management Plan prepared by independent experts.

The flooding risks associated with this development have also not been resolved. The flood assessment fails to properly address existing and future flood behaviours, the constraints on surrounding land and roads, or the cumulative impact on peak flood levels. The Flood Emergency Response Plan remains based on assumptions and does not account for real emergency management constraints on the location. The failure to incorporate permeable surfaces into the car park to reduce hazard risks and improve water storage is an oversight that puts nearby residents, including myself, at risk.

Noise and amenity are also of serious concern. The proposal allows for operation between 6am and 11pm, which is absolutely unreasonable for a development situated so close to residential homes. As someone who works shift work serving the local Newcastle community, this greatly impacts me. The noise impacts from both indoor courts and any concurrent outdoor uses have not been adequately measured against accepted standards. For a resident, like myself, living just 30 metres away, this will mean constant disruption and an unacceptable decline in quality of life.

The amendments now on exhibition do not solve these core issues. Moving the building footprint 19.5 metres west and shifting the Turton Road driveway 3 metres south are cosmetic changes that do not address the real problems. Green space is still being lost, traffic congestion remains unresolved, flooding risks persist, noise impacts are ignored, and residents were still not consulted. The deletion of open space and half courts adjacent to the western boundary reduces recreational opportunity even further, while the increase in building height makes the structure more imposing and out of character with the surrounding area.

Finally, the Social Impact Assessment does not genuinely reflect the concerns of local residents. An amended assessment is needed that properly engages with the community and considers the very real impact of this proposal on nearby households, including the loss of safe green space, increased flooding and traffic risks, and the erosion of residential amenity.

I am not opposed to investment in sporting facilities for Newcastle, but this proposal is simply in the wrong place. It sacrifices rare and valuable community land, ignores environmental and safety concerns, and imposes unacceptable burdens on nearby residents. The amendments made do nothing to resolve these issues and, in some respects, make them worse.

I urge the Independent Planning Commission to reject this proposal at Wallarah and Blackley Ovals and instead identify a site that provides benefits to Newcastle without destroying its green space, worsening traffic, and undermining community wellbeing. Do the right thing for Newcastle and its future residents — do not allow this development to proceed on this site.

I believe that this region and those relevant sporting codes, would greatly benefit from a new indoor sports centre.

Give me a basketball stadium

The new stadium is needed to allow for the growth in all indoor sports in the region.

I strongly support this submission.

I strongly support approval of the Hunter Indoor Sports Centre (HISC) State Significant Development on Turton Road, New Lambton (SSD-65595459). The proposal delivers fit-for-purpose indoor courts and community facilities in the right location, aligned with NSW and City of Newcastle strategy for the Broadmeadow/Hunter Park precinct, with clear social, health and economic benefits that can be delivered while responsibly managing traffic, flooding and open-space outcomes.

1) What’s proposed — and why it matters
• The HISC proposes 12 indoor multi-purpose courts, including a show court with about 2,500 spectator seats, plus allied-health suites, gym/movement studio, multi-purpose rooms, café/social spaces, changerooms and on-site parking. This mix enables weekly community sport and the capacity to host regional/state tournaments.
• The project is opposite McDonald Jones Stadium, within Newcastle’s established sport & entertainment spine, and within a 10–15 minute walk of Broadmeadow Station, enabling sustainable access from across the region.

2) Strategic alignment
• The site sits inside the Broadmeadow Place Strategy (BPS) footprint, which aims to deliver a world-class sport/entertainment precinct with improved public transport connections and a walkable, mixed-use community. Recent Stage 1 rezoning confirms government commitment and nominates HCCDC as coordination agency. HISC directly advances these adopted outcomes by consolidating major indoor sport next to the stadium precinct.
• City of Newcastle’s exhibition advice supports the precinct logic and emphasises a new pedestrian boulevard between Broadmeadow Station and Hunter Park—a movement spine the HISC can plug into and help activate from day one.

3) Meeting a clear community need
• Newcastle Basketball’s current venue is more than 50 years old and earmarked as an early relocation site under the BPS; its lease ends in 2028. The HISC consolidates basketball, volleyball, pickleball, futsal, badminton, cheer and wheelchair sport, expanding participation capacity that outdoor fields cannot meet (particularly in heat/extreme weather).
• The program includes two courts designed for school use and structured daytime access for Lambton High School, giving students safe, year-round access to indoor sport/PE, with kiosk operations managed to avoid canteen impacts during school hours.

4) Economic and precinct benefits
• The show court (≈2,400–2,500 seats) enables regional/state events that complement the 33,000-seat stadium—not compete with it—bringing weekend visitation and spend to local hospitality without major-event scale impacts. City messaging highlights the Turton Road site’s transport links and surrounding accommodation as a strong platform for tournaments.
• The project supports Hunter Park/Broadmeadow renewal, leveraging public investment in the precinct and aligning with NSW Government rezoning that underpins housing/jobs growth next door—exactly the co-location of sport, transport and community services the BPS seeks.

5) Traffic, access and parking — why the solution is workable
• Day-to-day use is comparable to the existing stadium’s weekly programming. The design proposes left-in/left-out access to Turton Road, an internal ring road to prevent queuing, and on-site parking planned at ~19 spaces per court plus allowances for commercial tenancies. For bigger events, shared-use parking at McDonald Jones Stadium is proposed, coordinated to avoid clash days. These are sensible, standard tools for managing traffic in a sports precinct.
• City advice notes the opportunity to formalise on-street parking on Monash Road, rationalise kerb lanes on Turton Road and update crossings—practical, low-cost improvements that spread demand and keep residential streets functioning. Conditions can require a Transport & Event Management Plan covering clash-day protocols across HISC, the Stadium and nearby venues.

6) Flooding and water management — a safer outcome than status quo
• The ovals are known flood collectors today. The EIS-informed design places buildings and car parks to mitigate and manage flood behaviour, with modelling showing negligible post-development changes at the 1% AEP (2050) event and a car-park layout that assists flood storage and conveyance.
• Council’s advice calls for clear flood refuge planning (incl. signage and capacity) and careful design near Lambton Ker-rai Creek. These are straightforward, codified requirements in NSW; approval conditions can mandate final refuge numbers, levels of protection, WSUD and riparian planting. The result is a net-safer, more legible flood response than today’s open ovals.

7) Open space and local sport — replacing quantity with quality
• The proposal retains public open space on site (≈4,500 m² adjacent to the school’s COLA) and, prior to Stage 2, maintains ~22,000 m² accessible area for community recreation. Importantly, City of Newcastle has worked with cricket and football on relocations to better-drained, lit facilities, with letters of support referenced—improving net access and reliability for field sports that currently lose time when the ovals are waterlogged.
• This is a quality-over-quantity outcome: high-utilisation indoor courts (all-weather, all-day) plus improved field sport options across nearby venues—consistent with contemporary city-wide sports planning.

8) Design excellence, inclusion and safety
• The HISC brief includes universal access, seating, amenities and circulation that support disability sport and inclusive programming—materially expanding who can participate in local sport.
• CPTED, lighting, passive surveillance and the station-to-stadium pedestrian routes identified in the BPS will lift perceived and actual safety across the broader precinct. Approval conditions can lock in wayfinding, end-of-trip cycling facilities and tree canopy targets.

Anticipating and responding to common objections
1) “Traffic and parking will overwhelm local streets and the school.”
Day-to-day traffic is modest and comparable to current usage profiles; the access is left-in/left-out with an internal ring road to stop queuing on Turton Road, and parking supply is calibrated to typical demand. Larger events are infrequent and coordinated with the stadium and hockey centre, using existing stadium parking that sits idle outside major events. Conditions can require: (a) an Event/Clash-Day Protocol, (b) live parking management, (c) monitoring and adaptive kerbside controls.

2) “The site floods—buildings will worsen flood risk.”
Today’s ovals already flood; the proposal improves control through site grading, car-park storage and building placement, with modelling indicating negligible net change at the 1% AEP (2050). Approval can be tied to final detailed modelling, flood-compatible materials, safe egress and a documented flood refuge plan meeting Council’s guidance. That is a safer, clearer outcome than the status quo.

3) “We’re losing green space.”
The design keeps meaningful open space on site for students and locals, while upgrading field-sport outcomes at other nearby venues (better drainage, lighting and amenities), improving the reliability of outdoor sport access across the week and seasons. The majority of HISC use happens after school and evenings, when it’s most needed.

4) “It will bring stadium-scale crowds and noise.”
A HISC sell-out is ≈2,400–2,500 people—a fraction of the 33,000-seat stadium across the road. Most programming is community sport, not concerts. Conditions can cap event hours, require acoustic compliance, and schedule with Venues NSW to avoid clashes.

5) “Why not build it somewhere else / later?”
Extensive site investigations over several years found no viable alternative site available; the current Broadmeadow stadium is a first-mover BPS site with a lease ending in 2028. Funding is secured and time-limited (NSW Office of Sport contribution $25 million already announced), making timely delivery at Turton Road essential to avoid a gap in indoor-sport provision.

6) “Ratepayers will be liable for ongoing costs.”
The proponent notes modern multi-court centres are sustainably operated through user fees, events and allied-health/commercial tenancies, reducing reliance on subsidy. Fit-for-purpose design, staged delivery and shared-use parking further control costs. (Approval conditions can require an Operational Management Plan prior to occupation.)

Approving the HISC is a city-shaping, health-positive decision that unlocks all-weather, inclusive participation for thousands of people each week, activates the Broadmeadow strategy, and does so in the most connected sport precinct in the Hunter. With sensible conditions on transport, flooding, open space and events, this project delivers far more community benefit than the low-utility, flood-prone ovals it replaces—while strengthening Newcastle’s reputation as the Hunter’s indoor-sport hub.

I object strongly to this amended Development Application. The land on which this development is proposed is land that is used by many outdoor sporting groups and also by the neighbouring High School who use it as their outdoor sport fields and this new proposal is planning to remove even more outdoor and open green space than the initial proposal did.
We all know that:
A. young people today spend far too much time indoors and
B. once you remove green space you will never get it back.
I object to this amended DA on behalf of future generations of young people in Newcastle who deserve to have access to outdoor green space for their health and recreation.
This is just the wrong place for this proposed development!

Please show some common sense and move this diabolical proposal to a more sensible location.
Steel River has ample space , Glendale near the athletics track plenty of space for examples.
Both these areas are currently not used for any useful purpose.
Why build on existing green space where , already multiple sports already utilize the fields. Along with the school using the fields for their sports activities, people walk dogs, parents play with their children on these fields.
There are so many better locations for this place to located.
Another major issue is the traffic in that area already is very heavy any time of the week and this is exacerbated on weekends when sports in the area are played

Green space amongst residential areas must be kept. Green space is part of the flood protection system in the Lambton area and must be kept. Natural bushland areas are becoming rare, so much clearing for commercial purposes where the Pacific Highway meets the bypass. Natural bushland must not be given up for commercial purposes.
Present industrial areas such as the abandoned steel work area and new industrial Mayfield area would be suitable for a big basketball stadium, as would some of the present commercial areas.
The basketball project does not have to be so big either. It could be organised on several smaller sites, providing good facilities closer to users.
Keeping the basketball facilities where they are at present and giving up some of the land promised to new high rise development close to Broadmeadow rail station would also be a good plan. Tennis courts nearby have become fast food drive in outlets! A waste! With some proper planning and removing land from such commercial activities nearby, the basketball stadium could be rebuilt and expanded at its present site.

Newcastle needs a basketball stadium as a sport with increasing popularity and demand. The current facility is inadequate. This development is vital to continue to allow this sport for health and lifestyle for kids and adults.