I object on the basis of numerous points:
1. The safety of Lambton High School students and faculty. The location is not only used daily by the students it is also the evacuation point. Lambton High has an additional needs unit and therefore consideration to the safety of those students in particular.
2. Traffic congestion within the area is already extremely overrun, never mind the resources and costs involved on many event days through portable signage, police and additional security/traffic control. HISC in addition to the hockey and McDonald Jones stadium would not improve this.
3. Green spaces - please keep them! As a mum to young children, our opportunity to find affordable homes which have outdoor spaces suited to ‘kids being kids’ is dwindling. This results in more indoor time and poorer health outcomes. We use multiple green spaces a day - they must be protected.

Completely short-sighted project. Residents are already very adversely affected by proximity to a High School, the Hockey Grounds and the Stadium. Often driveways are blocked by cars parked while drivers attend games/concerts etc. Family and friends are unable to visit during events. Apart from this the loss of green areas in such a heavy populated area is to be deplored. The grounds are all extensively used at present. It is also a safety issue for the students/staff at Lambton High School as the proposed area is the emergency evacuation point and there are no other suitable locations for this. It is also the only area the school can use for outdoor activities by students. There are other more suitable locations - including the proposed Broadmeadow Sport Precinct and the existing site - surely basketball, as a sport, takes precedence over proposed housing. Yes there is a housing shortage, but be deleting green space what type of lifestyle would families moving into these units have?

This facility is not only for the Newcastle area but a lot of surrounding areas! The ovals where it is proposed to be built on is surrounded by plenty of other ovals and green space and is under utilised! If it rains it can’t be used either! The flood mitigation proposed would stop flooding of that area! The sports centre would be used most days for various sports! I don’t feel parking would be that much of a problem as you could park across the road at the football stadium as football games would rarely clash with basketball games! Also most people would only be at the centre for an hour for a game and then leave! The centre would be close to public transport as well!

This project is critical to the region's growth, as there is a significant gap in indoor facilities for a city of this size.

As a resident of New Lambton, I have witnessed the under-utilisation of the land proposed for this development and believe that the whole community would benefit from this proposal.

Hi I object to the new basketball stadium being built in Newcastle as it is in a bad location and damaging to wildlife and native areas

The cons of this development far outweigh the benefits for the Newcastle community.
LESSONS NOT LEARNED: All of the issues identified in their previous location in Lake Macquarie (which was knocked back) are also present at the current location (Wallarah/Blackley Ovals). It does not appear that Newcastle Basketball took on board the feedback from that prior refusal when choosing a new location.

NO CONSULTATION: No community consultation has occurred. On page 63 of the EIS, the local community are not listed as a stakeholder that they have engaged with, as they have not made any real attempt to engage with the local community despite this being a mandatory requirement of a State Significant Development. Newcastle Basketball’s attitude towards the residents who will be the most impacted by this development has been one of contempt. My understanding from talking with many other locals is that everyone is very supportive of a new basketball stadium, as long as it is in an appropriate location, which this is not.

STEALING LAND FROM OTHER SPORTS: Newcastle Basketball have been placed in a tricky position because they have been given a relatively small and very inadequate amount of funds to build a new stadium on the condition that they do not use any of the funds to purchase land for the it to be built on. This has forced them to ‘steal’ land away from other sports and the local community. Nearby ovals are already overused, and with other sporting teams being forced to share the ovals with additional users, additional wear and tear will occur on those other ovals. In addition, all other sports are forced to share facilities, while still allowing the general public free access to their spaces, but basketball gets a gigantic piece of land all to themselves that they will charge the general public to access.

LOSS OF CROWN LAND TO BUILD HIGH RISE – GOVT BENEFITS FINANCIALLY BUT THE COMMUNITY LOSES OUT: The State Government have stated that they will be selling the land that the current stadium is on to developers for high rise housing. By refusing to use the financial windfall from that sale to purchase land elsewhere for a new basketball stadium, the result is a net financial gain to the government (who do not appear to have advised what they will actually use the funds for) and a simultaneous net loss of valuable green space for the community. Essentially, the Govt is selling off Crown Land by moving the basketball stadium from one location to another and keeping the funds from selling the first location. If the proposed stadium was rebuilt on its current location, and the government stated they would be building high rise apartments on Wallarah & Blackley ovals, I very much doubt that would be allowed to go ahead due to the very obvious negative outcome for the community, but this is essentially what they are doing, by swapping the locations around.

TAKING AWAY A GREEN SPACE THAT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY HAS FREE ACCESS TO: The ovals that will be lost forever if this development is approved are currently home to multiple other sporting groups including soccer and cricket & are used daily by dog walkers & families. The entire community currently has access to this valuable green space for free, however only paying members of the basketball community will be allowed to access the stadium if this proposal goes ahead, emphasized by the planned large fence around the perimeter. So the community loses access to a valuable free, green community asset and receives nothing in return, unless they are a part of the relatively small basketball community and pay to access the building.

HIGH SCHOOL: The Govt has earmarked the ‘Broadmeadow Place’ precinct nearby for at least 20,000 new dwellings in the near future. The local high school (Lambton High School), which is located directly adjacent to the proposed Basketball Stadium location, will presumably be expected to cater to a large number of these new residents, as the Broadmeadow Place concept plan does not include any new schools. Lambton High School currently uses Wallarah & Blackley ovals as its green space playground, however if this proposal is approved, that access to green space will be taken away at the very time when the school will need to start catering to many more students. It seems inconceivable to me that taking away a massive amount of green space from the local school, which is attended by many socially disadvantaged children, is considered less important than building a gigantic concrete building that will only be accessible to those who are able to pay to use it. This is especially devastating when considering that the school is unable to relocate, but there are many alternative locations available to Newcastle Basketball which would not have such a devastating effect on student’s wellbeing and health.

BROADMEADOW PRECINCT SPORTING PRECINCT: The nearby Broadmeadow Place precinct was sold to the local Newcastle community as a ‘sporting precinct’. It makes sense therefore, that the Basketball Stadium (recently renamed to “Indoor Sports Stadium”, but it essentially remains a basketball facility) should be housed within the precent. The State Government have so far refused to explain, despite many requests including from Newcastle Council, why they have stated that it will be impossible to place the basketball stadium within the Broadmeadow Place sporting area. The reasoning for this is important and should be made available to the local community. If large NRL teams can continue on playing at the highest level of sport while having their own stadium rebuilt on it’s existing location (as evidenced recently by the Wests Tigers), there is no reason that Newcastle Basketball couldn’t do the same. If the stadium is rebuilt on its current location, for example, Newcastle Basketball could make use oif the many, many basketball courts at schools and parks during the build, and high rise apartments could then be built on top of the new stadium, as has happened with many shopping centres including Rockdale Shopping Centre in Sydney and Marketown shopping centre in Newcastle. Both basketball and housing could be catered for, without imposing a net loss of green space on the community at a time when the local population is expected to sky rocket. This is just one example of the many alternative options available to Newcastle Basketball. The answer to why the stadium cannot be built on its current location or at an alternative location within the proposed sporting precinct is an important one and should be answered in detail prior to any proposed development on Crown Land being approved.

FLOOD ZONE: Wallarah and Backley ovals are located within a well known flood zone. In the 2007 pasha bulka storm, which remains strong in local’s memories for the devastation it caused, especially in the residential area adjacent to the ovals, 9 people lost their lives, including one death directly related to the storm water drain that runs alongside the proposed location. My elderly neighbour remembers that prior to the ovals, it was “swamp land”. Many of the nearby homes struggle to find insurance, or are charged excessively high insurance premiums, due to the very high flood risk. Many of those same people were displaced from their homes for many months after the 2007 floods. Wallarah & Backley ovals act as a giant sponge in the area, soaking up rain. The adjacent drains fill up very quickly during rain and do not appear to have much capacity left during heavy rainfall. When a gigantic concrete building is built on those sponges, where does all the water go, if not causing the drains to overflow more regularly and then flow on into resident’s homes. The flood mitigation in the proposal does not appear adequate when considering the development will be on top of a well known flood zone that was previously swamp.

PARKING: The parking provided for in this application is woefully inadequate. I invite anyone who is assessing this proposal to attend the location at a time when McDonald Jones Stadium is in use and see for yourselves the atrocious parking situation in the adjacent residential streets. Those streets are narrower than your average street, meaning that it is already difficult to drive down those streets when there are vehicles parked on either side. There is inadequate access for emergency vehicles. Newcastle Basketball have stated that the relatively small number of proposed car parking spaces will be ticketed parking, so this will encourage parking in local streets instead for free.

FUNDING: Newcastle Basketball have publicly stated that they do not have the funds to build this development. They have had many, many years to raise funds to build a new stadium and have not been able to do so. They have given no indication of how they intend to raise the additional $60 million plus that they will require to complete the development as proposed. The local community should not be expected to accept the many negative impacts that this development will bring based on a vague proposition that Newcastle Basketball are hoping that they might be able to build it as planned. As it currently stands, the community will be losing very valuable green spaces on the basis that only a small proportion of the proposed stadium will be able to be built.

Major traffic congestion on Turton road leading into side streets
Generalised flooding
Sewer problems on Turton road with blockage in main sewer, leading to problems in young road. Hunter water required regularly needing to clear blockage in wet weather
Impact on privacy
Limited parking available on narrow side streets causing obstructions

Basketball is a growing sport in Australia. International leagues have been popular for many years and we are now witnessing growth in the NBL and WNBL and more and more Australian players being exported to world-first leagues like the NBA and WNBA.

Most basketball facilities in Australia are confined to large capital cities like Sydney and Melbourne, which means that Hunter residents and youth need to travel to utilise these facilities in order to support their development as players. The HISC will provide more opportunities to young players and their families to advance in the sport of basketball and is a natural progression for Newcastle as a sporting community. The HISC will potentially open up doors for Newcastle to one day have its own NBL and WNBL team as the sport continues to grow in the Hunter.

Many people believe that by building the HISC, grass based sports will suffer, however the loss of one or two sporting fields is unlikely to come at the detriment to outdoor sporting pursuits. A quick scan of google maps will demonstrate a myriad of other green fields in the area and reorganising these sports is a question of administrative ability in the youth leagues rather than inability.

Many have questioned the capacity of the area to accommodate large quantities of people at times of major events, my response to this is to simply look across the road and ask what we do when the Newcastle Knights sell out a stadium.

In supporting this project, I am asking that we not let semantics, dummy spitting and laziness get in the way of accelerating the sport of basketball for youth in Newcastle.

This is one of the worst development proposals in this city’s history. There are not enough green spaces for outdoor sports such as soccer, rugby league and cricket as it is. And the ones we do have are in poor condition, lack proper drainage and change room facilities. I am all in favour of a new basketball facility but not at the expense of publicly accessible open green spaces. There are so many under utilised industrial spaces, and run down buildings in the city that could be used for such a facility. It’s not fair that local sporting clubs and kids across multiple sports should lose their facility for this poorly planned and ill considered development.

This is very much needed for the basketball community.