THE Agricultural and Horticultural Society will seek financial support from Mount Gambier City Council after its planned campsite expansion was rejected by the local government body.
The society has claimed a net profit of just $18,115 from the 2018 Mount Gambier Spring Show was unsustainable to operate the organisation, prompting a formal request to council.
It follows council rejecting a society development application to increase its current eight campsites to 29, claiming the project did not fit with council’s development plan.
Society past president Kerry Hill said the council decision had “impacted their limited supplementary income” which led to seeking financial support from council “in a bid to maintain the showgrounds facility”.
“We have projected a loss of income which is in excess of $80,000 per year,” Ms Hill said.
“There is no way we can function on $18,000 per year.
“It is important that we have this supplementary income.”
Ms Hill explained the additional money raised through campsite fees and venue hire helped the showgrounds throughout the year.
“We have enough money to go ahead and run this year’s Spring Show as we take the money from the show each year and place it back into next year’s event,” Ms Hill said.
“The extra money we earn through venue hire or campgrounds, those types of things is the money we use to maintain and improve the site.”
Ms Hill claimed the society was originally advised to upgrade its restroom facilities in order to gain the additional campsites, yet when reapplying the development application was rejected.
“Now we have spent $60,000 on the toilet blocks and we are still being denied the additional sites,” she said, adding the site would provide significant income for the society.
In rejecting the application, council stated it did not fit in with its development plan which states the showgrounds is “an area for shows, trotting, exhibitions, recreation and other similar activities”.
In a letter to the society, council said the campsite expansion “prejudices the delivery of the objectives for the area”.
Council said the development would “detrimentally effect on the amenity of the location” and was not “an envisaged development within the Public Purposes Zone”.
Ms Hill wrote to council’s operational committee after receiving the letter, asking for support to “enable the society to maintain and provide the necessary improvements” to the 72 acre site.
The past president also indicated a significant shortfall in predicted income for the next year because of their current circumstances.
Society representatives have accepted an invitation to attend next week’s operational standing committee meeting to discuss the matter further.
“We are open to council in regards to any assistance they may be able to give us,” Ms Hill said.
“I look at the hours these volunteers put into these grounds and think surely council could show a bit of enthusiasm along the line.”
