THE Mount Gambier Bowls Club’s proposed canopy is a step closer to reality after a design for the structure was given the green light earlier this week.
After months of uncertainty, the Mount Gambier City Council provided landowner consent for the club’s latest Parham Constructions structure design for a cover over its B-green at the Vansittart Park site.
The motion was put forward by Councillor Christian Greco at Tuesday night’s meeting who said it was time to “stop kicking the can and start moving forward with the project.”
It received the council’s full support much to the delight of several bowls club members who packed out the council chambers gallery.
Club president Ian Von Stanke said getting to the next stage of the project had been a “long haul.”
“It was an excellent decision Tuesday night, it was very good to see that common-sense prevailed,” Mr Von Stanke said.
“We had around a third of our members there and everyone was both relieved and happy with the decision because it has been a long haul.”
The club will now put forward a building application, which will go to development approval to be assessed.
“I rang Luke Parham straight after the meeting and the next step is putting the plans in to be assessed,” Mr Von Stanke said.
“I think it will be pretty hard to get knocked back now that council has supported it.”
Previous designs came under scrutiny for not fitting in with heritage architect requirements, which have in-part led to the ongoing delays.
To alleviate concerns about the visual appeal of the building, the council’s approval included a requirement the club maintains screening and treatment to the southern exposure of the building.
Taking no issue with the requirement, Mr Von Stanke indicated the club already had plans in place to make sure the building fits into its surrounds.
“We want it to be an icon, not an eyesore,” he said.
“It’s going to look big, there’s no doubt about that, but as time goes on people will get used to it.”
Following approval, Mr Von Stanke was hopeful the structure would be finished by the end of the year.
“All things going well it should be up in the air by Christmas or early January at the latest,” he said.
Once the word gets out, Mr Von Stanke expected it to attract bowlers from all over the country.
“With the amount of grey nomads that are coming through the area, we will get lots and lots of people here,” he said.
“At the moment we have bowlers who come through and want to play, but we have to tell them we only play on Tuesday’s and Saturday’s if it’s not raining, so they move on.
“If we can offer for them to play under a cover, they would probably stay in Mount Gambier for longer.”
