Lyneham oval land grab: Private Sport on Public land?

Masquara said :

Will this “private space for sports activities” run by a fundamentalist Christian school allow, say, gay sporting events?

Why don’t you just grab a burning torch and pitchfork and march on the place? Fundamentalist – ha!

Masquara said :

Guess what? The application is for a building over 2,000 square metres in size. Just about the size of a goodly auditorium for a happy clappy religious service. Think a modest Hillsong venue, folks! I don’t think this has anything to do with sport.

Masquara said :

Will this “private space for sports activities” run by a fundamentalist Christian school allow, say, gay sporting events?

Your prejudice is showing.

I happen to know for a fact that the building has been designed as a sporting facility. So not only are your posts prejudiced, they’re misguided as well.

This is not about the culture or idealogy of the school community. It’s about transparency and process.
It’s a DA submitted under a subterfuge, BCC have gone out of their way to make it appear they had nothing to do with it. (they didn’t even tell their own school community until yesterday, because they’re forced to go on the ‘goodwill’ offensive)
It’s listed as a Community Centre, when there are strong suspicions they have no intent to allow the community to use it.
It’s an educational facility, not allowed on PRZ1. (Or a child care facility , or a place of worship)
The only reason for the generosity of the carpark is because they are building on top of their current one – so it’s completely self interested.
The proposed outside courts aren’t to be sealed (so they don’t really exist)
Sure, there are some improvements made here, no doubt. But it’s entirely self serving and it’s been done under cloak and dagger, which means they have something to hide. Like the fact it’s not really a Community Centre.
Perhaps more extensions? Perhaps they want the whole oval? The question to ask is why so surreptitious and what are the future plans? And why didn’t they consult the community about whether we even want a centre?
The only consultation as per the DA was with themselves where they clearly try to intimate the idea was from TAMS, not them. Looks a bit suspicious no?

Masquara said :

Guess what? The application is for a building over 2,000 square metres in size. Just about the size of a goodly auditorium for a happy clappy religious service. Think a modest Hillsong venue, folks! I don’t think this has anything to do with sport.

Oh my god! It’s a conspiracy!

Well…until you bother to look at the plans (I assume you didn’t) and you see that the building is to be constructed into a number of different rooms, which are completely non-auditorium like. And that if they wanted to hold the services you mention, it’d make more sense to do it in the facilities they already have…

But sure, go ahead and get yourself in a lather over it!

Masquara said :

Is there anything to stop them from using the space for loud Hillsong style religious “services”?…… Using “sport” as an excuse to create a venue for a large crowd looks to be something that might work. Maybe locals should suggest some clauses to prevent such.

Maybe it is just what it says on the tin, a community facility that can be used by the community. From the article, we’re getting a facility where there was none at no cost, it’s an award-winning design and a good use of the space.

Despite your claims, there is absolutely no evidence that it’s a back-door way to establish some ‘Hillsong style’ church there – and frankly, if the biggest worry is the sound of singing on a Sunday morning, I reckon we can live with it.

Masquara said :

Guess what? The application is for a building over 2,000 square metres in size. Just about the size of a goodly auditorium for a happy clappy religious service. Think a modest Hillsong venue, folks! I don’t think this has anything to do with sport.

You’re probably right. A sports pavilion built next to a sports oval. Absolutely no connection. Either way, we should stop the project because it is funded by christians.

Will this “private space for sports activities” run by a fundamentalist Christian school allow, say, gay sporting events?

Masquara said :

Is there anything to stop them from using the space for loud Hillsong style religious “services”? The Christian school in Dickson (not Darra, the little one) annoys the, er, Hell out of neighbours with a loud ecstatic song service every week. Using “sport” as an excuse to create a venue for a large crowd looks to be something that might work. Maybe locals should suggest some clauses to prevent such.

I think you mean Emmaus. I’ve never heard anything. I don’t think they even hold a regular assembly. Do they do something on the weekends? I thought they were hooked up with the church in Watson?

Finally, Hillsong comes to Canberra!

Right you are Masquara.
This is a school extension proposed only by the school. Its masquerading as a Community Centre, only because thats the only way it will pass the legislation for open space zoning.
The DA already admits there is ‘limited’ use for public. I.e. none.
This serves noone other than BCC.
Nor will a building resolve maintenance issues on the grounds, if anything make it worse.
Btw ‘places of worship’ are also prohibited (along with school extensions), thus the ruse of a ‘Community Centre’.

Guess what? The application is for a building over 2,000 square metres in size. Just about the size of a goodly auditorium for a happy clappy religious service. Think a modest Hillsong venue, folks! I don’t think this has anything to do with sport.

Is there anything to stop them from using the space for loud Hillsong style religious “services”? The Christian school in Dickson (not Darra, the little one) annoys the, er, Hell out of neighbours with a loud ecstatic song service every week. Using “sport” as an excuse to create a venue for a large crowd looks to be something that might work. Maybe locals should suggest some clauses to prevent such.

Yeah, I can really see no problems with this.

The proposed development adds a sports pavilion and car parking around the edge of the existing oval area. The site plan shows the oval, and the area that will be impacted:

http://203.9.249.2/e-registers/pubnote/pdf/PLAN-201426427-LOCATION_PLAN-01.pdf

The only areas that you’d need to pay to use, from my reading of this, are inside the pavilion that’s being built. Perhaps the outside courts. The rest of the oval, plus the extended car parking, is free to use as it’s always been.

From the sounds of it, the new facility will be available for use by the private school building it, as well as Lyneham Primary and High Schools.

If anything, a development like this can only secure the public space for the future. If the schools in the area have developed the infrastructure to make those ovals a usable sports and recreation area, there’s far less likelihood of those valuable inner-north parcels of land being sold to developers in the future.

All I can see here is win – win – win.

I think you’ll find that anyone wishing to use public sporting ovals in an organised fashion is required to book those grounds already. This does not change anything, although it may result in the grounds being looked after a bit better than from my memory as a student at Lyneham High circa 2000 when that particular oval was nigh on unusable. If it provides better facilities to residents of the ACT at no additional cost, then it can only be a good thing, yes?