An agenda item for the Hills Shire Council Meeting held on Monday 10th December indicates that Council proposes to exhibit the “Draft Masterplan for the Castle Hill Showground” for 42 days and invite submissions. The draft masterplan was not attached to the Agenda nor was the timing for the exhibit or for submissions. We intend to make further submissions on behalf of the club when they are called; however, it would also be useful for as many club members as possible to make a brief submission to Council when called for, stating that in the redeveloped Showground, Budokan Judo Club needs:
- a dedicated “Combat Centre” Hall with the 3 current Horticulture Pavilion tenant clubs as sole users with a permanent sprung floor 270sqm mat area to accommodate the club’s growth
- a building per our concept drawing (already provided to Mayor Byrne late 2018 and also to Showground Committee) + adequate close parking;
- scheduling of building construction which would provide a seamless transition venue-to-venue, so that continuity of training services are not impacted
- control of venue usage given that all the equipment in the venue, including the expensive mats and the ancillary training equipment, are owned by the Judo Club.
These requirements are based on our dedicated service to the Judo and local communities, occupancy as an ideal tenant within the Showground as a community-based club for over 20 years with a high utilisation of the venue, and our diverse and growing membership covering pre-school toddlers, parents of juniors, athletes with special needs, right through to National Team and Olympic athletes. We have sighted and discussed a version of the draft Masterplan with Council and its consultants at a workshop attended on 29th October; however, there may be some variations in the Masterplan to be exhibited so please keep an eye out for notifications on Council’s website and in Hills Shire newspapers.