This is an issue seen all to often. There have been moves made in NSW to stem the tide, a whinger act that doesn't allow Govt to follow through with noise complaints from residents who have moved into a known noisy area.

My home town is like this on a different level. Once a semi-rural haven it has been over developed and become one of the scourges of the mortgage belt. These people that move in destroy everything that made the place attractive in the first place.

Downward envy is terrible, these people are jealous that minority groups such as motor sport enthusiasts have somewhere to exercise their passion. The only think that makes a majority happy is destroying the little guy.

Sorry for the long winded post, but politics is something I want to head into. If I make it, nothing like this would ever happen again!!

The only way to get NSW government on side is to allow speed cameras at every track
How long will it be before all the residents that have gradually encroached upon Lucas Heights suddenly want compensation or removal of the reactor Gee, it wasn't there before we built the house last year - idiots. As long as there is a development $$$ to be made, racetracks will always come second, and historic places of interest, and fresh air, and .....
The only other natural enemy of grass roots motorsport is an introduced species - litigation. Fear of legal action and arse covering is slowly killing all enjoyable pastimes! 1984 - you betcha !!
Cheers

I can remember 15 years ago shooting ten minutes down the road to Amaroo to watch Brocky and the V8 brigade go around.

The Hills District sucks these days!

Hi oan878,

The answer to your question is a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Scott Clark, publicity officer for Lakeside Motor Racing Enthusiasts. We are a group of car and bike people just like you, who have been working for over 4 years to see the return of club-level motor racing to Lakeside International Raceway. We are giving a united voice for the fragmented motorsport community.

Most questions can be answered by visiting our website (www.lakesideraceway.com) and reading about LMRE and the battle so far - through our press releases.

If you want, I'll put you on our Supporter's List to receive all our media releases and updates, etc.

Someone has to champion the cause in your area and among your friends.
We sure would appreciate your help!

Keep at it guys you can make a differance. We had a local oval track basiclly legislated out of business...the owner had to make many improvements and then when he had to pave the dirt parking lot it was more than the place could bear.....the best part is the empty parking lot is a place where folks started flying RC airplanes and making more noise then the track did.
Matt as far as Riverside went , the land just became to valuable. I raced the my bike there before the end and it had become a hole , it needed to go. Track was very bumpy and management was milking the place for the last 5-10 years.
As for places that don't have this dilema; California Speedway is on the old Kaiser Steel yards so due to HAZMAT issues it can't be used for anything other than a racetrack. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is in the crash zone for Nellis Air Force base so it too has very little use beyond a track.
Our local club course is located in a small community that welcomes the revenue brought in by the extra 50 or so hotel rooms rented out every weekend.
Lesson here , there is land that has no use and communities that would welcome a facility.Exsisting tracks have it tough because people really do suffer from nimby......good luck in your efforts.

Tom

I sympathise with you Lakeside guys. We lost a great track Baypark in Tauranga to a housing development and Thunderpark dragstrip is now a farm. Closer to home friends of mine tried to get permission to build a motorsport complex in a park that has been used for motorkhanas and sprints for years and once the submissions went to council (over 700 for) the decision was made to ban any motorsport activity in the area !!! The system is crazy in a democracy based on majority rules that small groups of narrow minded twats can object and stop things.. Good luck with your fight.

This seems to be happening everyehere.

Clader park is a nother example...I remember when it was a track in the middle of no where......now there are houses right on its perimiter. Calder has lost many events like V8 super cars and drag nationals, either through public complaints or poor facility maintenence. The car club I race with can no longer afford to run sprints there dut to insurance costs pushing the track hire fee from $4,000 a day to just over $8000 a day.

And sandown, that has tight noise restrictions, I believe no more than 90 odd Db from the side of the race track. Just for the residents. And Sandown was approved for drags but residents complained enough that it never got off the ground. Oh well...I guess the drags on Princess HWY outside sandown are better for residents.

I think it's obvious that the people who are making these policies and legislations are selfish nerds who just can't face up to the facts. Weeding out the minority (us?) sounds logical to them but in reality it is truly immoral. And to think I feel bad about "hooning" around the street, soon I won't have a choice and that is another moral issue to deal with.