Cost of sport centre jumps $10 million: council decision tonight

The fate of the proposed Sport and Health Centre of Excellence will be decided at tonight’s Campbelltown Council meeting – its last for 2016.

Having received confirmation that the Federal Government will provide $7.2 million for the proposal, council needs to make a quick decision if it will go ahead and build the centre on land inside the Campbelltown campus of the University of Western Sydney.

But a report being tabled tonight says the cost of the proposal has been revised sharply upwards from $17.2 million to $26.2m.

Which means that if council wants to build the centre according to the original plans it will need to find at least another $9 million and most likely $10 million, as costs keep rising.

The council is committed to only contributing $5 million at this stage.

Tonight councillors will be offered a number of options, including discarding the plan entirely and saving the $5 million.

Other options include reducing the size of the centre.

Or maybe council can go back to the other stakeholders and ask them all to contribute more than the $15.1 million of funding that is secured at this point.

They include the Federal Government, the Western Sydney University, UrbanGrowth NSW, Cricket NSW, AFL in NSW/ACT and the Wests Tigers footy club.

This shapes up as a very difficult decision for the councillors.

• In other items on the business paper for tonight, Campbelltown Council will look at the outcome of the exhibition of a proposed new local koala management plan.

Local environmental activist Ricardo Lonza will address the council on this issue.

• Councillors will also be told that the State Government has rejected their request for more bus services between Campbelltown Road and Blaxland Road.

This was an idea aired by newly elected councillor Warren Morrison.

• Issues that will also be decided will be the next stage of the release of land at Menangle Park, and the rezoning of part of the Glenfield rubbish tip.