Eight members of the Murrumbateman Recreation Ground Committee, which is managed by Yass Valley Council, gathered in the hall last Tuesday (May 23) to be briefed on the latest proposal on upgrading the facility.

The upgrade has been made possible by a $550,000 NSW Government grant, which was awarded in March last year, and supplemented by $110,000 from Yass Valley Council.

For decades the recreation grounds have served a multitude of users and uses, but an ongoing issue has been the sharing of the main oval between equestrian and sporting clubs. Equestrian use has sometimes left the oval unsuitable for field sports like cricket, due to the holes left by hooves, particularly in wet conditions.

To resolve this issue, it was clear that separate facilities for these two activities were needed, and the proposal put forward by Council, which manages the grounds, was to move equestrian users onto a new facility in the northern paddock.

However, equestrian groups had raised concerns about this approach, mainly because the replacement facility was considered to be inadequate. Committee member and owner/manager of Murrumbateman Equestrian Services, Anna Marsden, expressed her misgivings in a lengthy document and raised these at several meetings.

In the latest proposal, presented to the group by Yass Valley Council Business Services Manager Tony Stevens on Tuesday night, fears were allayed as plans for a significantly improved equestrian facility were shown.

“They’ve stuck with the northern paddock idea but have come up with a much better plan that contains a lot more detail; if this all works it’ll be really good,” said Anna.

“And we’re really grateful to Tony for his excellent work and dedication. He’s been there all the way through, and weathered stormy meetings and robust discussions to arrive at this.”

Committee chairman, Cr David Needham, was also upbeat about the latest meeting.

“There was no controversy this time, everybody was positive, and I think we’ve turned a corner,” David said.

“We still need to go through public consultation on the plans, and many people have put in submissions, and at the end of that Council will make a final decision, hopefully in June or July.”

A range of experts has been consulted in developing the latest proposal.

“We’ve had advice from people who built Equestrian Park for the Sydney Olympics, we’ve talked to sport and recreation facility architects, we’ve had earth movers looking at the soil, and we’ll be continuing consultation with the equestrian community.”

The latest proposal includes two very large arenas, a sand arena, clubhouse, yards, parking, and a toilet block, with components to be rolled out in a phased approach.

Meanwhile, the main oval will be extensively rehabilitated for field sports.

“Personally I think this is a fantastic opportunity to do what we’ve wanted to for 20 years and establish a top class equestrian park in Murrumbateman that will be better than most in the region and serve as a drawcard for regional events to happen here.”

Subject to approval, work is planned to commence immediately after this year’s Murrumbateman Field Days in October.