A proposed club development in Springwood that is expected to include poker machines is drawing growing opposition, with residents raising concerns about gambling harm, noise and a lack of community consultation.
The development application for Westmoreland Boulevard proposes a venue with up to 39 machines, a bottle shop, bar, and café, and has prompted a petition led by local resident Catherine Schloman, who says many are unaware of the proposal until recently.
The proposed development site is already code-assessable, which means the council is not required to consult the community on developments that meet the zoning requirements currently in place.
The cafe, bar and bottleshop sections of the proposed development fit with the council’s current zoning of the site, and a council meeting last Wednesday determined it is likely the gaming machines will be approved.
For the poker machines to be included in the development, a social health impact assessment will have to be conducted by the site’s developer, in order for council officers to approve the application in full.
It is unclear what the social health impact assessment will involve, when it’ll be conducted and whether it’ll make any difference to the approval process, Ms Schloman said.
“If nobody’s received the survey, the council can’t make an informed, educated decision,” she said.
A Logan City Council spokesperson said the social health impact assessment would “provide strategies and monitoring mechanisms to help enhance positive social and health impacts.”
The spokesperson also said the assessment did not require the developer to seek community consultation, but that a community survey, which the public can access here, will form part of the final impact assessment.
For now, residents like Ms Schloman say the priority is ensuring the community is properly informed before any decision is made.
Ms Schloman said she created both a paper petition and an e-petition after discovering that the council was not required to inform the community of the development, due to its status as code-assessable.
“Unless you were on Cr Lisa Bradley’s Facebook, you wouldn’t know anything about it,” Ms Schloman said. “It would have all gone under the radar.”
She said residents were particularly concerned about the concentration of gaming machines already in the suburb.
“We’ve got gaming machines already in Springwood,” she said, adding that noise and late-night activity would affect nearby homes.
“In today’s economic situation, we don’t want to see more people spending their money on gaming and then going home without the money for basic needs.”
Ms Schloman said she hoped the petition would show the council the level of community concern.
Local councillor Lisa Bradley has also voiced opposition to the proposal, and said she hoped the applicant would withdraw their application.
“This reflects my personal view and not that of Council,” Cr Bradley said.
“I stand with the community in opposing this proposal.
“I believe it is highly inappropriate to locate poker machines in close proximity to residential areas, and our city already has an ample number of such facilities.”
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