RSL convention centre could transform rundown River Street block
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
A bold plan to build Ballina’s long-awaited convention centre as part of a major redevelopment of the Ballina RSL could help transform one of the most rundown blocks of River Street.
Mayor Sharon Cadwallader has revealed she has held talks with the RSL about incorporating the proposed 1200-seat convention centre into its future redevelopment plans.
Speaking after last week’s Ballina Shire Council meeting, Cr Cadwallader went further, saying a successful project could drive the revitalisation of the entire surrounding block, which includes the long-disused and increasingly dilapidated former Hotel Ballina.
The RSL option represents a significant shift in thinking over a project Council has been pursuing for several years.
Until now, Council’s preferred site has been the Tamar Street carpark, where the concept involved retaining parking at ground level and constructing the convention centre above.
But Cr Cadwallader told councillors her thinking changed after attending a tourism symposium in Coffs Harbour and learning that Coffs was investigating three possible sites for its own convention centre.
It prompted her to question whether Ballina was doing enough to secure the project.
“I came back and went, ‘We really should be doing more. Where would the best site be?’” she told the meeting.
RSL plans create new opportunity
Cr Cadwallader was aware the RSL was already considering redevelopment of land around its existing River Street club and approached it about whether a convention centre could form part of those plans.
The attraction was the potential to address several of the challenges facing a major convention venue in one development — including parking and accommodation.
“How good would that site be?” Cr Cadwallader told councillors.
She said the question was whether the RSL’s plans could incorporate a convention centre along with parking and accommodation needed to support it.
Council’s agenda confirms Cr Cadwallader met with the Ballina RSL and Council staff on August 18 specifically to discuss convention centre site feasibility.
Mayor Sharon Cadwallader
The RSL already has a feasibility study underway for its broader redevelopment.
Council General Manager Paul Hickey told the meeting there was now an opportunity to have the RSL’s consultant examine the convention centre concept as an addition to that work.
Rather than Council commissioning an entirely new study, it could potentially obtain valuable feasibility information for a relatively small additional cost.
“For marginal money, we’ll get some good information on the feasibility of a convention centre as part of that overall project,” Mr Hickey said.
No decision has been made to build the centre at the RSL and the proposal remains at the feasibility stage.
Mayor: ‘Not prepared to let it go’
But Cr Cadwallader made it clear she intends to keep pushing.
“I’m just not prepared to let it go without a fight because I think that would be just so important for us,” she said.
She said Ballina needed to have its homework done, particularly if funding for a regional convention centre emerged as an issue ahead of next year’s NSW election.
The latest push builds on Council’s renewed campaign earlier this year to secure a major North Coast convention centre for Ballina.
A previous study commissioned by Destination North Coast estimated a major convention facility could generate up to $284 million in economic benefits for the region, with the proposed venue capable of accommodating about 1000 to 1200 delegates.
Cr Cadwallader has argued Ballina’s biggest advantage is its airport, along with its central Northern Rivers location and tourism appeal.
Ballina Byron Gateway Airport is the third busiest airport in NSW, while the Mayor has previously argued its flight connections and competitive fares make Ballina a stronger proposition than other regional centres.
Accommodation has been regarded as one of Ballina’s weaknesses in competing for a major convention centre, making the possibility of incorporating accommodation into a broader RSL precinct particularly significant.
A new future for River Street
The proposal could also have consequences well beyond the convention centre itself.
Cr Cadwallader said after the meeting that a successful RSL project had the potential to trigger the revitalisation of the surrounding River Street block.
That area includes the prominent former Hotel Ballina, which has sat unused and deteriorating for years despite occupying a key position in the centre of town.
A major redevelopment centred on the RSL could potentially bring new accommodation, parking and convention facilities into the precinct and provide the impetus for further private investment around it.
The concept remains a long way from reality and would ultimately require substantial outside funding.
The disused Hotel Ballina site
Council has previously acknowledged it could not afford to build a convention centre itself. Earlier discussions envisaged the project taking five or six years to deliver even if Ballina ultimately secured government backing.
But after years of the convention centre remaining largely an aspiration, the RSL proposal gives Council a new site — and potentially a much broader CBD redevelopment opportunity — to put before the State Government.
Comment:
