Kart track bid in a fee spin

THE fresh drive to revive motorsport at a Gold Coast karting track, forced to shut down last year, has hit a roadblock in the form of a massive council fee.

A new development application for the Xtreme Karting site in Pimpama spruiks the potential use of electric vehicles in a revamped operation.

But the bid has already hit a hurdle, with proponents asking for more time to come up with a $30,000 fee demanded by Gold Coast City Council as part of the application. Xtreme Karting operated in Pimpama for seven years under agreements with council despite the rejection of a development application in 2016.

That refusal was upheld by the Planning and Environment Court in July last year, forcing the Pimpama Jacobs Well Rd track to close. Owners say the closure resulted in 16 jobs lost. A subsequent petition signed by more than 1300 people called on the state to overhaul planning laws to make it easier for tracks such as the one in Pimpama to obtain permission to operate. On June 8 a fresh development application was lodged with council seeking approval for a “motor sports facility” at the site.

The application said new operator Xtreme Pimpama Pty Ltd was putting forward a “substantially different proposal to that as previously considered”. Included in the changes is a commitment to investigate a transition to electric powered vehicles, with the old operation having previously been the subject of noise complaints.

“It is intended that the tracks will be used by vehicles with 4-stroke engines and limited to 25 vehicles on the track at any one time, as well as non-engine powered vehicles such as bicycles and scooters,” the application stated.

“It is also proposed to investigate the potential to transition to use electric powered recreational equipment including scooters, skateboards, karts and the like. This is intended to occur within the first two years of operation.”

The application said some buildings on the site would be demolished and new ones constructed, including a new junior driving and training centre.

It is proposed that the existing 1.6km sealed track would be retained, while a second 1.2km track would be upgraded to an asphalt surface.

The application said that if permission was granted the track would operate between 8.30am and 5.30pm Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 9am to 4pm Sundays and public holidays.

An economic need and impact assessment included with the 359-page application forecast that it could attract 10,450 visitors in 2023. It also noted that more than 10,000 people have joined a social media group in support of the track’s reopening. A week after receiving the application council wrote to the proponents saying it was “not properly made” because the “required fee” of $30,000 had not been paid.

Council gave them until July 13 to stump up the cash.

The proponents requested and were granted an extension of that deadline until August 10. On Monday, this week they again wrote to council seeking more time. They have now been given until September 7.