Alan George and his sister Leonie Kent remain concerned about the future of Martin Park, the sports ground given to the community by their grandfather.
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The land was looked after by a community trust but in 2013 was taken over by Crown Lands. Since then the money collected from the attached caravan park, which was ploughed back into the community asset, has dried up.
“My grandfather donated the land specifically for the community to use as a sports and recreation ground but nobody seems to know what is going to happen to it now,” Mr George said.
He would like to see the ground returned to a community trust to look after it but has been unsuccessful in getting any resolution.
He is concerned that the land will be absorbed by the caravan park and end up being lost to the community.
“We want it set up into a trust with the sporting user groups and Rotary on the board to manage it,” Mr George said.
Pambula Rotary Club built a large shelter on the site but now one side of the shelter, facing the caravan park, is no longer as accessible because bollards have been installed.
Mr George said he has contacted Bega MP Andrew Constance.
“We’ve got nowhere and I want a guarantee that this will stay in community trust ownership,” he said.
But now state Labor members have weighed into the debate vowing to return management of Pambula’s Martin Park Sports and Showground to a community based trust.
Shadow Minister for Lands, Mick Veitch said he was “happy to make a commitment to not only restoring community control over the management of the park, but also dedicating the land to ensure it has the increased oversight of Parliament”.
“Besides community oversight, the dedication means that this protection cannot be removed without a future Minister going to Parliament.
“The new Crown Lands Act which came into effect in July makes it easier for the Minister to move Crown Land to other government agencies for disposal – so this protection is needed more than ever,” Mr Veitch said.
Country Labor candidate for Bega, Leanne Atkinson said there was real concern that the community had been pushed aside because the park was now controlled by a commercially –focused board run out of Newcastle.
“The operational needs of the caravan park are encroaching on the adjoining park – which was gifted by the Martin family in the 1930s and managed locally until 2013.
“I am really pleased Labor has committed to returning management to the community, and adding Parliamentary protections so the park remains publicly owned and safe in community hands,” Ms Atkinson said.
