Byford BMX Club president Dan Lander spoke at the Serpentine Jarrahdale council meeting on December 8, highlighting the club’s ongoing efforts to secure a new track at Kiernan Park.
“I’ve been working on the proposal to move the track for many years,” Mr Lander said.
“(Speaking at the meeting) was something I had to pursue; otherwise, we may never get funding.
Mr Lander said discussions about relocating the club to Kiernan Park began in 2019.
“But the Byford BMX Club has been temporary in (Briggs Park) the entire 12 years I’ve been a member of the club,” he said.
Mr Lander outlined the repeated delays throughout the years.
“We were supposed to be moved in 2014-15 then funding disappeared. Then we were supposed to be moved again by 2019-21 and that didn’t happen. We were supposed to be moved again in 2023, and funding was taken away again.”
The shire did not confirm or deny if there were plans to relocate in the years Mr Lander mentioned.
The state government committed $10 million to the Kiernan Park project, according to December 4 Hansard records.
“Unfortunately, because there was no detailed design, the shire was unable to attract any more funding from either side in federal government,” Darling Range MLA Hugh Jones said.
“The $10m commitment has been sitting there since March without any prospect of delivering the project.”
Mr Jones, along with the community, said the BMX track was in desperate need of relocation.
“The design has been completed, so it is effectively shovel-ready,” Mr Jones said.
“That is my desired outcome as well because I want to deliver a brand-new track for the BMX riders in Whitby.
“It will be a great boon for the club and it will produce a lot more talent and it will also offer a venue for state and national level, and perhaps international-level, riders to come to Serpentine Jarrahdale to race.”
Mr Jones said Sport Minister Rita Saffioti also supported the relocation of the track to Kiernan Park.
“The present track, although it is good and has produced some good riders, is subject to a bit of vandalism and misuse because it is not fenced,” Mr Jones said.
“Kids go there on electric vehicles and use remote-control model cars et cetera, and they cause ruts and damage to the track.”
Mr Lander said volunteers were burnt out.
“Our volunteers spend countless hours repairing vandalism and damage that the public assume the shire pays for and repairs dash; but it is the club, our money and our people, who carry that burden,” he told council.
“Even shire officers have acknowledged directly to me that the shire has ‘dropped the ball’ and ‘neglected the club’s needs’.”
The BMX club relocation is Stage 1B of the Serpentine Jarrahdale Community Recreation Centre project (SJCRC), according to the officer’s report.
The report said the $10m was insufficient to deliver the full expansion of the SJCRC as originally proposed.
“Within the available funding, priorities must be carefully set, ensuring options strike at a balance between community needs and overall costs,” the report said.
“Compromises will be necessary.”
These compromises included relocating the BMX club at a reduced scope while improving the SJCRC’s airflow, insulation, court and change facility redevelopments.
“Any reduced scope for the BMX relocation would need to be determined in consultation with the club and be aligned to funding available,” the shire said.
At the December 8 meeting, council moved a motion to start the BMX relocation project no later than June 30, 2027.
However, council still had concerns about the cost and scope of Stage 1B.
The shire chief executive and president will be writing to Mr Jones and Ms Saffioti to address their concerns and seek additional funds from the state government.
Mr Jones was contacted for comment.
