Councillors will vote on Tuesday night to exhibit a plan to sponsor the Orange Harness Racing Club for $20,000 annually for the next decade.

The paceway’s six-hectare parcel would then create a buffer between the go-kart track and the 19-hectare proposed caravan park site, also owned by the council.

In a report to councillors, staff said there had been interest in developing a tourist park and the gateway site had been well received in preliminary discussions. 

Employment and economic development policy committee chairman and councillor Jeff Whitton said it would keep harness racing in Orange while providing a more diverse offering for holidaymakers.

“It’s on the big highway and it would be easy for travellers to get settled for the evening and go for a short walk or drive into the city to do their shopping,” he said.

The report said harness racing funding would be subject to a trial run of the Orange City Grass Pacing Carnival in February and two race meetings a year from 2018.

Orange Harness Racing Club president Frank McRae hoped it would go to the next stage, making the Orange races the only grass harness events in NSW.

“It would make Towac a multi-use facility,” he said. “[The paceway] is not suitable for harness racing anymore because of the size of the track and the facilities that are there.”