Orange Kart Club captain Wayne Ogilvie is a relieved man after Orange City Council revealed his club’s Perc Griffin Way home won’t be impacted by the city’s new caravan park.
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Mr Ogilvie says the club has been “up in the air” for close to five years as plans emerged proposing a new 19-hectare caravan park adjacent to the Orange Kart Club’s home.
But the Towac Park move by the Orange Harness Race Club from Highlands Paceway – a six hectare facility next door to the kart club – has created a buffer between the two, meaning no land will be lost to the new development.
Council’s Tuesday night meeting was told that the track would be retained as part of the re-development of the site.
First used as a karting facility in 1963, the Perc Griffin Way site has hosted the likes of retired Formula 1 driver Mark Webber, V8 Supercars champ Mark Winterbottom and current Porsche series driver Matt Campbell.
Royalty in motorsport terms.
“It’s a relief to now know that we’ll be able to stay for the next 50 years as well,” Mr Ogilvie said.
It’s a relief to now know that we’ll be able to stay for the next 50 years as well.
- Orange Kart Club captain Wayne Ogilvie
“We’ve been up in the air for the last five years. Everything we’ve done, all the work we’ve completed, we’ve essentially had to ensure it’s all moveable in case we had to relocate.”
He said the club had held off a lot of upgrades and improvements to infrastructure on and off the track, which now they would be able to commence.
Mr Ogilvie said he was confident having a facility like the new caravan park next door to the club’s base would help attract new visitors and potentially house competitors during some of the club’s biggest meets.
The annual South Pacific titles held at Orange draw hundreds of drivers, family and support staff to the city.
“We definitely thought we’d have to relocate … it would have been a pity,” Mr Ogilvie added.
“We’ve been at this venue now since 1963. If you take all the best bits out of other tracks from other towns and put them together, you get what we’ve got here.
“It’s a great track and we’ve all put a lot of time and effort into making it what it is today.”
The council was shown a draft planning proposal for the Gateway Park complex.
A site masterplan has not yet been prepared.