A group of Benalla residents are fighting to save Benalla Gardens Tennis Club.

This comes after Benalla Rural City Council’s recently released draft Benalla Recreation Reserves Masterplans proposed the removal and relocation of the club from its current home.

Released for public viewing in June, the draft Benalla Recreation Reserves Masterplans were commissioned by Benalla Rural City Council to help guide improvements and upgrades at four recreational reserves – Churchill Recreation Reserve, United Friendlies Society Reserve, Benalla Showgrounds and Benalla Gardens Reserve – over the next 10 years.

But the plan for Benalla Gardens Reserve includes the removal of the six existing Benalla Gardens Tennis Club hard courts.

The accompanying report assessed these to be in poor condition, as well as recommending the removal of the current clubhouse facility, with the site to be returned to natural open space featuring a council-maintained accessible shelter with barbecue facilities and public toilets.

The expected cost of the development, which also includes a new five-lane cricket practice facility, resurfacing the Gardens Oval and upgrading the cricket change rooms to be gender inclusive, is estimated at $2,227,800.

The report also recommends that four new hard courts with sports lighting should be incorporated with the Benalla Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club instead, to accommodate the loss of the BGTC courts.

As it stands, the only portion of the draft master plan that has any funding committed to it is the construction of the new Benalla Multisport Stadium at Churchill Reserve, with $15 million allocated via Sport and Recreation Victoria.

All other projects included in the masterplan “remain subject to sourcing and securing funding for design, construction and maintenance”, which BGTC committee member Michael Levy said represented a big issue for the Gardens Tennis Club.

“There is no commitment for funding from the existing council or from the state government, but they'll go out and use this information to seek those funds,” he said.

“The problem with that is if they mandate (the removal of courts) into their strategic plan, it basically rules out the existing tennis club.

“If it's mandated by the council that they don't support it, then what happens is, at any time we wanted to apply for a federal or state government grant or even for council assistance, we're not able to do that because the master plan has it written into it that basically the tennis club is unsupported and is planned to be removed and relocated at some stage.

“Going forward, if they don't actually ever get the money to do this project … anything that is applied for or needed for the Gardens Tennis Club to actually stay open will be unsupported by both the council and the state government.

“It means we can't apply for any grants and we can't keep that facility going now, essentially.”

With the BGTC currently supported by member funds, Levy said it would be irresponsible of the club to continue to maintain the facility in the short to medium term given there is no set date for the club’s removal or relocation.

He said that essentially, if the proposed removal of the six hard courts as presented in the draft is included in the final master plan, it will condemn the club, despite it being an aspirational project that is yet to see any timeline or funding.

“Council doesn't pay for the tennis club, the membership and the users pay for the maintenance of both the (six hard courts) and the clubrooms,” he said.

“There's actually almost no funding coming from the rate payer or the council to keep that property maintained, but we would be negligent to our members to keep those courts maintained and upgraded.

“We resurfaced courts five and six in 2021, we paid $26,000 in the end once everything was finished.

“If we were to do that to courts one and two now and use the membership money, which is our club's money, and then in two years' time they bring the bulldozer and the excavators in, and they rip up those courts, we’ve essentially wasted our members' money, keeping those courts maintained on behalf of the community.”

BGTC put forward its own alternative proposal, which included converting two of the existing hard courts into a beach volleyball and pickleball facility, which the club contends would save a considerable amount of ratepayer money, however, the report concluded this suggestion was “an indicator of reduced demand for tennis at this location”.

The club also said the report was incorrect in identifying the existing courts as in poor condition and too far from the Australian standard to be upgraded.

Having consulted Tennis Victoria, Levy said it found the courts were “in better condition than most regional courts in Victoria’’.

“We actually upgraded two of our courts in 2019 to meet the standard, which was to do with runoff, basically,” Levy said.

“The courts had grass too close to the plexi-paved surface, so they didn't meet the standard.

“We extended each end of courts one and two by 3m and they are now within about one per cent of meeting the Australian standard.

“I think (the only issue that remains) is one of the light poles is inside the fence line, but it's 5.9m from the back of the court and it's supposed to be, according to the Australian standard, 6m from the back of the court.

“We are very capable of upgrading those facilities, if we had support, to the Australian standard.”

Public feedback on the draft masterplans closes on Wednesday, July 22 at 5pm.

“Our last alternative is to appeal to councillors,” Levy said.

“What we need to understand is councillors haven't formed this strategic plan, it has been formed on behalf of the councillors, and will be presented to the councillors to vote upon whether they approve that plan going forward.

“At this stage we've got the opportunity, if the public feels strongly enough about it being a fiscal concern or being a historical concern or any of those things, we have one avenue left and that is to appeal to councillors to ask the advisory committee to alter their existing plan.

“It’s a draft master plan at this point in time and they can amend the current draft plan before it loses that draft title and becomes an actual master plan.”

Levy also added that while BGTC opposed the current proposal, it acknowledged the efforts the council make in trying to benefit the entire community and hoped they could work collaboratively to find the best solution.

“It's a positive thing, we don't want people going out there bashing the council,” he said.

“We really want to help the council come up with the best possible outcomes for the community.”

Benalla Rural City Council chief executive officer Peter Keane said council welcomed feedback from community members and sporting groups as part of the current public exhibition of council's draft Recreation Reserve Masterplans 2026-2036.

Council has engaged directly with clubs and organisations that currently use the recreation reserves inviting them to provide feedback and share their perspectives on future facility needs.

"As of Monday morning, the project has had 1700 views on the Have Your Say Benalla website, with more than 120 submissions made so far," Keane said.

"This is a fantastic response and a great example of why it is important for council to seek the community's input when planning for the future.

“The community consultation process ensures all views are heard and carefully considered before any decisions are made.’’

Submissions close at 5pm on Wednesday, July 22.

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Tuesday, 22nd February 2028

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