IT seems almost everyone is tired of seeing the old Batemans Bay Bowling Club sitting empty and abandoned.
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Who in the shire has not driven past on the Princes Highway and wondered when something would be announced regarding the site’s future?
That query would not be confined to residents.
Regular visitors and passersby must, by now, also be wondering when such a prime site will be brought back into use.
Like the forever-broken clock in the Moruya CBD, the abandoned site carries the whiff of a ghost town.
We don’t yet have tumbleweed rolling down the highway, but the effect of such a visible, large site, sitting empty for so long, sends all the wrong messages - even if passersby are ignorant of the recent troubled history of the site and of the bitterness that surrounded the bowling club’s decline and closure.
Many people have suggested future uses for the site, with or without its current building.
Those who want a heated swimming pool for Batemans Bay easily envisage one there, to complement the existing outdoor pool.
A water sports and indoor sports centre would sit well with the existing sporting fields and would present a healthy gateway to the many visitors who travel here throughout the year.
Likewise, those keen on the performing and visual arts can imagine a cultural precinct.
Foodies can see an all-weather market to rival the success of Moruya’s Tuesday SAGE Farmers Market and the Saturday Country Market – both tourist drawcards.
Or how about a bowling club?
Eurobodalla Shire Council yesterday, for the first time, confirmed it had made an offer to buy the clubhouse back from Club Catalina – but would not reveal the price.
Club Catalina is entitled to get the best price possible – but does not have a moral entitlement to leave the gateway to our shire sitting empty and unused forever.
The club’s directors and management are embattled, as stories in this and recent issues show, but have shown little desire to speak to the Bay Post/
Moruya Examiner, despite repeated calls.
Just like the bowling club site, ignoring a problem, does not make it go away.