General News
19 June, 2025
Hope remains for new cue sports facility
A REQUEST by two sporting organisations for Tablelands Regional Council to provide a greenfield site to build a new facility was enough to convince councillors to task officers with trying to find the clubs a new home.
Tablelands Cue Sports’ Drew Parker spoke on behalf of his club and the Malanda Billiards Club at council’s recent meeting in a bid to convince them to allow the organisation to construct a dedicated building that could better accommodate their future plans.
In a report to council, officers recommended the request for a greenfield site be refused, citing the council’s “surplus community assets” and the “poor utilisation” of them as to why constructing a new building was “not a sustainable option at this time” and “not in the public interest”.
“The construction of new, ad hoc community facilities, even if externally funded, does not align with council’s adopted Community Facilities Strategy, which favours multi-purpose, inclusive community hubs,” the report stated.
Mr Parker questioned the report, saying that for councillors “to make the best decisions, you clearly need to be adequately informed”.
There was no cost benefit analysis so councillors would be unable to understand what benefits a new facility would bring to the community including engaging disadvantaged youth, he said.
“After over 90 years in a community-funded facility we find ourselves homeless without so much as a discussion,” Mr Parker said.
“(The report’s) recommendation doesn’t support a greenfield site, because of a misalignment with council’s direction and, critically, it would add to the TRC asset liability.
“But is that liability a total handbrake that stops all development within the TRC footprint?
“There has been no single investment by council for recreational facilities for older members of the community in the past 5-10 years.”
He said cue sports, which included snooker, billiards and pool, were growing in popularity, and State organisations had even suggested they may relocate one of their competitions to a regional area like Atherton if an appropriate facility was available.
The two clubs wanted to expand their engagement of youth to create positive inter-generational interaction, he said.
“The Billiards Club is celebrating its 100 anniversary and TCS currently functions out of licensed premises, so we can’t take school kids in there, it’s an environment that is restricted to what we want to do,” Mr Parker said.
Deputy Mayor Dave Bilney supported the organisation’s desire for a better facility and urged officers to keep working with TCS on identifying a greenfield site or adapting an existing facility.
“I note that there is a growing membership which is currently capped due to capacity constraints,” he said.
“With the provision of a dedicated facility, whether it is purpose built or adapted at an existing site, there is clear potential for further expansion and enhancement to their community offering.
“It is well understood that council holds a number of ageing and underutilised assets and that rationalisation is necessary. That said, we should not close our minds to the opportunities that community-led projects like this present.
“When was the last time council invested in a facility that specifically supported our ageing, our disadvantaged or socially isolated residents?
“While we readily support assets such as playgrounds for our younger demographics, there remains a significant gap in provision for other segments of our community.
“Financial implications costs must be considered but we must also weigh the significance the social value that such a facility would deliver.”
He put forward an alternative motion for council officers to work with TCS to look at existing facilities and possible greenfield sites where a new building could be established.
Cr Kevin Cardew backed the motion, saying he had changed his mind about refusing the club a greenfield site after hearing Mr Parker’s presentation.
He stressed that officers should be clear about what council was asking – to consider existing buildings and greenfield sites simultaneously.
Council voted that officers should continue to work with TCS on finding a new venue or new site.
