An artist’s impression of the proposed Poplars club. Image: Benson McCormack Architecture.
A frustrated and anxious Jerrabomberra community remains in the dark about the grounds for Vikings’ appeal to the NSW Land and Environment Court in a bid to resurrect its proposal for a new $36 million club with 150 poker machines in the Poplars Precinct.
The Southern Regional Planning Panel knocked back the proposal last July, saying that the net benefits of the club to the community did not outweigh the anticipated harm.
“The proposal, due to the nature and scale of use as a registered club, would lead to social impacts in the categories of the way of life and community,” the decision stated.
“The mitigation measures proposed do not overcome unacceptable social impacts, nor ensure the public interest remains intact.”
The appeal was made public just before Christmas when Queanbeyan and Palerang Council, which opposed the proposal, confirmed to community members that it had been lodged.
But council had been aware of the appeal since 5 December when general manager Rebeccca Ryan emailed the Mayor and councillors.
The email said Vikings had lodged its appeal on 18 November and council had been notified on 4 December.
As a Class 1 Appeal, Vikings was seeking the court to consider the application afresh, with the matter first listed on 2 February, Ms Ryan said.
It falls to QPRC to defend the planning panel’s decision and it has engaged a legal team.
This week, council said it was still unaware of the grounds of the appeal or the statement of contentions. Vikings has not responded to a Region enquiry about the appeal.
Jerrabomberra Residents Association president Margot Sachse said this was uncharted territory for the community and it would not know how to respond until it knew the grounds for the appeal.
Ms Sachse said more would be known when council presented a paper later in the month.
She said it was an emotionally draining experience for the community, particularly those living near the site who had hoped to put the club proposal behind them.
“It’s horrendous, everyone wants closure so they can move on and get on with their lives,” she said.
“Now, it’s back into the land of uncertainty and God knows how long this next step will take.”
The Class 1 appeal includes a mediation component but Ms Sachse did not see anything to mediate.
“We have always said that it’s too big, it’s too close to homes, trades too late and it’s got too many poker machines,” she said.
“So, nothing’s changed when it comes to the four things.”
Ms Sachse said a new report from Liquor and Gaming NSW vindicated the community’s concern.
It found a record $2.45 billion was lost by NSW communities alone in just the 92 days of the third quarter of 2025.
Total gaming machine profits surged 7.8 per cent in just one quarter and nearly nine per cent in the last year.
“How much more evidence do you need about the impact on the community,” she said.
“Our position has always been that we understand that there are members of our community that enjoy going to clubs and enjoy the facilities that they provide, but we don’t believe 150 poker machines is an appropriate number of machines to be put in on the doorstep of our community, considering what we know about the impact of them.”
