CASTLEMAINE residents have lost their battle to block 65 new poker machines in their central Victorian town after the gambling regulator approved an application to build a sports club in an old railway shed.
The Maryborough Highland Society bought 65 machines at the 2010 state pokies licence auction and applied to develop old railway buildings in Castlemaine - owned by the state government - into a sports and community club.
The proposal met community opposition with the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation receiving 574 submissions, all against it. The Mount Alexander Shire Council also resolved to oppose it.
Advertisement: Story continues below Yesterday the commission approved the application on the grounds that the social and economic benefits outweighed the negative social impact.
Castlemaine is a popular ''tree-change'' destination but the commission said it did not believe the character of the town would change ''appreciably'' because of the development.
The commission accepts there will be an increase of gaming expenditure in the shire. The town already has one pokies venue, the Cumberland Hotel, where $3.4 million was spent on 30 machines last financial year.
The president of the group Enough Pokies in Castlemaine, David Stretch, said the decision was ''devastating''.
''This case was a litmus test for whether the commission will listen to communities. Castlemaine has spoken louder than any other community before it, and still the commission wants to let more pokies in.''
Mr Stretch vowed to keep fighting, taking inspiration from the Romsey community that took five years to keep pokies out of their town. He called on the local council to appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
But mayor Janet Cropley said it was beyond the financial means of the council to mount a challenge with VCAT. Any appeal must be lodged within 28 days.
Ms Cropley was disappointed but said the state government was dependent on gaming revenue and the application was for state land, over which a 2006 council decision to have no more pokies in the Castlemaine CBD had no binding power.
The society's general manager, Malcolm Blandthorn, said he was pleased with the ruling, but was anticipating a VCAT challenge.
''This is one stepping stone towards building a venue for the Castlemaine community,'' Mr Blandthorn said. ''As a not-for-profit we are trying to capture the gaming revenue and reinvestment in the community.'' The society operates 80 machines in Maryborough and Kyneton.
THE AGE
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