THE Bendigo Gliding Club could lure tourists to Bendigo by creating a new runway in Raywood.
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It has told City of Greater Bendigo town planners that more glider pilots are contacting the club about memberships because their airstrip is increasingly used for high-powered aircraft training flights.
"However, the lack of a formal east/west runway at Raywood has been a disincentive for potential members who are not experienced in undertaking cross-wind take-offs and landings," the club said.
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The application comes as the council and business groups lobby for a separate upgrade to Bendigo Airport in part to try to attract tourists.
The council has lined up funding from both its pockets and those of the state government but is yet to secure federal money.
It is lobbying the Australian government and applying for national grants but has so far been unsuccessful.
The pandemic has added urgency to the push for upgrades as the council and businesses try to rebuild a battered tourist industry and as a new Sydney outbreak forces Qantas to reconsider flights directly into Australia's most populous city.
The gliding club's plans would not be an alternative Bendigo Airport upgrades but the group does believe a new Raywood runway would draw in people from metropolitan areas.
"BGC is confident that the establishment of a formal east/west runway will result in an influx of new members from the Melbourne area, who will require local accommodation and supplies, providing direct and indirect economic benefits for Raywood and the Bendigo region."
The club already has a north/south runway near Raywood's Borough Road which gliders have been using since 1991.
It says the new runway would be built in a paddock and would not force a farmer's stock out.
"It is in BGC's interests to maintain good pasture cover on the runway (to minimise dust during aerotow launches)," the club said.
"Ongoing grazing, when the runway is not in use, will maintain pasture at a safe height for gliding operations and reduce the need for any supplementary mowing to an absolute minimum."
Bendigo's city planners are considering the application and are expected to make a decision at a later date.
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