A multimillion dollar upgrade to the Beaudesert Racecourse is about to begin and the much-anticipated trail bike riding park at Wyaralong is just weeks away from opening.

While the racecourse upgrade which is about to start falls well short of the club’s overall plans - not due to any fault on the club’s part - the $7.27m injection will allow the club to host TAB and non-TAB race meetings.

This will be made possible through improvements to the track and supporting infrastructure such as fencing, training and holding areas.

This is great news for the Scenic Rim, which given its proximity to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, as well as the number of equine enthusiasts locally, deserves to have a quality horse racing facility.

Meanwhile, the trail bike park being constructed at Wyaralong is said to be just two months away from opening.

Once complete, the park will include three motocross tracks, a freestyle area and pee wee tracks, ensuring the facility caters for riders of all ages.

Trail bike riding in rural residential areas has long been a problem and if this new park can draw some of those riders to it, it will be a win not only for the neighbours of the riders but also the Scenic Rim.

Hundreds of trail bike riders visiting the Scenic Rim each weekend are sure to inject much-needed stimulus into the local economy.

The completion of work being done on these two facilities cannot come soon enough.

The RSPCA recorded more than 14,500 complaints across Qld last year, with 47 of those in Beaudesert.

When assessed against the statewide figure, 47 is relatively minor, but when looked at alongside other Scenic Rim towns, the statistic for Beaudesert stands well above any other local community.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty says there could be a range of factors contributing to the number of cruelty cases locally, including an increase in population density.

He says what is more alarming than the raw figure itself is the types of cruelty cases being reported.

It seems in some areas of Beaudesert that hobby farmers who dream of a life on the land with a few animals are failing to take animal keeping seriously.

Keeping any kind of animal comes with a responsibility to ensure it is safe and not subjected to any unnecessary pain.

With so much information just a click of the mouse away these days, there is absolutely no excuse for cruelty to animals.

Earlier this year, the non-profit community group celebrated its 95th anniversary but after yesterday’s ordinary council meeting it now appears unlikely the group will reach its 96th.

Council has decided to try and recover about $36,000 in costs it shelled out after the association lodged an appeal in the Planning and Environment Court relating to a controversial residential development on the mountain.

The question of whether council should seek to recover the costs is an interesting one - with council arguing that by seeking costs it is attempting to ensure ratepayers do not foot the bill for actions brought on by the association.

That’s all well and good on the one hand but on the other surely the council knows there is next to no chance the association will have the money, with the more realistic outcome expected to be that the association simply declares itself bankrupt and folds.

The association and its members have known since losing the appeal that this would likely be the situation they would face and clearly, as evidenced by the fact that a new group has already been started on the mountain, preparations for this outcome have been undertaken.

Even knowing this, council remains poised to drive a stake through the heart of a non-profit community organisation, funded by ratepayers, which has served residents of Tamborine Mountain for the better part of a century.

There is no question council is legally within its rights to seek to recover its costs but taking a non-profit group with no funds to task over $36,000 - which seems to pale into insignificance to the $6.6m council will borrow for the Beaudesert CBD - is not a great look for a council already struggling to win support in the community.

Since local government amalgamations in March 2008, this council has suffered time and again from a perception that it has no desire to engage compassionately with its ratepayers.

It has allowed itself to be seen as an Ivory Tower of sorts, with many residents viewing it as reluctant to listen, unwilling to admit its faults and disinterested in the pressures facing everyday people.

The fact that almost 4500 residents signed a petition calling on council to drop its plans for a new library in Beaudesert, coupled with the disaster that has been council’s attempt to sell the project to the community, should clearly indicate more work is needed in the area of community engagement.

As the debate about the Beaudesert CBD revitalisation has taken place over the past few months, at times there has been comments about the legacy such a project will leave.

Some say the current crop of councillors will be seen as visionaries in 20 years time and applauded as such, while others argue increased rates due to unnecessary borrowing will be the legacy.

It will take some time before the truth of those predictions is known, however it appears it will not be long before we find out if one legacy of this current group of councillors is the death of the Tamborine Mountain Progress Association.

THERE was a bit of celebration this week among several of the region’s elected representatives.

The celebrations came on the back of a five minute speech in Parliament last Thursday by Health Minister and Deputy Premier Paul Lucas about Beaudesert Hospital.

Mr Lucas dedicated his entire time to talking about his visit a couple of weeks ago to the hospital and how impressed he was with the community’s push for birthing services to be restored.

He said the State Government was “asbolutely committed” to returning birthing services to the hospital as soon as possible. Unfortunately though, he stopped short of actually providing a time frame by which those services would be restored.

Most local representatives however, agree that the speech by the Minister is a good sign that finally the pressure being applied by the community is starting to pay off.

Hopefully Mr Lucas makes good on his commitment and restores some form of birthing services to the hospital sooner rather than later.

Sad to see Lead On fold

IT is sad to see local youth support organisation Lead On make the tough decision to fold.

Lead On made several significant contributions to the community during its time.

Tributes must be paid to all who held the position of Lead On manager, members of the steering committee and youth advisory board, and all those young people who took advantage of Lead On’s programs while they were up and running.

Beaudesert, like many other regional towns, is often criticised for not providing enough stimulation for young people.

The loss of Lead On is no doubt a step backward in this regard. Hopefully the void it leaves can be filled in some way.