The acting lord mayor of Newcastle has warned Wollongong that the disruption from a V8 Supercars street race extends well beyond the race weekend, with road closures lasting several weeks for setup and pack-down. Newcastle deputy mayor Charlotte McCabe, who has been acting mayor since Ross Kerridge stepped down in October 2025, said residents faced significant access issues for extended periods.
“From the Newcastle experience it was highly disruptive for our residents,” Greens councillor McCabe said. “People should be aware that it’s not just for the race, which goes for two or three days – that the set-up is more like a six-week-long process. That is obviously very, very disruptive for people – you have to walk in to your residence, not able to drive in for extended weeks of weeks of time, which obviously has really significant access issues for people.”
Wollongong City Council has held “high-level” talks with Supercars organisers over a potential street race around North Wollongong and Flagstaff Hill. Newcastle hosted the Supercars annually from 2017 to 2019, and in 2023, on a circuit around the city’s east end. The event became highly divisive due to the impact on residents during setup and removal of track infrastructure, and during the race weekend. Newcastle city council voted in 2023 not to have the Supercars back after a survey found a majority of residents opposed their return.
McCabe highlighted the large concrete barriers installed weeks before the race, placed directly in front of people’s homes, about one metre away, preventing vehicle access. Residents had to park outside the track area and walk behind the barriers for weeks. She said the promised benefits for local businesses were underwhelming, as many people avoided the city due to access difficulties. “The impact on local businesses for us was also very, very high, and were never able to demonstrate with a proper cost-benefit analysis, the impact it was having on our local businesses,” she said. “Supercars bring in their own food and beverage outlets inside their fenced-off area, and they are the businesses that benefit, not the local businesses.”
McCabe advised Wollongong to consult residents and businesses with realistic information about the disruption length. “Those households and those businesses should be very, very closely consulted about the amount of time that the track will be established right in front of their homes and businesses,” she said. “Really, if those people aren’t supportive, and I don’t think it’s fair for the rest of the city to inflict that on them.” The issue was before Newcastle council again on March 10 this year, but the council voted not to welcome the event back and instead supported a “Wine Country 500” near Cessnock.
