Newcastle councillors are poised to consider the Newcastle Knights' application to build a new training centre at Broadmeadow after two days of talks aimed at overcoming an impasse with the adjacent rescue helicopter service.
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The Land and Environment Court granted Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service an injunction this week to stop the council voting on the Knights' $18 million centre of excellence at District Park.
The court directed the parties to hold conciliation talks this week, and the Newcastle Herald has been told the rescue service and the Knights have resolved their differences. The court will reconvene on Tuesday to decide whether to lift the injunction in time for the council meeting that night.
The rescue service wrote to the council in July objecting to the rugby league training centre, which includes a two-storey building, playing fields, floodlights and parking for 139 cars.
The centre of excellence would be next door to the service's maintenance base for the four AW139 aircraft it uses for medical emergency flights and search-and-rescue missions.
The service argued that the Knights centre would make crucial post-maintenance "hover checks" impossible and affect aircraft movements due to the increased number of people in the area.
The sports centre could have "serious implications" for the rescue service's contractual obligations to NSW Ambulance Service, it said.
The rescue service was also concerned about dust affecting helicopter engines during construction of the training centre.
It is understood some of those issues remained unresolved this week, which led the rescue service to seek the injunction on Tuesday.
Neither rescue service boss Richard Jones nor Knights chief Phil Gardner would comment on Friday about the outcome of the talks.
A source close to the talks said the matter would go "back to council next week".
The Knights amended the plans for the new headquarters to minimise their effect on the helicopter base, including removing floodlights at the northern end of the training fields, altering a car park and design tweaks to the proposed building.
The centre of excellence is being jointly funded by the Knights and the NSW government.
Mr Gardner said in June that the club hoped to move into District Park on November 1 next year.