The recommendation will be brought to council at the Strategy and Assets Committee meeting on Tuesday.

In March 2017, original applicant Motorsports NSW abandoned their plans to build a motor sports complex at Yerriyong because of the discovery of rare protected orchids on the site.

Read more: Motorcycling NSW abandons plan for track at Yerriyong

Devastated by Motorsports NSW's (MNSW) decision to abandon the plans, some locals formed South Coast Motorsports Inc to continue fighting for the track, in consultation with Shoalhaven Councillors Jo Gash and Greg Watson.

In October 2017, council resolved to submit their own Yerriyong motor sports complex DA and seek funding from the state and federal government for the fifty hectare site.

In preparing a DA, a series of studies were undertaken, mainly to deal with the environmental issues of Flora and Fauna as required under the Biodiversity Conservation Act (BCA). Surveys were conducted in autumn and spring of 2018, 2019, 2020 and in Autumn of 2021.

Read more: Yerriyong motorsports park plans revived

A bushfire in May scorched the earth on the site and the following spring saw little rainfall.

Surveys in 2020 identified additional orchids within the area which was known to have them but botanists contracted by the council reported changes in the local ecosystem because of a confluence of conditions including scorched earth, little rain and lack of a tree canopy; findings that are consistent with other bushfire affected areas.

In April and May of this year, with the same conditions present at the site, additional orchids were reported and the environmental consultant concluded that the restrictions needed to protect the orchids would not allow for a motor racing circuit to be located on the 50 hectare site.

As of the end of June 2021, council had expended or committed to $230,000 in costs.

The advisory group South Coast Motor Sports Club Inc have indicated they wish to have the possibility open to investigate an alternate site for a Shoalhaven motor sports facility.

Read more: Watson wants employment lands exempt from biodiversity offsets

Greens councillor John Levett said council took on this DA with no real prospect of it succeeding and with no support from any private investor.

"[The council] set aside $300,000 of ratepayers money and spent [$230,000 of it] ... so they basically burnt [$230,000] of ratepayers money," he said.

Shoalhaven Independents councillor Greg Watson said the real issue was the over the top environmental legislation which prevents development in the Shoalhaven that will generate jobs.

"It's all this green driven over the top legislation," he said.

"We've gone over the top with respect to listing so called endangered species. Quite often the native ones you won't see for six or seven years and then you get a dry or wet period and they'll suddenly pop their heads up again.

"And exactly the same issues are being confronted within our industrial zoned land.

Now I'll give you an example, [a Shoalhaven business owner] wanted to create a development in an industrially zoned area and the [state government biodiversity offsets] were going to cost $1.5 million which was more that the amount he paid for the land."

If a majority of councillors vote in favour of the recommendation to scrap the DA, council staff will continue to find a suitable site.