Bell Yett Reserve, Wattle Park

Community Engagement - 24 July - 14 August 2015

Council seeks to partner with St Peter’s Girls’ School to undertake improvements to Bell Yett Reserve that include capital upgrades to the car park and maintenance of the playing field, funded by the School, while ensuring the facilities remain available for use by the community.

What is happening?

St Peter’s Girls’ School has proposed to invest in redeveloping the public car park off Stonyfell Road and in return maintain, at their cost, the Bell Yett Reserve playing field and multi-purpose courts. Council seeks to partner with the School to realise this opportunity which will benefit the community.

Proposed improvements

The School has proposed to fund a large capital upgrade and to expand the existing public car park. The expanded car park will feature permeable paving and landscaping with no trees removed as part of the development (subject to arborist reports).

St Peter’s Girls' School will also maintain and improve the playing field and multi-purpose courts, covering all maintenance costs and excess water costs and ensuring that the field remains available for use by the community.

Below: Artists' impression of the expanded and improved public car park off Stonyfell Drive, Wattle Park.

Formal agreements

Council seeks to enter into a licence agreement with an initial term of seven (7) years, with two renewal terms of seven (7) years each, with St Peter’s Girls’ School to allow the School to continue their shared access to the public car park located on Stonyfell Road.

The car park will be available for community use and not used exclusively by the school.

Informal agreements have been in place for the past 10 years in relation to the use of Bell Yett Reserve courts. To formalise these agreements Council intends to enter into a five (5) year agreement to allow the School to continue the exclusive use of the courts, at prescribed times, with the courts available to the community at all other times.

The licences will formalise the existing agreement that allows St Peter's Girls' School:

• Exclusive use of the Bell Yett Reserve courts during the school terms for a period of 5 years as follows: Monday to Friday 7 am - 8.30 am and 3.30 pm - 5 pm; Saturday 7 am - 12 noon.
• Non-exclusive use of the playing field.
• Exclusive use of the onsite storage shed.

Feedback

Council consulted with the community to:

• ask if the upgrade and expansion of the car park was acceptable to them.
• ask if the issuing of the licence agreements, and the conditions of the agreements, were acceptable.

Consulting with the community ensured that the community had the opportunity to advise Council in their decision-making on this proposal.

I need more information

Please contact Barry Cant on 8366 4223 or email at bcant@burnside.sa.gov.au, or email James Brennan at jbrennan@burnside.sa.gov.au.

Council plans to fund upgrades to the Bell Yett Reserve toilet facilities, the playground and the associated landscaping.

You will receive more information about these changes in the coming year.

Below: Aerial view of Bell Yett Reserve indicating the existing and proposed expansion of the public car park.