Glenunga Reserve Master Plan Consultation

To gauge the community’s and user group’s thoughts, suggestions and general reaction to the draft Master Plan, Council prepared and delivered a city-wide community engagement. An Open Day was also held at the Glenunga Reserve in November 2012.

The overarching summary of the responses were:

• In general the Community Hub facility gained strong support for development in accordance with the options presented by Council;
• Of those responses, matters of concern were primarily the overall cost of the project and the potential visual impact on the landscape.

Based on the community feedback, Council revised the Concept Master Plan in terms of reducing the scale and cost, minimising the building floor plan and impact on the landscape and removing proposed services that were not deemed necessary (café, gym facilities and traffic calming measures on L’Estrange Street). This revised Master Plan was available for further community engagement with the results considered by Council in July 2013.

Council endorsed the development of the entire Community Hub facility, as one project (rather than staged) and that the building design be a low level, one storey facility, that is designed in sympathy to its parkland setting.

Among both telephone and feedback from respondents there were three key elements of the draft Master Plan which received relatively strong support.\

The three key elements include:

• Building new clubrooms and improving sporting fields to cater for existing sporting groups;
• Building a new community centre for multi-purpose community use for all age groups, from young people to senior citizens;
• Improving recreational and visual amenity of the reserve with new picnic and BBQ facilities, access paths, public toilets, lighting and car parking.

The revised Glenunga Reserve Community Hub Project Plan was endorsed at the Council Meeting, held 23 July 2014. The vision is for a centralised ‘all-in-one’ facility at the site; that can act as a true community hub.

The proposal includes:

• Undertaking priority works on the sporting fields to install new drainage and irrigation systems for all users;
• Building new clubrooms and improving sporting fields to cater for existing and possibly new sporting groups;
• Building a new multi-purpose community centre for all age groups, from young people to senior citizens; and
• Improving recreational and visual amenity of the reserve with new picnic and BBQ facilities, access paths, public toilets, lighting and car parking.

The capital project is estimated at $5 million and, depending upon future deliberations by Council, work may commence on the reserve irrigation and drainage later this year. Building works are proposed to commence in 2014 and completed in 2015.

The final proposal will be provided once Council has endorsed the final project plan, expected in July 2013.

The estimated total cost of the project is in the vicinity of $5 million. JAC Comrie Pty Ltd was engaged by the City ofBurnsideto provide a Prudential Report concerning Council’s proposal for the Glenunga Reserve.

The Local Government Act, 1999 requires a Council to prepare and consider a prudential report before proceeding with projects of such value, therefore following this community consultation, Council will be presented with a final Prudential Review Report based on estimated costs in accordance with Council’s decision.

This prudential review has tested the reasonableness of the assumptions and analysis underpinning the proposal and found them to be appropriate. Council has the capacity to fund the project and can afford to do so even if adverse events happen in future.

The financial risk associated with the project is minor. It is manageable in the context of Council’s future projected financial position and performance. Council’s current and projected future financial position and performance indicates it could accommodate the proposal without impact on its financial sustainability or future revenue-raising and/or service level decisions.