By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Geelong needs up to $81 million in new sport facilities to cope with population growth, a council investigation has found.
Between $28 million and $30 million of the total is high-priority, according to the investigation.
The results come two months after council was forced to abandon its controversial annual ward funding scheme and redirect its $7.2 million into city-centre projects. The system’s supporters said it provided Geelong with the best sport and community facilities in regional Australia.
But now the Geelong indoor recreation facilities strategy has identified a shortage of indoor courts, with the gap to increase as the population grows.
The study said City of Greater Geelong, had 46 full or large-size courts but only 34 were available to the community.
Geelong had the fewest useable courts per capita compared to other regional councils including Frankston, Bendigo and Ballarat.
The strategy said the region faced “a number of major challenges” in providing indoor facilities.
Solutions included increasing use at existing centres, opening access to facilities currently disallowing community use and planning to build eight to 10 courts by 2018 and a further 10 by 2031.
The strategy recommended a new eight to 10-court regional centre at Brearley Reserve, Marshall, to meet facility gaps and population growth in Geelong’s south.
Another four courts were needed at Corio’s Leisuretime Centre, along with new amenities to meet population growth in the northern suburbs.
The strategy proposed new courts for Bellarine Aquatic and Sports Centre and Drysdale Secondary College to meet population growth on the peninsula.
Further facilities at Armstrong Creek Precincts and Lara West would be needed as development progressed, the strategy said.
The region also needed medium-priority facilities worth up to $28 million and low-priority facilities of around $23 million.
Council sport and recreation portfolio-holder Jock Irvine said it was disappointing school facilities were often locked up outside school hours.
Cr Irvine said the new indoor facilities would be truly multi-purpose, with LED-light systems marking out courts to replace a confusing existing combination of painted lines.
Council would “put funding pressure” on state and federal governments to back commitments on increasing community health and fitness, he said.
