Recreation and Aquatic Facility a step closer for the community

The City of South Perth is seeking community and stakeholder input for a proposed world class regional health, fitness and recreation facility to be located at Collier Park Golf Course in South Perth.

The Recreation and Aquatic Facility (RAF) will provide the swimming pool that the local community have long been asking for, along with a hydrotherapy pool, 6-8 indoor sports courts, a climbing wall, gym, high tech golf driving range, mini golf, meeting and function rooms, a café and restaurant.

The RAF will set a new benchmark as a word class facility, catering to the City of South Perth community and surrounding area, from families to students, couples and seniors. It will be a socially inclusive one stop destination.

It will be home to community sport and recreation and a centre for health related research, education and training programs.

The RAF will integrate with the existing 18 hole golf course and provide improved, sustainable golf options catering for the emerging trend towards shorter and alternative format golf, including a 9 hole short course, a high tech double storey golf driving range with food and beverage facilities, mini-golf and a pro-shop.

The strong community desire for an aquatic centre, a general lack of adequate indoor sporting facilities in the area and the need to consider and plan for the ongoing viability and long-term use of a number of ageing community facilities has led the City of South Perth to initiate the RAF project.

The Federal Government has already committed $20 million towards the project in recognition of the importance of such a facility for the region. Funding discussions with a number of sporting bodies, associations and the education sector also indicate strong support for the RAF.

Collier Park Golf Course has been chosen because of its central and highly accessible location, including the proximity to public transport, namely the Curtin central bus station.

Integrating a pool with a number of other facilities increases the potential to attract government and private sector funding and makes the facility a more financially viable proposition.

City of South Perth Mayor Greg Milner said for many years our local community has been asking for a swimming pool in the area.

“This is the single biggest community infrastructure project that the City has considered undertaking in recent years. For Council to make an informed decision about the project, we need to properly understand the level of stakeholder and community interest and support for the RAF,” Mayor Milner said.

“The City is currently conducting community and stakeholder consultation on the RAF. I strongly encourage everyone in the City to attend the information sessions, take part in the survey and have their say.

“The City’s project team is now working on the development of a business case, which will be presented to Council in October, when they will make a decision about the direction of the project,” Mayor Milner said.

The RAF project has grown from the City’s Strategic Community Plan 2020-2030 (SCP). A key strategy of the SCP is to plan for and promote the development of recreation and aquatic facilities to service City of South Perth needs.

The City invites the local community and residents from neighbouring local governments the Town of Victoria Park and the City of Canning to provide their feedback on the RAF.

A community information day will provide the chance to speak with the RAF project team between 10am and 2pm, Saturday 12 September at South Perth Community Hall. An online community workshop will also be held from 6.30-8pm, Wednesday 16 September.

For more information, to register for the online workshop or take part in the survey, visit Your Say South Perth. Paper copies of the survey are also available from the Civic Centre and South Perth and Manning libraries. Consultation closes 4pm, Wednesday 23 September.