Recreation and Aquatic Facility update

The City has been developing a business plan and model to meet the long-standing community demand for a public swimming pool for the residents and ratepayers of the City of South Perth over a number of years.

The prerequisite for the proposed Recreation and Aquatic Facility (RAF) has always been, and will continue to be that it is economically viable and financially self-sustainable now and into the future.

Conventional swimming pools can require ongoing financial subsidy. In developing the RAF business model, the City identified that the integration of the facilities available at the RAF and a contemporary operating model offered the best way to achieve financial sustainability.

A combination of aquatics, fitness, recreation, education and wellness will provide a world class facility for residents of the City and surrounding area. The 27 hole golf course will be complemented by a state of the art driving range, a climbing wall, aquatics, sports courts, a gym, health club and restaurant.

The RAF will provide accommodation for state sporting associations, peak swimming and aquatic bodies, sport education and community groups. There are also opportunities for education, research and work-integrated learning.  

A WA first, the RAF is a unique model that combines sporting facilities with research and education programs providing for integrated learning and the delivery of preventive health care. The integrated approach increases the potential to attract external funding and provides economies of scale in service provision, capital cost and ongoing operational costs.

A key feature of the RAF Business Model is that the operator will be required to make contributions to a sinking fund, significantly reducing the maintenance burden on the City. Importantly, the RAF business model demonstrates a financial return to the City after all expenditure is taken into account.

The RAF is the most significant project undertaken by the City and a project of this scale requires excellence in project planning. As noted in an independent review by Deloitte in February 2021, the City has undertaken a comprehensive planning process that has identified no ‘fundamental flaws’.

More than half the funding for the project has been committed and the City continues to work to secure the remainder of the funding with a number of potential project partners, including the State Government.

At the August Ordinary Council meeting, Council will consider commencement of the Concept and Schematic Design stages along with the procurement for naming rights. These important steps will provide additional financial certainty by further testing the business model, providing more detail about project costs, as well as ensuring the RAF project remains on schedule.

The Council meeting will take place on Tuesday 24 August at 6pm.

For further information about the RAF project, visit the project page on the City’s website.