piac feasibility study report march 2011

8/7/2019 PIAC Feasibility Study Report March 2011

1/53

Phillip Island Aquatic CentreFeasibility Study

PHILLIP ISLAND

AQUATIC CENTRE COMMITTEENOVEMBER 2010

Sport and Leisure SolutionsPh. [email protected]. www.sportandleisure.net.auSPORTAND LEISURE SOLUTIONS 2010
mailto:[email protected]://www.sportandleisure.net.au/http://www.sportandleisure.net.au/mailto:[email protected]


2/53

Phillip Island Aqua tic Centre Feasib ility Study Sport & Leisure Solutions 2010

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 PROJECT OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Ba c kg ro und ............................................. .................................................. ............................ 3

1.2 Pro jec t ob jec t ives........................................... .................................................. ................... 3

2 PROJECT OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................... 4

3 CONSULTATION AND DEMAND ASSESSMENT........................................................................ 5

3.1 COMMUNITY SURVEY.............................................. .................................................... ......... 5

3.1.1 Introd uction and purpose ............................................................................................................. 5

3.1.2 Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 5

3.1.3 Key Findings and Implica tions..................................................................................................... 6

3.1.4 Summa ry of c omm unity co nsultation ..................................................................................... 21

3.2 SCHOOLS CONSULTATION ............................................. .................................................. 22

3.4 PHILLIP ISLAND SWIM CLUB............................................. .................................................. 23

3.5 HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS................................................. .......................................... 23

3.6 PHILLIP ISLAND AQ UATIC C ENTRE FUND COMMITTEE (PIACFC)............................. 24

3.7 PHILLIP ISLAND ADVENTURE RESORT............................................. ................................. 25

4 COMMUNITY PROFILE AND CATCHMENT ANALYSIS.......................................................... 26

4.1 AGE PROFILE............................................ .................................................. .......................... 26

4.2 INCOME LEVELS................................................ ................................................... ................ 27

4.3 MO TOR VEHICLE OWNERSHIP............................................... .......................................... 27

4.4 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF THE CATCHMENT............................................. ........ 28

5 MARKET ANALYSIS..................................................................................................................... 29

5.1 LEARN TO SWIM PROG RAM PROVISION ............................................. ......................... 29

5.2 WONTHAGG I AQUATIC CENTRE........................................... .......................................... 29

5.3 CO WES PRIMARY SCHOOL SWIMMING POOL ........................................... ................ 30

5.4 MARKET SUMMARY.................................................. .................................................... ....... 31

6 FACILITY ELEMENTS .................................................................................................................... 32

6.1 TRENDS IN AQ UATIC FACILITY DEVELOPMENT............................................. ................ 32

6.1.1 Warm Wate r Exercise ............................................. .................................................. ......... 32

6.1.2 Red uction of Outdo or Aquatic Fac ilities............................................ ......................... 32

6.1.3 Wate r Play Areas............................................. .................................................. ................. 32

6.1.4 Hea lth Clubs (Gyms), Spa, Sauna & C af Ame nities.............................................. 33

6.1.5 Universal Ac cess.............................................. ................................................... ................ 33

6.1.6 Allied Health ............................................ .................................................. .......................... 33

6.1.7 Environm enta lly Susta inab le Design ............................................ ................................. 33

6.2 AQUATIC COMPONENT ISSUES............................................. .......................................... 33


3/53


2

6.3 RECO MM ENDED AQUATIC FACILITY CO MPONENTS................................................ 37

6.4 HEALTH AND FITNESS ELEMENTS............................................ .......................................... 38

7 FACILITY DESIGN ........................................................................................................................ 39

7.1 DESIGN RATIONALE................................................. .................................................... ....... 39

7.2 CONCEPT PLANS............................................. .................................................. ................. 40

7.3 PROBABLE COST............................................... ................................................... ................ 43

8. FINANCIAL ISSUES................................................................................................................ 44

8.1 10 YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST............................................. .......................................... 44

8.2 FINANCIAL BENCHMARKING ................................................. .......................................... 44

8.3 BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS........................................... .................................................. ......... 45

8.4 DETAILE BUDGET............................................... ................................................... ................ 46

9. FACILITY FUNDING ............................................................................................................... 48

10. FACILITY MANAGEMENT..................................................................................................... 49

11. KEY FINDINGS........................................................................................................................ 51


4/53


3

1 PROJECT OVERVIEW

1.1 Bac kground

The Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund Com mittee (PIAFC) has been w orking fo r the

loc al com munity for more than 10 yearsin an effort to estab lish an aq uatic c entreon Phillip Island. Despite the signific ant efforts of c ommittee m embers and highlevels of comm unity interest the projec t has not yet be en de livered .

In an effort to d etermine w hether they should c ontinue to pursue the d evelopmentof a centre on Phillip Island the PIACFC engag ed Sport and Leisure Solutions Pty Ltdto undertake a fea sibility study to d evelop a c lear unde rstanding of the level ofc ommunity dem and for an a qua tic c entre on Phillip Island. The results of the studywill not only identify the level of dem and fo r a c ent re on the Island but a lso to a ssistthe PIACFC de termine if they should c ontinue to pursue the projec t.

1.2 Pro je ct ob je ctive s

The clear objectives of the study include:

To esta blish the level of dem and a nd nee d fo r an a qua tic centre onPhillip Island.

To understa nd the provision o f a quatic fac ilities in similar reg ionallocations, their impact on community benefit and their financialperformance.

To e xplore and rec omm end the fa c ility elements and overall fac ilityde velopm ent that w ill best respond to c ommunity need s and d ema nds.

To provide a c lear understanding of the financ ial imp lica tions for the

ongoing op eration of the centre including the sta rt up p hase.

To p rovide c larity on the imp ac t of site loc at ion on po tential usage offac ilities and prog rams.

To p rovide an upp er level view of the po tential cap ital costs for the

de velopm ent of the centre.


5/53


4

2 PROJECT OVERVIEW

Overview of our proposed p roject method ology

The p rop osed Fea sibility Analysis wa s de livered through the implementa tion of the

following methodology.

Phase 1Develop Projec t Plan and Confirm Projec t

Phase 2Community and Stake holde r consultation

Phase 3Catchment ana lysis and Demand assessment

Phase 4Identific ation of facility developm ent options

Phase 5Detailed Feasibility Ana lysis.

Phase 6Fina l Rep ort


6/53


5

3 CONSULTATION AND DEMAND ASSESSMENT

The consultation process and a ssoc iate d de ma nd assessment wa s a keycom ponent of the study in identifying to the PIACFC the actual level of communityinterest, community demand and community need for the development of anaquatic c entre on Phillip Island . As a result significant effo rt wa s undertaken to illic itresponses from the loc al c om munity.

The c onsultation enco mp assed a broa d rang ing c omm unity survey that c ould b ecom pleted on-line or in hard c opy, an independe nt random telephone survey,meetings with hea lth service provide rs and loca l sc hoo ls and d iscussions with o therstakeholders.

3.1 COMMUNITY SURVEY

3.1.1 Introduction and purpose

A key c omp onent of the overall c onsulta tion process wa s undertaking thec om munity survey. The c ommunity survey results we re see n a s c ritica l by the

PIACFC in dete rmining c omm unity a ttitudes, need s and ap pe tite in relation to thec onstruction o f an a quatic c entre on Phillip Island .

Further, it wa s considered tha t it would provide c ritic al information in identifying thepreferred fac ility loca tion and key fac ility eleme nts that c ould be included in thecentre. Finally the results would also provide guidance for establishing likely futureusag e a t the p ropo sed ce ntre and assist w ith the d evelopment of financ ial mod els.

3.1.2 Methodology

Over 700 pe op le pa rtic ipa ted in the co mm unity survey which wa s c ond ucted on-line a nd by com pleting ha rd c op y surveys. This represents nea rly 8% of thepop ula tion o f the Phillip Island and San Remo ca tc hment. This c a tchm ent wa s

c hosen a s it is expec ted tha t peo p le in these a rea s will be the p red ominant users ofthe p rop osed fac ility.

Surveys we re p rom oted in the Phillip Island Ad vertiser, via wo rd of m outh andthrough specific survey points for hard copy surveys. All hard copy survey resultswere ente red into the online survey by the inde pe nde nt c onsulting te am .

To ensure tha t da ta o btained through the broad c omm unity survey wa srepresenta tive o f c ommunity views Australian Fieldwo rk Solutions Pty Ltd we reenga ged by the PIACFC to c onduc t rand om telephone surveys of the c omm unitywithin the ta rge ted catc hme nt. The random te lephone surveys we re impleme ntedto assist w ith va lida ting (or otherwise) the results of the online survey.

The PIACFC considered the telep hone survey p roc ess wa s nec essary to remo vepotential c laims that the o n-line survey ma y not b e representa tive of c omm unityviews.

In rep orting o n the find ings of the c omm unity survey, a c ompa rison has be en mad ebetween the online survey a nd the rand om survey results and a c omm enta ryma de in relation to the e xtent that the results supp ort or conflic t with the o nlinesurvey.

It is worth noting tha t the c ommunity c onsultation proc ess wa s extended d ue toslowe r tha n antic ipa ted response to the on-line surveys. The initial low up ta ke was


7/53


6

investiga ted b y the PIACFC and a necd otal evide nce sugge sted tha t the lowresponse w as a result of pe op les ap athy rega rding the p rojec t a nddisapp ointment in the lac k of government com mitment to developing an aq uaticc entre on Phillip Island . As a result significant e ffort wa s d irec ted into p romoting thesurvey a nd its importanc e a nd this resulted in very high pa rticipa tion.

As previously noted nea rly 8% of the Phillip Island and San Rem o c atc hme nt

po pulation c omp leted the survey. In comp arison, a similar survey conduc tedrega rding an aq uatic c entre within Surf Coa st Shire ge nerate d a survey response o fless than 3%. Simila rly, an online survey fo r the d eve lopm ent o f an aquatic c entrewithin the Mt Alexand er Shire genera ted a c a tc hme nt response o f 1.3%.

The high level of respo nses indicate d to the PIACFC and the c onsulting tea m thatthere remains a high level of interest in issues rela ting to the deve lopm ent of a naquatic c entre on Phillip Island .

3.1.3 Key Findings and Implica tions

Survey respondent informa tion

The m ajority of respond ents (35.8%) we re in the 35 49 yea r age group . Those betw een 50 and 59 yea r rep resented 21% of respond ents and those

over 60 were 23% of respond ents.

The 25 34 year ag e g roup rep resented only 3.8% whilst the 18 24 ag egroup (5.9%) and 12 17 we re a lso rep resented by relat ively low responselevels.

The m ajority of respond ents (67%) were female.

Place of residence

The majority of respond ents we re from Cowe s (41%) with the next la rgest numb er ofresponses c oming from the Ca pe Woo lama i area .


8/53


7

Satisfac tion w ith current level of fac ility provision w ithin Bass Coa st.

Survey respond ents were a sked to ra te the ir ove rall sa tisfac tion w ith the c urrentaqua tic fac ilities within the Bass Coast Shire.

91.7%of respondents were eithe r d (42.1%) or very unsa tisfied (49.6%) withaquatic facilities within Bass Coast.

7.6% of respond ents we re sa tisfied and

0.7% of respond ents we re very sa tisfied .

In com pa rison, respo nde nts to the inde pe nde nt rando m p hone survey rec ordedthe follow ing results:-

82% were either unsa tisfied (58%) or very unsa tisfied (24%).

18% of respondents were sa tisfied .

No respond ents sta ted tha t they were very sa tisfied w ith the level of aq uaticfacility provision with the Bass Coast Shire.

Whilst there is som e va rianc e b etwe en the online survey a nd the rand omtelephone survey results, we are c onfident that the general view of the c omm unity

has be en ca ptured .

The respo nses to b oth survey method ologies indica te tha t c omm unity sat isfac tion in

relation to the provision of a qua tic fac ilities is very low. The PIACFC and theco nsultant team conc luded that these resultsrepresent a gap b etween thec omm unitys expe cta tions and the level of fac ilities c urrently being p rovided withinBass Co ast.


9/53


8

Importanc e of an Aq uatic Fac ility to be c onstructed on Phillip Island

Survey respo ndents were asked to rate the importance of c onstructing an aq uaticfa c ility on Phillip Island .

82.7% of respond ents sta ted tha t it isextremely impo rta nt for an a qua tic

fac ility to be built o n Phillip Island .

14.9% sta ted tha t it wa s very important .

In contrast o nly:

1%of respo nde nts were very resistant to c onstruct ion of an aqua tic centre,

0.5% sta ted tha t it wa s not impo rtant and 0.9% sta ted they didnt ca re .

Respo ndents to the rando m telephone survey rec orde d the following results

94.1% of respond ents sta ted it was either extremely imp ortant (51%) o r veryimportant (43%) for an a qua tic c entre to be construc ted on Phillip Island .

There were no respond ents that w ere very resistant to a centre beingconstructed.

2% sta ted they didnt c are and 3.9% sta ted that it wa s not imp ortant for acentre to be c onstructe d on Phillip Island .

The c ompa rison b etw een the survey m ethod ologies sugg est tha t the prevailing

c om munity view is tha t the provision of a n indoo r aquatic fa c ility on Phillip Island iseither very imp ortant or extremely imp ortant.


10/53


9

Increa sed rates to pa y for an aquatic fac ility on Phillip Island .

Survey respond ents we re a sked if they would b e p rep ared for co unc il ra tes toinc rea se up to 7% ea ch year to help fund the p rovision of a new aq uatic fac ility onPhillip Island .

On-line survey respond ent results.

41.9% state d that they would be hap py to pa y add itional rate s.

58.1% stated that they wouldnt.

Random phone survey results.

56.9% stating that they would be p rep ared to pa y an ad ditional 7% pe rannum and

43.1% sta ting they w ould not .

The PIACFC and the consulting team co nclude d that there is rea sonab ly highsupp ort for an aquatic c entre to be funded throug h ad ditional rate c harges. The

PAIC how ever does not sugge st results indica te tha t a 7% increase should b eimp lemented . Howe ver it d oes indica te to the PIACFC and the c onsulting te amthat an Aquatic Ce ntre Rate Charge at a lower level could b e c onside red and

further investiga ted as an op tion fo r fund ing a quatic fa c ilities within Bass Coast.

Funding op tions

Survey respond ents we re a sked to c onsider a numb er of fund ing op tions for thedevelopment of a new a quatic c entre.


11/53


10

The m a jority of respondents (80.9%) to the on-line survey believe tha t fund ingshould b e a mix of loca l, sta te a nd fede ral funding.

5.3% believe it should b e fully fund ed by Bass Co ast Shire.

Other responses were private developer 2.6%, community partnerships 0.7%

and community fundraising 2.9%, 8.4% did not know which w as the m ostap propriate funding mod el.

The random te lephone survey produc ed simila r results with 89.6% sta ting tha t a m ixof g ove rnme nt funding w as the b est mo de l and o nly 10.4% believing tha t the BassCoast Shire should fully fund c onstruction o f a new a quatic c entre.

Barriers to use o f current aq uatic fac ilities within Bass Coast Shire

Survey respond ents we re a sked whe ther there w ere a ny rea sons they do no t usethe c urrent a quatic fa c ilities within the shire. Respond ents we re a b le to nomina temultiple op tions. The results we re as follow s

68% of respo nde nts sta ted that it takes too long to g et the re (Wonthag giAqua tic Centre).

48% sta ted tha t the c ost o f trave l is a reason tha t limits use of c urrent aquaticcentres.

21% sta ted fac ility overcrowd ing (a t Wonthag gi)

21% sa id a n inab ility to acc ess priva te fac ilities on Phillip Island .

Other ba rriers to use inc luded fac ility c omp onents that do nt me et userneeds (18.9%), programs range (10%) and p rog ram o vercrowding (8%).

Interestingly only 5% of respondents rated cost of entry as a barrier toinc rea sed usage and 2% sta ted that they were not interested in using a

swimming po ol.

It is interesting to note tha t respond ents to the telep hone survey a lso sta ted tha ttravel time w as a reason why they do not use the shire s aq uatic ce ntre more often(68%).

Other key issues were:-

Fac ility c om ponents tha t d on t me et user need s (32%),

Inab ility to a cc ess priva te fac ilities (21%),

Cost o f fue l (17%) and fac ility overc rowd ing (8%).

6% of respond ents sta ted tha t c ost o f entry was an issue for them

Whilst 8% we re no t interested in using a fac ility.

The results of the on-line survey a nd the rando m survey sugg est tha t the mo stsignificant issue that prevents respondents from utilising Councils Aquatic facilities isthe d istance to the Ce ntre.


12/53


11

Overcrowding, the limited p rogram range and a lac k facility co mp onents to m eetuser nee ds are also significa nt in te rms of b arriers to inc reased usage.

Aquatic Centre usag e patterns

Survey respond ents we re a sked to record the ir c urrent usage of the Wontha gg i

Aquatic and Leisure Ce ntre a nd a lso to ide ntify their likely usag e o f an a qua ticc entre on Phillip Island . The ta ble represents the d a ta o b ta ined through the on-linesurvey.

Online survey results

Aqua tic Cen tre UsageCurrent Wonthagg i

Aquatic Centreusage

Future Phillip IslandAquatic Centre

usage

More than 2 times per week 21.6% 77.7%

1 per week 17.9% 13.6%

Less than 1 time per week 9.1% 4.6%

Rarely 28.5% 1.0%

Never or not sure 22.9% 3.2%

Participants in the rand om telep hone survey w ere a lso a sked the same questions.The ta ble b elow represents the d ata ob tained through the rand om telephonesurvey.

Rand om telephone survey results

Aqua tic Cen tre UsageCurrent Wonthagg i

Aquatic Centreusage

Future Phillip IslandAquatic Centre

usage

More than 2 times per week 12.3% 58.3%

1 per week 5.3% 33.3%

Less than 1 time per week 12.3% 6.3%

Rarely 19.3% 2.1%

Never or not sure 50.9% 0.0%

The c onsultat ion identified tha t those who p articipa ted in the online survey a rehighe r users of the Wontha gg i Aqua tic Centre tha n those w ho p artic ipa ted in therandom telep hone survey. This is not unusua l as those using the Wontha gg i AquaticCentre wo uld b e m ore likely to pa rtic ipa te in a survey rega rding the de velopm entof a n aq uatic c entre on Phillip Island .

How ever, what is of interest is tha t the respond ents who partic ipa ted in the rand omphone survey sta ted that their usag e w ould increase signific antly follow ing thec onstruction o f an a quatic c entre on Phillip Island . At p resent 15.6 % of


13/53


12

respo ndents who pa rtic ipa ted in the rand om phone survey state d that theyc urrently use the Wonthag gi Aqua tic Centre at least onc e per week. How everwhe n asked about their likely usage a t an aquatic c entre on Phillip Island 91.6%state d they would use the ce ntre at least once pe r wee k.

The c onc lusion tha t c an b e d raw n from respo nses to ea ch survey metho do logy is

tha t the c onstruction o f an a quatic fa c ility on Phillip Island wo uld signific antlyinc rea se the level of usage within the c omm unity com pa red with the c urrent usageof the Wonthag gi Aquatic C entre.

Factors that would increase usage of aquatic facilities

Having identified the barriers to increased usage of aquatic facilities respondentswe re asked to rank in terms of importanc e issues tha t would encourag e increa seduse o f an a qua tic fac ility.

72% of respondents stated the mo st imp orta nt issue to increase usag e wa strave l time of less than 15 minutes.

Ac tivities for kids and fa milies we re a lso rated extreme ly high

A high q uality fac ility, lap lane a vailab ility and p rog ram s such ashydrotherap y were ra ted as imp ortant .

A qua lity gymnasium wa s c onsidered to b e de sirab le but not imp orta nt interms of increa sing usage of a quatic fa c ilities.

Respond ents to the rand om phone survey

64.7% rated travel time less tha n 15 minutes as the mo st imp ortant issue toincrease usag e of a qua tic fac ilities.

Ac tivities for kids and families we re rated as extrem ely imp ortant ,

Lap lane a vailab ility, prog ram s such as hydrotherap y and a high q ualityfac ility were rated as important .

A q ua lity gymna sium wa s rated as desirable b ut no t essentia l.

The response to both survey m etho ds c learly reflec ts tha t increa sed usage o faqua tic fac ilities would o cc ur if trave l time to a centre was under 15 minutes. Thissupp orts development of a n aq uatic c entre on Phillip Island.

Desired c ompo nents of an Aquatic Fac ility to be d eve loped in Phillip Island.

On-line survey pa rticipants we re asked to rate , in terms of imp ortanc e, po tentialfac ility co mp onents that c ould be included in a new m ultipurpose a qua tic c entreon Phillip Island.

On-line survey respo ndents rated the follow ing elements as extremely impo rta nt(see tab le b elow)

a lap swimming po ol hydrotherap y po ol


14/53


13

kids play pool a learn to swim pool

group Fitness program room and a gymnasium Conversely, the spa , sauna and ca fe we re rated as desirable but not

essential.

The random phone survey provided similar results with a lap swimm ing po ol,

hydrotherap y po ol, a learn to swim po ol being rated by the m ajority of respo ndentsas extremely imp orta nt c omp onents for an aqua tic c entre on Phillip Island . The kidsplay pool wa s rated as imp ortant a s wa s the g ymnasium and group fitness fac ilities.Whilst the spa , sauna and ca fe w ere mostly ra ted as de sirable but no t e ssent ial.

Fac ility comp one nts req uired in the Phillip Island Aq uatic Centre.

If a new multi-purpose indooraqua tic and leisure fac ility wasdevelop ed, please rank whatfac ility would you like to seeincluded?

Extremelyimportant- essential

Veryimportant

ImportantDesirable

but notessential

Notimportant

to me.

Lap swimming p ool 69.4% 15.4% 10.5% 2.9% 2.2%

Hydrotherapy po ol 39.0% 25.9% 18.2% 12.7% 4.4%

Kids play pool and activities 44.1% 25.9% 18.8% 5.3% 6.7%

Lea rn to swim p oo l 51.1% 23.9% 12.3% 6.2% 7.2%

Spa and Sauna 24.5% 16.5% 20.1% 25.9% 13.4%

Cafe 18.6% 18.0% 21.5% 31.7% 11.2%

Gymnasium and Group Fitnessfacilities 31.6% 18.1% 22.3% 19.3% 8.9%

The results of b oth survey me thod olog ies p rovide a useful framew ork for co nsideringthe design options for a multipurpose aq uatic fac ility. The co mm unity consulta tionindicate s that the essential eleme nts to b e include d in a new fac ility are a lapswimming p ool, hyd rotherap y po ol, c hildren's play p ool and lea rn to swim p ool with

c onsidera tion given to the p rovision of a g ymna sium and group fitness area.

These resultswill be considered along w ith other issues in dete rmining therecommended design options.

Loc ation o f an aq uatic fac ility on Phillip Island

Survey respond ents we re a sked w here a ne w m ultipurpose a quatic c entre shouldbe loc ated on Phillip Island .

68.1%of respo nde nts sta ted that the centre should be loca ted midwaybe twe en Cow es and San Rem o.

Cow es wa s the ne xt most p op ular loca tion (22.1%) followed by Newha ven(6%) a nd San Rem o (3.7%).


15/53


14

These figures we re g ene rally supported by the results of the rand om telep honesurvey and clearly sugge st that the preferred loca tion for an aq uatic c entre wouldbe midwa y betw een San Remo and Cow es.

Travel time to a new Aq uatic fac ility.

Survey respond ents we re a sked to no minate ho w fa r they would like to trave l toaccess a ne w a quatic fa c ility on Phillip Island .

62.4%of respo nde nts sta ted that they would be p rep a red to travel 10 20minutes.

31.2% were see king a trave l time less tha n 10 minute s.

In c ontrast only 6.4% wo uld t rave l 20minute s or mo re.

This information wa s ge nerally supported by the random telep hone survey.

Com ments by survey respondents

Each survey partic ipant w as ab le to provide ad ditiona l com ments reg arding thep rovision o f a n a quatic c entre o n Phillip Island . In exc ess of 500 respond entsp rovided ad ditional com me nts. The ta bles be low represent a sam ple o f thecomments.

In reviewing respo ndent c omm ents a number of themes emerged rega rding thedevelopment a n aquatic c entre on Phillip Island

To p romote and fac ilitate c omm unity hea lth and fitness. To m eet the need s of the g rowing po pulation.

Poor quality of Wonthag gi po ol. Childrenswater safety, swimming development and competition.

To m ee t the nee ds of the c ommunity. It is too fa r to travel to Wontha gg i pool. We d on't need a p ool on Phillip Island.

Please note the c omm ents of respond ents are uned ited and ma y contain errors ingramma r and spe lling.

TO PROMOTE AND FACILITATE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND FITNESS

Essent ial for Hea lth & w ellbeing of the Com munity

need s a allyea r round fac ilty for people to use a nytime during the yea r not o nly

during very hot da ysBec ause so m any pe op le like myself with arthritis and d isabilities c annot a fford to g oto Wontha gg i every day w hic h is something a lot of us wo uld like to d o

It would b r rea lly hand y foe our retired po pulation to promo te healthy living

Comm unity hea lth and fitness,Soc ial,Therap y,Loc a l access wo uld me an morefrequent use,Large influx of visitors to island in sea son.


16/53


15

An Aqua tic c entre on the Island would be nefit the whole Com munity hea lth andComm unity hea lth and fitness wise a nd soc ially. Unbelievab le tha t it is ta king so longto g et this fac ility up a nd running.

Large retired pop ulation need s aqua tic fac ilities for hea lthy ag ing a nd rehab andCom munity health a nd fitness

SWIMMING & wa ter exercise a re very imp ortant fo rms of exercise , a hyd ro poo l isfar more imp ortant that a kids play a rea & will be used alotmore -

I need the hyd rotherap y or aq uae rob ic s and a m tired of travelling 48Ks toWontha ggi. We a re also m em ber of Phillip Island Swim Club and de sperate ly nee d apo ol for the large numb er of children involved. ma ny ca n't tra in throughout w interbe c ause the ir pa rents aren't prepa red to travel to Wonthag gi.

Swimming is great exerc ise for older peo ple, with little risk of injury. Also a lot o fswimmers live o n the Island ie the turtle smugglers

we live o n an island suround ed by da nge rous surf ,every child should have e asyafforda b le axc ess to a all year round swim p rog ram ,a t a ll levels. all our loc a l sc hoo lsshould ha ve a loca l poo l to use. po ol therap y is a vital part of the injured and elderlyrehab as a g rowing ag ed c ar comm unityit is vital. all humand should have ea sy acess to hea lth fac ilitys ,in the long run it w illme an less strain on the gove rme nt hea lth system.i c ould g o on and on.

As a physiotherapist inCowes, many of my patients despetately require local,waterba sed reha bilia tion fac ilities to avo id time ly and often p ainful ta rvel time s toWontha ggi. As a c lininc we w ould w ish to run hydrothe rapy c lasses there!!!!!

From a persona l and reha b ilitation view , it is an essent ial servic e tha t should be a nop tion fo r a ll residents of Phillip Island , espec ially for the o lde r generation. 'Livelonge r & stronge r' is the c urrent d ay mot to . A wo rk out in a p oo l is the b est wa y to

keep fit and sta y strong. But let's go from the o lder to the yo unge r. Everyda y there'stalk of young p eop le running a mo k. Let's give them ano ther avenue of interest.Keep young p eop le ac tive, interested and worn out - then they haven't got theenergy to get into troub le.

Husband 75yrs, I'm 65yrs - I have lymp hoed ema , + o/ we ight - wa ter exc ercise is theonly vigo rous ac tivity I'm ca pa ble of all yr round - my husba nd's has c anc er -swimm ing is idea l o/ all exce rc ise for us both.

Ma inly for patients like me who b enefit a lot from hyd rotherap y and ha ve to travelall the wa y to wonthag gi for it

TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE GROWING POPULATION

To ensure swim a b ility for kids living a t the bea c h. Phillip Island is a growingpopulation that hasnt slowed... infustructure needs to keep up with growingde ma nd... othe r area s in the shire a re w ell cate red for, how long are we expec tedto just keep trave lling to ge t wha t we need and de serve also?

Servic e g row ing pop ulat ion with a fac ility which w ould b e used by a ll age s for ava riety o f a c tivities.


17/53


16

Swimming is a form o f exercise tha t pe op le of any ag e c an p erform. Our age ingpopulation is growing

To m eet the dem and s of a growing p opulation

Growing community. Good for the family tourist when raining. Our community isge tting fat a nd w ould hel. Large c ontingenc y of older folk that require rehabfacilities

All we ather non impac t sport or ac tivity essent ila l for older population

To cater for the seniors who need to keep fit a nd hea lthyCater for young families so kids can learn to swim safely.

Growing perma nent pop ulation see king a fac ility such as this. Overc row ding a tWonthaggi.

The Island is g row ing in population a nd this type o f fac ility is bec om ing more andmo re nec essa ry

There is a g row ing pop ulation o f young fa milies tha t nee d som whe re to swim a tweekends and for the schools like Nehaven College to ac c ess. I cannot g oswimm ing b efo re w ork as I would like as I live in Cow es and Wonthaggi p oo l is justtoo far away.

To m ee t the need s of a n inc rea sing pop ula tion a nd an alternative swimming fa c ilitythroughout the year. An ag ing p op ulation would b e a ble to p artic ipa te in a varietyof p rog ram s enric hing and pe rhap s extending their lives.Creation of jobs and ad d itional lea rning fa c ilities.Rehabilitation facilities.

The p ermanent p op ulat ion is largely ac tive & Com munity hea lth and fitness minded,and with a love of living nea r the water it is imp ortant tha t a ll residents - young & o ld- have a cc ess to lessons, Community health and fitness & year round time in thewa ter.There a re a lso 4 sc hoo ls in need of p oo l ac c ess tha t d oe s not req uire a ha lfday minimum aw ay from c lass/ sc hoo l. This will p rom ote we llbeing & sa fety for all.

Growth o f the area . Attrac tion for tourists. As a hea lthy ac tivity for the loc al kids to

be involved in. We a re surrounde d b y wa ter and nee d ALL c hild ren to swim well.Rec ent p op ula tion increases highlights the ne ed whic h inc ludes increase in fam ilieswith children who w ould use the Aq uatic c entre.

A g row ing p op ulation, espec ially during the summer months wo uld m ea n a p lac e tointerac t, kee p fit, swim lessons etc without having to travel the extra d ista nc e towonthaggi.

With an increasing po pulat ion and the need for exercise ever imp ortant, allc ommunity deserves a high q ua lity fac ility for rec rea tion

po pulation increase, age ing pop ulat ion, need to have b asic p reventa tive hea lth

fac ilities and reha b ilitative health fac ilities

age o f po pula tion, numb er of residents on Island

POOR QUALITY OF WONTHAGGI POOL.

Wonnni is Crap!

Wontha ggi Poo l is ove r-crowded . Phillip Island ha s sufficient pop ulation - both fixedand floating - to ea sily supp ort an Aq uatic Centre.


18/53


17

Wontha ggi 25m Poo l is old .Sc hoo ls a ll travel of f the Island for swimming.We need a 50m p ool.

So w e c an have ac c ess to d ec ent fa c ialities without travelling up to 40 mins ea chwa y and then get there a nd still be overcrowd ed .

The wonthagg i poo l is a d isgrac e a nd d angerous. An aq uatic c entre on Phillip Islandis essential to a cc omm od ate the huge growth in po pula tion. It is a key eleme nt tha tis missing from the a rea . I prefer to d rive to Leo nga tha or Narre Warren then use theWonthag gi pool.

Wontha gg ia pool is an ove rc rowded , delap idated and distant fac ility. The loca lc ommunity on Phillip Island has grow n significantly and we have limited acc ess toswimm ing fac ilities whe re learn to swim, swim training and lap swimm ing can be

undertaken. Cow es prima ry pool was pa rtly funded with cimmunity mone y beutrea sona ble a ccess has be en d enied the larger comm unity. It is wrong that a c ostaltown whe re surfing is the primary sport of so m any c hildren tha t the re is no fa c ility forlea rning the basic life skill of swimming.

For a start - the am ount of c omm unity effort, dona tions etc cleary show how m uch

we wa nt som ething on the Island . There is no sa fe swimm ing/ learning for olde r kids,Wontha ggi Centre is old a nd d irty and I don't like going the re. It would be used somuc h not only by loc als, but by visiting fa milies whe n the wea ther doesn't pe rmit forthe b each.

Wontha ggi Fac ilities are inad eq uate--ofte n over c rowd ed for lap swimm ers. Huge To

me et c om munity need s here. Would also be a nother a ttrac tion for visitors whe nweather is ba d.

The fa c ilities in bo th bass and sg shire a re a ppa lling no c hildc are we c urrently travelto Hastings.

Wontha gg i only has one c rowed lane for lap swimming. It is old a nd dirty.

Bec ause Wonthagg i is Ferral.

We w ould be nefit from a po ol!

Wonthag gi is c rap and too fa r to g o.

KIDS WATER SAFETY, SWIMMING DEVELOPMENT AND COMPETITION.

It is so imp ortant to tea c h swimming to the young and the o ld nee d this fac ility a s anec essity.

great need for this plac e safe for kids

it is extrene ly imp ortant for all childeren to learn to swim from an ea rly age ,Espec ially living in an island envirom ent surround ed by wa ter.An aq uatic c enter is a safe plac e to swim for kids and a great wa y for peo ple to

stay fit and healthy,Including a Gymnasium and Community health and fitness/personal trainers would

be an excellent idea .

As we live on a island we need to enc ourag e a ll kids to swim.

to d evelap o ur kids and the disab led , age d c are and so p hillip island c an p rod ucethe next thorpe do

It is good for everybo dy's hea lth. It is v important on a n island to have som ew herewhere tod dlers can be ta ught to swim. Good wholesom e ente rtainment for youngpeople.


19/53


18

Wontha gg i is very limited for lanes. Our swimming c lub would have ma ny moreme mb ers if we had a fac ility. Ac c ess to the sc hoo l pool is non existant outside of thesea son. Swimming lessons in wo ntha gg i are full of island kids.

kids learn to swim b efore ente ring oc ea n. too far to w antha gg i to swim regularly forCommunity health and fitness and relaxation.

Bec ause it is very imp ortant to be swim fit when you live on an island

Lac k of a ccess to swimm ing c lasses for children of wo rking parents. Lack of ac cessto a quatic fac ilities for leisure a c tivities. An aq uatic centre would b e va luable to alotof e xisting o rganisa tions and sporting group s, eg lifesaving c lubs, footba ll and soc c orc lubs as we ll as swimm ing c lubs. As mo re p eop le are ma king a sea c hange to theisland the imp ortanc e of a c omm unity fac ility is growing.Ac c ess for a ll, and swimm ing lessons for children a re so important w hen surround edby wa ter.

give peop le, espe c ially kids a p lac e they c an lea rn to swim a nd keep fit

To p rovide swim lesson fo r kids and a dults a t they lerisure time and not have totrave l all the w ay to wonthag gi for a swims.

It's an Island and our child ren need to learn how to be strong swimm ers---for this theyneed year long ac c ess to a go od indo or 25-50mt p ool,Plus we are major tourist resort without a pool!!

Bec ause we a re surrounded by wa ter and the c hildren freq uent the be ac h andswimm ing is essentia l tool for life, and wo uld a lso b e a grea t op tion to keep fit duringthe winter

Being a n 'island ' with a fo reve r grow ing pop ulation, good sc hoo ls, lots of c hild ren Ithink It's vitally imp ortant tha t c hild ren c an learn to swim, perhap s give the sc hoo lsthe o pportunity for the stud ents to c om pete & exerc ise. But a lso fo r the o lderpo pulation to be able to exerc ise. Swimming is such a great ac tivity for all age s!

We have so many young fa milies who all need to lea rn how to swim. It is imperativefor all as we are surrounde d by wa ter.

TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.

There is not one suitab le Aq uatic C entre a nywhere nea rby espe c ially for use d uringwinter mo nths whe n the sea is no long er suitab le.

Have lived here for 20 yea rs my c hild ren m issed out on ha ving a ccess to poo lac tivities how ab out it for the next generation

An Aq uatic Centre provides the a bility for all ages and stage s to imp rove andma intain their Com munity hea lth and fitness, have fun, c ompe te in com pe titionswimm ing o r lea rn to swim! Phillip Island req uires an a ccessable Aq ua tic Centre to

provide these fac ilities.

The island simply needs a c om muna l poo l

Bec ause it is extremely imp ortant to have a loca l fac ility where p eop le can swim for

pe rsona l Comm unity hea lth and fitness and tha t tee nag ers can have a n outlet forenergy.

There is a broad range of a quatic need s on the island ranging from the very youngto the elderly. Aside from those sports requiring pe ak Comm unity hea lth and fitnessie, footb all, tennis, cric ket e tc there is little else o f quality co vering the ne ed s ofindividuals outside of these areas.

To me et the de sperate need for a pub lic full size swimming p ool a nd the a ssoc ia ted


20/53


19

activities

The c old c lima te requires an indo or poo l fac ility and I can no t b elive tha t even withthe size o f the p erma nent pop ulat ion and tourist pop ulat ion - WE STILL DON'T HAVE APOOL!!!

I Believe the c ommunity of phillip island deserves an aquatic c ente r, for the c hild ren,ad ults and elderdly. Having a a qua tic center promotes hea lth and we ll be ing fo rthe c omminuty, i have rece ntly moved from a rural tow n similar to the po pulation o fthe island. It wa s a p ositive step for the town, pe op le had the c onfident to use thegym , with sta te o f the a rt eq uipme nt and w ell trained sta ff. It will a lso g iveemployment for peo ple. I beleive it is imp ortant for the c hildren to have ac cess to apoo l, there is no 50 m p oo l in the a rea .

there is not one in the area

An a qua tic c ent re is absolutely essent ial and is just a nec essary as a foo tball ova l,tennis c ourts, ba sketb all courts and a golf co urse. To b e a ble to p rovide thec ommunity with a fac ilitiy that ca ters to a ll age group s and a b ilities is absolutlyessentia l for the size o f this com munity. Even more so than fa c ilities, suc h as the

footb all ova l etc that a re a vailab le now. It is a ga p tha t hinde rs all the c ommunity

enjoying on all leve ls pa rticipa tion in a hea lthly rec rea tion and a lso helps those w honeed a swimming p ool for therap utic and healing reasons.

I have been coming to Phillip Island since l wa s 12 yea rs old a nd no thing much hasc hang ed in this time .We nee d the go verment to supp ort our c omm unity in theirend ea vours to c rea te a multi purpose fac ility whic h will help the young a nd o ld tobec om e mo re substa nial (ma ybe the wriong wo rd ) ie. future sports ic ons, longe r lifespan ,enjoym ent ,ea rly learning for new b ab ies,family enjoym ent the To meetc ommunity need ss this fac ility

We currently have no c ent ral aquatic fa c ility for our loc a l sc hoo ls, so fo r swim

lessons, school lessons, swim sport carnivals. It is a lso a ve ry soc ial sport and wouldbe w ond erful for the young to swim b ut a lso fo r the elde rly on the island as we ll, it isa w onderful exerc ise. Phillip Island is just tha t - an island, swimming is extremely

imp ortant and we need a fac ility to promote this.

There isn't a d ec ent 50m lap p oo l anywhere c lose to Phillip Island , and op en wa terswimm ing is not a n op tion for everyone.

The p op ulation requires an indoo r all yea r round fa c ility tha t ca ters to a ll ag e g roup s

- BUT it needs to b e on the Island so tha t time is not wa sted travelling g rea t d ista nces(also g etting in the c a r with kids that a re we t and cold - is more d esirab le to bewithin a short trave lling d ista nce)

IT IS TOO FAR TO TRAVEL TO WONTHAGGI POOL.

There is no where to lap swim. We have to d rive to Wontha ggi.we need to ha ve one as it is too far to travel to Wontha gg i to go for a swim.

There a re many child ren ha ving to travel awa y from Phillip Island ,San Rem o a rea todo lessons. Also the elde rly would find it mo st b enific ial if one wa s nea r.

A yea r round , hea ted p ublic fa c ility is needed within rea sona ble trave lling time. Theolder population need s this fac ility to b e hea ted to a slightly warmer deg ree a tc erta in times for exerc ise p urposes. All these rea sons were g iven yea rs ago. Why arewe wa sting mo ney re-inventing the w heel?


21/53


20

We ha ve a g rea t swimming c lub w ith de dicate d p a rents who m ake the trip toWongthagg i regularly - ima gine how g reat the c lub w ould b e if we had a fac ilitylocally. For those m ore tha n one c hild , it is muc h ea sier to a tte nd swimm ing lessonsat a po ol where the c hild is ab le to stand up and therefore p artic ipa te in the lessonwithout a p arent, thereb y freeing up the pa rent to look afte r othe r c hildren. To myund ersta nd ing, this is only possible a t Wonthagg i YMCA. Also, for families, swimmingis a grea t outing a nd form o f exerc ise, which w ould b e much more a cc essible if onthe island .

I trave l to Wontha gg i pool a nd I think it is too far to d rive a nd c osts a lot fo rpet rol.Som e of m y friends c an't go a s their parents wo n't take the m tha t far.

Bec ause it is just to o far to Wontha gg i

Wontha gg i is a fair distanc e, I wo uld go more o ften if there w as a po ol closer ie onPhillip Island . I'm sure the re is quite a nee d for swimming lessons espec ially for thesc hools.

1,Travel time to wo ntha gg i limits pa rticipa tion in Aq uatic a c tivities .

2.with a po pulation rangeing from 8 to 80thousand and a ma jor tourist d estina tion it

is unbeleivab le the re isn't a poo l on the Island

long d rive to wo nthag gi ,little to d o in winter

It's too far to travel to Wontha gg i a fter work, and c oming home w hen you're wetputs me o ff using it.

I have a c ondition that wo uld b enefit from a hydrotherap y pool - but travel isc ontraindic ated for me - therefore, a p ool on the Island would be be neficial.

mo st of the p op ulation of p hillip island a re olde r and d o not ha ve a lot o f money tospe nd o n travel to wo nthagg i to use there poo l and ma ny need it for med ic alrea sons tha t is why w e need it here

I think there would be a large de ma nd for it and even thoug h i have not lived here

for long it seems tha t parents tha t have to keep running kids to Wonthagg i for swimac tivities are not hap py doing it, the only do it be cause their a re no othe r choicesduring the winter period . Som e p a rents are there 2,3 time s a we ek which is a lot oftrave ling t ime when this c ould b e a voided if a swimming p ool wa s available here inCowes.

Phillip ne ed s an aq uatic c entre on the Island due to transporta tion d iffic ulties, highnumb ers of a ged w ho wo uld b enefit greatly and a lso rehab c lients who findtravelling in cars difficult

Swimm ing is a g rea t ac tivity for Comm unity hea lth and fitness and reha b ilitation.Wongtha gg i is too far to trave l for suc h a fa c ility

the ne a rest poo l is in wonthagg i whic h is 30 min drive and about $ 15 a t rip in pet rol,the loc a l bea c h is not a n alte rnative for swimm ing ac tivities (sa fty and p ossible timesof use restric ted by whea ther)

we do have to go to w onthag gi to often. rising fuel cost will prevent a lot of p eop leusing the e ntre in wonthag gi.


22/53


21

WE DON'T NEED A POOL ON PHILLIP ISLAND

I dont believe tha t it does. Wonthagg i is only a 30 minute drive and Phillip Islandneed s mo re imp ortant things than another white elep hant c entre that will only losemo ney like eve ry other loca l aq uatic c entre doe s ( Wontha gg i, Leong atha )

With the b ea c h and school fac ilities on ha nd, a n excellent fa c ility in Wontha gg i,imp roved pub lic transpo rt now in p lace, I don't think there is a need .

It d oesn't, we 're surround ed by wa ter, has anyone considered the m aintenancec osts ong oing? Build ing it is one thing, keep ing it wo nderful will be beyond thebud ge t o f c omm unity resourc es

3.1.4 Summary of com munity consultation

Com munity dissatisfac tion with c urrent Aquatic Provision

There is a high leve l of d issa tisfac tion w ithin the Phillip Island and San Rem oComm unity with rega rd to the p rovision of Aq uatic fa c ilities within the BassCoast Shire with 91% of respondents either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

Comm unity d ema nd for an aquatic centre on Phillip Island

There is a high level of d emand for an aq uatic c entre on Phillip Island w ith82% of respondents stating it is extremely important.

Current Trave l time impa c t on usage

The g rea test b arrier to use o f a quatic fa c ilities is the travel time to theWonthag gi Aqua tic Centre.

Increased usage

The c onstruct ion of an aq uatic c entre on Phillip Island would see asignificant inc rea se in use of Aq uatic Centre a c tivities within the Shire.

Council rate increase

Nearly 50% of respond ents wo uld be w illing to pay ad d itiona l counc il ra tes ofup to 7% pe r annum to fund a n aq uatic ce ntre on Phillip Island .

Funding mix

The fund ing should be throug h a m ix of loc a l, sta te a nd fe deral source s.

Facility location

A new fa c ility should be loc ated m idwa y betw een Cowe s and San Rem o.

Fac ility com ponents

The typ es of c omp onents that should b e included in a new fac ility

de velopm ent are a lap swimming po ol, hydrotherap y pool, kid's play pooland learn to swim p ool.

Summary

It isreasonable to c onc lude that the c urrent p rovision of a quatic fa c ilities w ithin theBass Coast Shire p revents som e m em bers of the c ommunity from participa ting inaqua tic a c tivity and also tha t there is a high level of d issa tisfac tion with the c urrent


23/53


22

aqua tic centre provision. Conversely, the c omm unity co nsulta tion process hasc learly identified that there is significant c omm unity supp ort for the d evelopment o fan aquatic cent re on Phillip Island a nd tha t its p rovision will result in inc rea sedaquatic a c tivity leve ls in a ll sec tors of the com munity.

3.2 SCHOOLS CONSULTATION

Discussions were held w ith 4 schools in the imm ed ia te ca tc hment area San Rem oPrimary Sc hoo l, Newhaven Primary Schoo l, Newhaven College and Cowe s PrimarySchool. The findings of the c onsulta tion are rep resented by the feed ba c k below.

With the excep tion o f Cowe s Prima ry School, which ha s its ow n p ool, eac h sc hoolexpressed that the level of ac tivity in aq uatic educa tion ac tivities is lower than isdesirable.

Newhaven Primary School stopped running an aquat ic educat ion program forstud ents following the c losure o f the Silver Water Resort poo l to non guests. Lessonshad previously been c onduc ted a t Wonthag gi Aquatic Centre but the travel time

and the lack of appropriate lane availability resulted in lessons being ceased atthat venue. The tea chers now believe that almost 50% of the c hildren at the schoo lc anno t swim to a level tha t reflec ts the a qua tic risks of a sea side a rea . They have

tried to ac c ess Cow es Prima ry School but there is limited lane a vailability. Theybelieve that the c onstruc tion of a n a quatic c entre on Phillip Island is a nec essity ifc hild ren are to learn basic aq ua tic sa fety skills.

San Remo students pa rtic ipa te in aq uatic educ ation ac tivities at the Wonthag giAquatic Centre 4 times per year. In many cases these lessons are the only timechildren undertake aquatic education activities. It is estimated that at least 10% ofstude nts have no wa ter familiarisation experienc e b y the time they attend sc hool.They w ould like to offe r more opportunities for stud ents but the 3 ho urs round trip

imp ac ts on other program s. It was felt that the construction of an aq uatic centreon Phillip Island would result in a significa nt increase in aq uatic ed uca tionop portunities for San Rem o stud ents.

Newha ven College utilise the Wonthag gi Aqua tic Centre for swim lessons. 175students pa rticipate in 8 lessons eac h year. However, the 3 hour round trip isextreme ly disruptive to o ther prog ram s. The prog ram for senior school stude nts islimited due to a cc essibility and trave l time issues. The sc hool feels that t heconstruction of an aquatic centre on Phillip Island would result in a significantinc rea se in a quatic ac tivities and p rog ram s cond uc ted at the sc hool. This wo uldinvolve conduc ting swim squad s, expa nded aq uatic educa tion program andexpansion of courses offered in the senior school.

Stude nts at Cow es Prima ry Sc hool have high levels of a ccess to the p ool locate don the site. Program s a re run in both terms 1 and term 4 and stud ents expe riencenea rly 20 hours per annum o f aq uatic ed ucation prog rams. Cowe s Primary Schoo lis satisfied that the students at the sc hool rec eive ad eq uate a qua tic ed uca tioninstruction and are well prepared to safely swim in the bay and patrolled openbeaches.


24/53


23

Summary

There wa s ge nuine co ncern that the low level of aq uatic ed uca tion program ming

a t Newhaven Prima ry and San Rem o Prima ry fails to provide c hild ren w ith thenec essary skills to minimise the risk of d rowning a ssoc ia ted with living in an a reasurrounded by sea. It appears there should be opportunities for all schools in the

a rea to further utilise the Cowe s Primary Schoo l and this should be e xplored furtherin the short term. However, until a year round indoor facility is created the traveltime to Wonthaggi Aquatic Centre w ill continue to limit aq uatic educa tionop po rtunities for c hildren who at tend sc hool in the Phillip Island and San Remod istric t.

3.4 PHILLIP ISLAND SWIM CLUB

The Phillip Island Swim Club (PISC) c urrently cond uc ts prog ram s a t the Wonthagg iAqua tic Ce ntre from the start of term 2 to mid November. The program thenreloc a tes to Cowes Primary Sc hool for the summer sea son.

Lane ava ilability a t Wontha gg i is limited due to c ompe ting d emand s of othe r c lub sand program s inc lud ing the Wontha gg i Swim Club, Phillip Island Swim Club and theYMCA Aquatic Educ at ion program . The lac k of lane ava ilability limits growth of the

c lub and also impac ts on the num be r of sessions in which swimmers c anparticipa te. There is a w aiting list for child ren to join squads but no add itiona l laneavailability.

The PISC identified the following impac ts as a result of the c urrent p rovision o faquatic fac ilities within the shire:-

Som e c hild ren miss out on the op portunity to p articipa te in swim squadsparticularly at the pre squad level. Issues of obesity in the community aresignificant and the club believes it is extremely disappointing that childrenwho want to exercise are restricted from doing so because of inadequatefacility infrastructure.

The lac k of tra ining times limits capac ity of children to reac h their potentia l.Those tha t wa nt to ta ke their swimming to a higher level have to travel toNarre Warren o r Cranb ourne ea ch day. This c an result in them having toleave the local community.

The travel time b ec omes a rea l cha llenge for pa rents and c hild ren over theyears and leads to an earlier drop o ut than would normally be expec ted.

When the program is loca ted a t the Cowes pool the numb er of squadop portunities increases as doe s ove rall pa rticipa tion.

An all year round indoor pool on Phillip Island would dramatically increasethe opportunities available to kids, increase the profile of the club in theco mm unity and result in increased pa rtic ipa tion

3.5 HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS

The team held d isc ussions with a numb er of hea lth servic e p rovide rs in thec atc hme nt. The findings of this c onsultation is summ arised below :


25/53


24

Spec ialist hydrotherapy fac ilities wo uld be essential in any new fac ility.Me dic al prac titione rs suc h as doc tors, physiotherap ist, chirop rac tors,osteo pa ths and reme dial ma sseuses have pa tients who req uirehydrothe rapy po ol ac c ess. They believe this wo uld result in significant use o fany hydrotherap y fac ilities.

They supp ort the de velop ment o f a new a qua tic c entre in ord er to supp ort

physical activity participation and help fight obesity and other health issuesassociated with inactivity.

It is mo re c ost e ffec tive (for the c omm unity and go vernme nt) to invest infac ilities and infrastruc ture that supp ort physica l ac tivity pa rticipat ion thanthe he alth c osts involved in trea ting d isea se and c ond itions assoc iated w ithp rolonged inac tivity.

They are conce rned a bo ut the current lac k of ap prop riate loca l indooraquatic a nd leisure fa c ilities and the imp ac t this has on loc al hea lth issuesand reha bilita tion opp ortunities.

There ma y be d em and fo r a llied hea lth co nsulting suites as pa rt of any newfac ility. How ever this nee ds to b e te sted with the p rivate sec tor.

The d istance to the Wontha gg i Aqua tic and Leisure Ce ntre is a b a rrier toinc rea sed usag e a nd d isad vanta ges ma ny olde r ad ults, people unde rgo ingreha b ilitation a nd those w ith chronic d isea ses such as d iabete s.

Warm wa ter hydrotherap y ac tivities ca n only be ac ce ssed onc e p er weeka t WAC on a Wed nesda y. This is inade qua te a nd c auses too muc hd isrupt ion to other users.

There is limited p ub lic transport to the Wonthagg i Aqua tic Centre. This has animp ac t on o verall ac cessibility to a qua tic p rog ram s.

Conc ession pric ing p rog ram s need to reflec t the c ap ac ity of peop le withlimited income to a fford to a ccess fac ilities. Current c onc ession p ricing is a

little high.

3.6 PHILLIP ISLAND AQUATIC CENTRE FUND COMMITTEE (PIACFC)

An eq ually imp ortant p art of the c onsultation process wa s to p rovide a voic e to thePAIC reg arding their ide ntified rea sons for the de velopm ent o f an a qua tic c entreon Phillip Island.

The p osition of the PIACFC can be summarised by the follow ing p oints:-

The continued growth of the loc al po pulation.

The a ging p op ulat ion a nd the need for pa ssive, low imp ac t exerc iseop portunities such as hydrothe rapy.

The growing incidenc e of ob esity and d iab etes in the community and theop portunity aq uatic ac tivities p rovide in terms of non we ight b ea ringactivity.

Necessity for children to learn to swim, particularly living on an Island

Current inad eq uac ieso f Wonthag gi Aq uatic and Leisure Centre in terms oflane ava ilability and p rog ram rang e.


26/53


25

The req uirem ent to travel to Wontha gg i is a signific ant b arrier in te rms oftravel time a nd fuel cost.

Future inc rea ses in fuel co sts will further limit ac cessibility.

Preced ents from other LGAs for p roviding simila r fac ilities for simila rtowns/regions.

The c ontribution the fac ility will ma ke to the sense of c omm unity and thec ap ac ity to de velop a c omm unity hub for the Island .

Likely positive impac t on to urism.

To supp ort youth de velopm ent.

Add ress aq uatic educa tional needs.

Supp ort loc al emp loyment.

3.7 PHILLIP ISLAND ADVENTURE RESORT

The Phillip Island Ad venture resort is a key sta keholder in the potentia l deve lopm ent

of a n aq uatic c entre on Phillip Island. They rep resent a n oppo rtunity to deliver asignific ant ma rket to the fac ility and they have also provide d land for a p otentialdevelopment of the aq uatic c entre.

Ap proximate ly 23,000 c hild ren use the resort ea ch yea r. The m ajority sta y for 2nights and 3 days. It is anticipated that each child will use the centre once per visitto the resort and be c harged $4.00 pe r visit. This will ge nerate $92,000 per annumnet revenue. This revenue is add itional to revenue that is trad itiona lly genera ted inan aquatic centre and will significantly enhance the net performance of thecentre.

There a re a lso 20,000 visits by adults for confe renc es and holida ys. It is anticipa ted

that a minimum o f 2,000 of these will ac cess the c entre providing a n ad ditional$10,000 income.

The a nticipa ted usage b y Ad venture Resort users is relat ively c onservat ive but ha sbeen done following consultation with resort management who have a goodunderstanding of their customer base.

In to ta l it is likely tha t the Ad venture Resort will deliver net revenue to the aq uaticc entre in exc ess of $102,000. This is a significant reve nue benef it and will offset som eof the potential losses incurred through operation of the centre.


27/53


26

4 COMMUNITY PROFILE AND CATCHMENT ANALYSIS

For the p urpo ses of the study the a nalysis of ca tc hment fo r the fac ility focused onthe Phillip Island a nd San Rem o a rea . This ca tc hment rep resents the a rea s wherekey users will live a nd is the mo st d ensely pop ula ted in close p roximity to the

p rop osed fac ility. The Wontha gg i area w as not c onsidered as pa rt of the study dueto travel distance and times and the fac t that Wonthagg i is c urrently serviced by

the Wonthag gi Aquatic Ce ntre.

In the 2006 census the pop ula tion estimate for Phillip Island and San Rem o a rea wa s8476. Current ABSda ta sugg est tha t the pop ula tion in 2009 wa s 9452. The growth inpop ula tion is 982, which is an inc rea se of in excess of 10% with annua l grow th ofapproximately 3%. Continued growth at approximately this level will result inpop ulation o f a pproxima tely 11,200 by 2015 and 13,000 by 2020.

4.1 AGE PROFILE

Phillip Island, Bass Coast and Regional Victoria comparison.

The ta ble b elow c omp are the a ge profile o f the Phillip Island c atc hment with BassCoa st a nd regional victo ria.

The p rofile o f the Phillip Island and Bass Coast a re rela tively consistent. There is asignificantly higher proportion of adults over 60 with both Bass Coast and PhillipIsland in comp arison w ith reg ional Victoria . This sugg ests tha t the re is and will bean ongoing req uirement to provide hydrotherap y and low imp ac t exerc iseopp ortunities to meet over 60 co hort.

It is imp ortant to note tha t whilst po pula tion p rojec tions were not a vailab le, ea ch

of the schools involved in the c onsulta tion expec t enrolme nts to inc rea se o ver thenext 10 years. Newha ven Co llege expec ts enrolme nts to inc rea se byap proxima tely 250 (38%) over the next dec ad e.


28/53


27

4.2 INCOME LEVELS

Inc om e leve ls in the Phillip Island c a tc hme nt a re slightly higher tha n Bass Coast b ut

ge nerally lower than regional Vic toria. There is a high numb er of pe op le on low tomedium incomes suggesting concession pricing strategies will be important toensure a ccessibility.

4.3 MOTOR VEHICLE OWNERSHIP

The ta ble b elow c omp ares the c ar owne rship w ithin the Phillip Island c atc hmentwith Bass Co ast Shire a nd entire sta te of Vic toria .

The d ata indica tes that there are a highe r prop ortion o f households on Phillip Islandwith a t lea st 1 mo tor vehic le c ompared with the rest of Victo ria. This sta tistic reflec tsthe need for vehicles as a m od e of transpo rtation and reflec ts the relatively sma llnumber of pub lic transport opportunities tha t exist w ithin the shire. This sugg ests tha taccess to the site will be m ainly by c ar. Therefore traffic m ana ge me nt a nd pa rkingreq uirements will need to b e c arefully c onside red during de sign de velopment.

However, it is important from an accessibility perspective that public transportservices link the proposed centre with key communities. It should be noted that thep rop osed loca tion on the m ain roa d be twe en San Rem o a nd C owes should ensureexisting transport services could be a dap ted to p rovide ac cess to the c entre.


29/53


28

4.4 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF THE CATCHMENT

Strengths

The high level of older adults who ha ve a need for hydrotherapy a ndpa ssive, low imp ac t exerc ise fac ilities. They have the time to pa rtic ipa te inthese ac tivities and there has be en signific ant g row th in exerc ise ac tivitywithin this c oho rt over the last 5 yea rs.

The c ontinued growth of school age pop ulation and the op portunity thispresents for learn to swim c lasses and a ssoc iated revenue .

Continued g rowth of the ca tchment.

Weakness

A sma ll ca tc hme nt tha t will req uire a substa ntial annua l ope ra ting subsidy.


30/53


29

5 MARKET ANALYSIS

5.1 LEARN TO SWIM PROGRAM PROVISION

In rec ent years Phillip Island and San Rem o residents have a cc essed learn to swim

programs at private backyard poo ls, Silverwa ter Resort and Wontha gg i Aqua ticCentre (WAC). Lessons a re no long er ava ilab le at the Silverwa ter resort and there isa signific ant wa iting list for lessons with private o perators. It also ap pea rs the

program is at c ap ac ity in the pea k evening a nd w eekend times and there is awa iting list for children to b e enrolled .

In summer an intensive p rog ram (VICSWIM Summer Kidz) has be en c ond uc ted byVicswim a t the Co we s Primary Sc hoo l. Vicswim no longer runs these p rog rams dueto a loss of government funding. The YMCA will co nduct a summer program thisyear. Howe ver there is no gua rantee that it will be run in the future. The p rogramc aters for a relatively sma ll numbe r of children and is c onduc ted when ma ny loc alresidents are on holidays or involved in other activities.

It is unlikely that c urrent private p ool op erators will be a ble to meet the growingde ma nd for aq uatic educ ation on Phillip Island . Further there is limited c ap ac ity forgrowth at the WAC without further negative impact on swim clubs and lapswimmers.

Reliance on private operators to meet the aquatic education and aquatic safetyneed s of the c omm unity is some wha t risky. There have b een p eriod s in the pa stwhere providers have exited the market and left no aquatic provision in theca tchment. If this were to oc cur in the future ma ny more children would miss out onlessons and further pressure will be plac ed on the alrea dy o verc rowd ed Wonthag giAqua tic Centre.

5.2 WONTHAGGI AQUATIC CENTRE

Whilst it is not the p urpo se o f this rep ort to a nalyse p erformanc e o f the Wontha gg iAqua tic Centre, it is imp ortant to highlight a numb er of cha llenges the c entre has inmeeting the ne ed s of users.

There is limited lane a va ilab ility during the e vening p ea k period . This has an impa c ton a cc essibility, pa rticipa tion numb ers and revenue genera tion. Spec ific a lly, thelimited lane spa ce has a nega tive imp ac t on

Children unable to ac c ess aq uatic ed uca tion programs and limited flexibilitywithin the p rogram to m eet the need s of fam ilies with multiple c hildren onthe sam e night.

Loc al swim clubs unab le to ac cess lane spa ce when they need to. As aresult children do not meet their potential and some have to go on waiting

lists to join squa ds. Overcrowd ed lap lanes lead ing to c ustom er frustrat ion and d issa tisfac tion.

This eventua lly results in swimmers c ea sing swimming in winte r and swimmingin the o pen w ater in summ er. This result in revenue loss to the c ent re whencompared to all year use that would occur if swimmers needs could beconsistently met .


31/53


30

The multi-purpose nature of the p ool results in it trying to meet the need s of d iversecustomer groups. For instance increasing the temperature of the pool forhydrotherapy exercise classes each Wednesday has a negative impact on swimsqua ds and lap swimmers. The hydrotherap y tempe rature c an b e too wa rm forhigh intensity ac tivity a nd further imp ac ts on sa tisfac tion levels of these user group s.

Further, whilst the sha llow end dep th is suitab le for the learn to swim p rog ram it istoo shallow for lap swimmers who frequently hit the bottom of the pool with theirstroke.

Narrow lap lanes contribute to a sense of overcrowding as there is no opportunityto pass slowe r swimm ers. Any more than 3 swimm ers per lane is uncom fortable and

further imp ac ts on sa tisfac tion levels and ove rall fac ility usage of lap swimm ers.

To me et the needs of the Bass Coa st com munity the Wonthag gi Aqua tic Centrerequires a major facility upgrade. However, whilst a facility upgrade will meet theneeds of part of the com munity, other sec tions of the Bass Coast comm unity willcontinue to be excluded from use due to issues associated with travel time,

d istance and fac ility overc rowding.

5.3 COWES PRIMARY SCHOOL SWIMMING POOL

The Co we s Primary Schoo l poo l is an ag eing fa c ility that ha s a numb er of issues tha tp revents high levels of c om munity use.

The te mp erature o f the p ool is relatively low excep t d uring the he ight of thesumm er. The c old te mp erature is not suitable for aq uatic ed uca tion c lasses. Thec older po ol temp erature also prevents introd uction of low impa c t exerc ise classes

for older ad ults.

The c hang e room s are p oo r quality and d o no t meet disab ility ac cess req uirem ents

and the pool plant would require upgrade if participation increased significantly.Furthermore, swimmers freq uently touc h the botto m of the p ool at the shallow end.

Inconsistent opening hours negatively impact on participation. Lap swimmers inpa rtic ular and aq uatic fac ility users in general, like to p lan their exercise ac tivity inad vanc e a nd d evelop wee kly routines. As the po ol only opens when the airtemperature is foreca st to be ab ove 24 degrees Celsius, it b ecom es too difficult forpe ople to develop a routine and ma ny simp ly do not use the poo l as ac onseq uence. Fac ilities that ha ve c onsistent op ening hours attract higher usag ethan those that a re tem perature d epe nda nt.

In the short term pa rticipa tion a t the p ool co uld be increased by introd ucing

c onsistent o pe ning hours and imp roving c omm unity aw areness. Minimum ope ninghours could be 6am 9am and 4pm to 8pm and from 8am to 12 noon onwee kends. Op ening hours co uld b e extended o n hot days if needed . In the longterm the Cow es po ol would need a c omp lete refurbishment to mee t the nee ds ofthe loca l comm unity.


32/53


31

5.4 MARKETSUMMARY

Disrega rding previous issues noted around travel to Wonthag gi Aquatic Centre

c urrent a quatic fac ility provision within the shire is unab le to sat isfac torily meet theneeds of the com munity.

There is unmet d emand for aq uatic e duca tion programs, lap swimming isinadequately ca tered for due to overcrowded and unsuitable pool depth andlane width. Swim squa d d ema nd is unmet and there is minima l provision of wa rmwa ter exerc ise op po rtunities for older adults and p atients req uiring water ba sedreha bilita tion. Furthermore, there is an unhealthy relianc e on sma ll ba c kya rdop erators to meet the a quatic ed uca tion need s of the Phillip Island and San Rem ocommunity.


33/53


32

6 FACILITY ELEMENTS

6.1 TRENDS IN AQUATIC FACILITY DEVELOPMENT

Based o n the experienc e of the consultant team several "ge neral" trend s

were considered relevant in considering the recommended facility developmentoptions.

6.1.1 Warm Water Exerc ise

Physiotherapists, General Practitioners, personal trainers and other healthcarep rofessiona ls are inc rea singly presc ribing a quat ic e xerc ise p rog ram s for the irpa tients. Stud ies have dem onstrate d the bene fits of aquatic exercise forrehab ilita tion, injury p revention, a nd pain mana ge ment. Arthritis pa tients have aninc rea sed range of m otion a nd mo re flexibility in wa ter, allow ing them to imp rovethe ir physica l c ond ition. Wate r based exercise is also ea sier on the joints of theinc rea sing number of c omm unity memb erssuffering from ob esity.

As the p op ula tion a ges, it is expec ted that the d emand for aq uatic the rap ies willc ontinue to grow significa ntly in the future. In respo nse to the increased need forhydrotherap y opp ortunities, rec ently de velope d co mm unity fac ilities haveinc lude d wa rm wa ter and areas de signed to supp ort hydro prog ram s.

The c urrent inte rest in hea lth and w ell-being is a ttrac ting grea te r numb ers ofpeop le to the wa ter. Aq uatic e xercise is rep orted to ha ve a higher percenta ge o fgrowth in pa rticipat ion than all other forms of aqua tic a c tivity.

6.1.2 Reduction of Outdoor Aquatic Fac ilities

Loc al G overnme nt Area s (LGAs) a c ross Australia fac e inc rea sed c osts for services

and increased service req uirements but sta gnant reve nue. This has forced sportand rec rea tion depa rtme nts to m ake c hang es in the de livery of leisure a ndrecrea tion servic es. This is espec ially true for outd oo r aquatic fa c ilities, which ha vehistoric a lly req uired substa ntia l op erating subsidies. To lower op erating c osts, RuralLGA s a re consolida ting resource s into la rger all-inclusive a quatic fac ilities.

Reg ional Aq uatic Ce ntres c an provide grea ter servic es for less op erating c ost peruser. The c ent ralisa tion o f fac ilities is seen not only with new fac ilities tha t a re be ingdeveloped nationa lly, but also with the numb er of red evelopments that remo vethe trad itional 50m p ool and replac e it with a tw o or three p ool com plex.

6.1.3 Water Play Areas

The latest trend in providing a quatic rec rea tion is the w a ter play areas. These w aterp laygrounds inco rporate various types of wa ter elements including sp rays,founta ins, interac tive pla y area and m a jor a ttrac tions such as wa ter slides andwave pools.

These ac tivities have see n a significant inc rea se in usage of a quatic fac ilities byfam ilies with young c hild ren. Anec dota l evide nce also sugg ests that wa ter playfac ilities are c omp lementa ry to aq uatic ed uca tion program s and lea d to increaseenrolments in swim lessons.


34/53


33

6.1.4 Hea lth Clubs (Gyms), Spa , Sauna & Caf Am enities

Another trend in the d esign of a quatic fa c ilities is the a ddition of site ame nities tha ttransform a swimm ing poo l into a rec rea tion de stination. Poo l ope ra tors rep ort thatc ustom er sat isfac tion, length o f stay, and at tendance are g rea ter with increasedspa c e a nd co mp lementa ry am enities.

6.1.5 Universal Acc ess

Cha nges in Government leg islation in reg ard to disab ility ac c ess now requiremod ern fac ilities to have ram p acc ess into poo ls, hoists and accessible to ilets andc hang e facilities. Indoor hea ted po olsa re widely used by disability groups andindividuals. Modern fac ilities a re now mo re a cc ommoda ting o f families in thedesign of c hang e room s that spec ifically c ate r for their need s.

6.1.6 Allied Health

There is a trend tow ards the p rovision of hea lth and therapeut ic services within newaqua tic fa c ilities. These services inc lude : Hea lth co nsultanc ies, weight loss and

therapeutic services linking in worker and a cc ident reha b ilitation p atients to use therange o f fac ilities with cent re memberships pa id by releva nt authorities. On siteSports Medicine Clinics including the deve lopm ent o f co nsulting room s, with pa tientacc ess to health and fitness po ols, has also em erged in the p ast d ec ad e.

6.1.7 Environmentally Sustainable Design

In rec ent yea rs there has been a c lear indica tion that the b roa der com munity nowplac es imp ortanc e o n minimising the impa c t on the e nvironment. Aqua tic fac ilitydevelopmentsare now expec ted to include a range of sustainab le designinitiatives.

Susta inab le design fea tures that are being inc lude d in co ntempo rarily de signed

aq uatic c entre include:

Water and power eff ic ient appliances and f ixtures and f it tings; Ha rve sting o f ra inw ater; a nd Reuse of pool filtration ba c kwa sh water using reverse osmosis that saves 90%

of b ac kwa sh wa ter and returns 75% of the tota l bac kwa sh volume to thepool.

6.2 AQUATIC COMPONENT ISSUES

Aquatic spac es by nature are relatively inflexible due to d ep th and te mp eraturereq uireme nts of users and user groups. Ide ally eac h fac ility develope d w ill havespec ific spa c es for ea ch of the key aq uatic uses whether it islap swimming, lea rn toswim, hydrotherap y or leisure. How ever, c ap ital budge t a nd site c onstra intsge nerally c onspire to req uire fac ility de velopm ents to imp lement som e fo rm ofc ompromise w hen it come s to a qua tic p rovision.

In de termining the a pp rop riate m ix and c onfigura tion of aquatic spa ces it is firstessential to identify the key purpo se a nd o bjectives of the ce ntre and the targetedusers of the centre in the future. Clarifica tion of these issues will ena b le fac ility

p lanners to ide ntify key priorities for aq uatic spac es and c om bine these w ith


35/53


34

de ma nd d ata to d etermine the overall aq uatic mix within the ava ilab le c ap italbudget.

The ta ble b elow ha s been de velop ed to highlight som e o f the issues rela ting toc ustom er req uirem ents for aq uatic spaces and c an be used as the b asis forunde rstanding the imp ac t of a qua tic d esign opt ions on c ustom er experienc e. It

should b e note d that the ta ble only provides upp er level, ge neric information andthat all fac tors relating to the projec t would need to b e c onsidered a ndunderstood prior to rec omm ending and de veloping the m ost ap propriate designoutc om e. The informa tion in the tables be low ha s be en simp lified for the purpo se o fd iscussion and doe s not deta il a ll impac ts and issues relat ing to custome r beha viourand requirements.

Lap Swimming Pools (25 metre and 50metre)

Targe t market

Lap swimmers for fitness Masters swimmers Tria thle tes Swim Club Junior squads Lea rn to swim c lasses Recreation users Competitions

Financ ial c onsidera tion Generally low ne t revenue g eneration

capacity.

Other issues 1.2m is idea l minimum de pth for

tumb le turns howe ver many c entreshave minimum dep th of 1m.

Gene rally require a 1.5m m inimumde pth fo r diving under supe rvision.

Swim clubs and c om pe titiveswimmers ma y like temp erature to b eslight ly lower at ap p roxima tely 25degrees.

50 me tre po ol is mo re a pp rop riate forlap swimming b ut many swimm ers will

be satisfied with 25m po ol iftemp erature, lane a vailability andlane width are ap propriate .

Positive impact on customer experience

Water tempe rature 25 - 27degrees

Pool dep th - Minimum 1.2m Lane width 2.5m

Negative impa c ts on c ustomerexperience

Pool temp erature is too w arm lap swimming a nd squa dtraining are high intensityac tivities and wa ter temp eraturehas a m ajor imp ac t on ba thercomfort.

Lane s too na rrow . Limited lane ava ilab ility.

What length of poo l? 25 metre or 50 me tre?

The question of 25 metre versus 50 metre poo l is one tha t is frequently raised inp lanning fo r fac ility develop me nt. The a nswe r not only rela tes to the size o f thec atc hment a nd w hether it c an p rovide de ma nd for a 50 metre pool but a lso to the


36/53


35

c ap ac ity of the fac ility development b udge t to me et the need s of all aq uaticusers.

We unde rstand that there is som e d esire for a 50 me tre p ool to be construc ted a tthe site. How ever, there are a numb er of rea sons why this has not b eenrecommended.

A pop ulation c atc hment o f 60,000 pe op le is ge nerally req uired to c rea tede ma nd for major aq uatic and leisure fa c ilities which include 50 me treindoo r poo ls.

The 9,000 10,000 po pulation of the ca tc hment is unlikely to susta in the extraop erational c ost assoc iated w ith a 50 me tre po ol.

A 50 m p oo l will introd uc e a dd itiona l ca p ital costs in the vicinity of 80% or $8million.

Whilst the re is som e d em and fo r ca rnivals and c om petitions in a 50 m p oo lthey will not generate signific ant reve nue stream s and d o not justify the extracap ital and op erating costs.

Loc al sc hool c arnivals and e ven d istric t c arnivals could be held a t theprop osed centre in a 25 me tre p ool.

The fac ility should b e d esigned to me et the broad needs of the loc alcommunity - the 50m p ool mee ts the requirem ents of a very sma ll pa rt of thecommunity at signific ant c ost.

It a pp ea rs unlikely that the funding will be rec eived for a 50m indo or pool.

The p rop osed 8 lane, 25 me tre p ool com bined w ith othe r wa ter spa ces willme et the needs of users.

Learn To Swim - Program Poo l

Targe t market

0 10 years

Note the a ge s for predicted use a re nom inaland d epend ant on ab ility, confidence a ndsize o f the child.

Financ ial ConsiderationThe learn to swim program ha s a highca pa city to generate high net revenuereturns to operators. It is the only part of theaq uatic mix that is deve loped co mmerciallyby private op erators.

Other issues

Parent/ child lessons (0 to 4 years) a rege nerally held in dep th over 1.0m. Thesewould no rma lly be undertaken in lapswimming po ol. Howe ver if this tempe rature istoo c old p arents will not p articipa te in theselessons. The minimum temp era turereq uireme nt is 31 de grees but this would b e asignifican t c om promise for lap swimmers.

Positive impact on customer experience Water temp erature m inimum 32

degrees.

Po

piac feasibility study report march 2011

Documents