Mr MILLS - 2000-05-16
Palmerston and rural residents await news on the Palmerston Pool and Leisure Centre. What can I report to residents regarding the future of this important community facility?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for the question - this is a true dorothy dixer - from a local member from the community of Palmerston who has worked closely with me and with Palmerston Town Council, hopefully a city council in due course, on this particular issue.
With the new health centre arriving in Palmerston very shortly, with construction this dry, the next priority is to get better recreational facilities into Palmerston. That is something the community has called for loudly for some time. Given the competing interests of sporting facilities at Marrara, and also government’s original plans to centre most of our sporting facilities at the Archer facility, over time we have come to realise that the Archer is essentially not the best site for some of the facilities that are needed, and so we’ve looked for better options.
An opportunity has arisen now, with the handover of the Palmerston Swimming Pool back to government, to develop the Palmerston Swimming Pool site - and when I say that site, I am talking about the Palmerston Swimming Pool site and associated vacant land - into a multi-purpose sporting complex. In that regard, there will be money allocated in this particular budget to complete detailed negotiations with regards to securing that site.
There are some difficulties. It is a privately-owned site. Government has to reach an agreement with the existing owner. From our point of view we will gain that site only if we can complete those negotiations satisfactorily. But I would say that from all of our assessments it is the best site. It is the best site to give us the opportunity to develop the pool and gymnasium complex that exists on that site in a complementary way such that the lessee who, in our opinion hopefully, would be Palmerston Town Council, can get a decent revenue flow from those 2 facilities together, and also use the associated vacant land to improve the recreational facilities in Palmerston.
I have seen some of the conceptual layouts that have been brought forward so far. Early conceptual plans include a multi-purpose sports hall, skating and rollerblade facilities, and passive recreation areas, including a safe area for young children to ride their bikes. For the interest of the member for Blain, over the coming months I would hope that government can successfully negotiate to secure that block, and in consultation with the community, Palmerston Town Council, and government departments, it will move to detail plans with construction commencing as soon as possible.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the honourable member for the question - this is a true dorothy dixer - from a local member from the community of Palmerston who has worked closely with me and with Palmerston Town Council, hopefully a city council in due course, on this particular issue.
With the new health centre arriving in Palmerston very shortly, with construction this dry, the next priority is to get better recreational facilities into Palmerston. That is something the community has called for loudly for some time. Given the competing interests of sporting facilities at Marrara, and also government’s original plans to centre most of our sporting facilities at the Archer facility, over time we have come to realise that the Archer is essentially not the best site for some of the facilities that are needed, and so we’ve looked for better options.
An opportunity has arisen now, with the handover of the Palmerston Swimming Pool back to government, to develop the Palmerston Swimming Pool site - and when I say that site, I am talking about the Palmerston Swimming Pool site and associated vacant land - into a multi-purpose sporting complex. In that regard, there will be money allocated in this particular budget to complete detailed negotiations with regards to securing that site.
There are some difficulties. It is a privately-owned site. Government has to reach an agreement with the existing owner. From our point of view we will gain that site only if we can complete those negotiations satisfactorily. But I would say that from all of our assessments it is the best site. It is the best site to give us the opportunity to develop the pool and gymnasium complex that exists on that site in a complementary way such that the lessee who, in our opinion hopefully, would be Palmerston Town Council, can get a decent revenue flow from those 2 facilities together, and also use the associated vacant land to improve the recreational facilities in Palmerston.
I have seen some of the conceptual layouts that have been brought forward so far. Early conceptual plans include a multi-purpose sports hall, skating and rollerblade facilities, and passive recreation areas, including a safe area for young children to ride their bikes. For the interest of the member for Blain, over the coming months I would hope that government can successfully negotiate to secure that block, and in consultation with the community, Palmerston Town Council, and government departments, it will move to detail plans with construction commencing as soon as possible.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016