By Michael Newhouse
THE long-awaited feasibility study into the State Government’s offer to donate a 25-metre outdoor pool to the new Sunshine Swim and Leisure Centre has been handed to council, with councillors due to discuss the report in the coming week.
They will be briefed sometime this week on the findings of a $25,000 State Government funded feasibility study into the offer to provide Brimbank City Council with one of the 25-metre pools from the FINA World Swimming Championship, which begin in Melbourne on March 17.
Councillors were expected to have a copy of the report at the weekend, and will meet to discuss the council’s next step sometime this week.
“All councillors will have a chance to discuss the feasibility study … and we will discuss whatever the outcomes are and decide where to go from there,” Brimbank mayor Margaret Giudice said last Friday
The study, carried out by consultants Simply Great Leisure Group, is expected to detail the exact costs, and other details, of moving the 25-metre pool from Rod Laver Arena, where the championships are being held, onto the Service St Sunshine site.
The pool would have to be dismantled, transported and rebuilt on site.
Last October, in a surprise move in the lead up to last year’s state election, Henry Barlow, representing the then Sports Minister Justin Madden, announced the Labor Government would donate a pool from the championships for use at the redeveloped Sunshine Swim and Leisure Centre.
“We have the State Government promise sitting there, and we intend the State Government to honour that promise,” Cr Giudice said last week, saying that the next step would likely be consultation with the government.
“It’s a once in a lifetime offer,” said Sunshine Community Pool Action Group spokesman John Hedditch, reiterating that he’s very hopeful that this outdoor pool would finally be delivered.
“The need is there, the offer is there, the trick now is to work out how it gets funded, and I think that’s a matter of the community, unions, State Government and council putting their heads together.”
