City of Gosnells Mayor Terresa Lynes will present more than 2,000 letters supporting the proposed Sutherlands Park Leisure, Aquatic and Sports Hub (SPLASH) to local State and Federal Members of Parliament, in a bid to show how much the facility is needed for the local community.
When residents were asked to show their support for the SPLASH concept last month, more than 2,000 submissions were received within just a few days, demonstrating the demand for new and improved recreation facilities in the south-east corridor.
Part of the greater Sutherlands Park Master Plan, the SPLASH design concept includes an eight-lane, 50m outdoor swimming pool, which the City currently does not have. Other proposed features include an eight-lane, 25m indoor pool, a 20m indoor learn-to-swim pool, an indoor leisure pool and four multi-sport indoor courts with seating for more than 250 people.
The design also features a 1,500sqm gym, with spin class and group fitness rooms, wellness hall with spa, steam room and sauna, plus a creche, café/restaurant and hireable multi-purpose spaces.
“SPLASH will deliver incredible benefits for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds in our local community – and from throughout the south-east corridor,” Mayor Lynes said.
“There is no denying that the current sports and aquatic facilities in the City no longer meet the needs of our rapidly growing population, and this is why the City believes SPLASH is desperately needed for our community.”
Mayor Lynes said more than 2,000 people had signed letters of support for SPLASH in the first phase of community submissions.
“This is a fantastic response, but we need to keep the momentum going – the more people we can get to show their support, the more chance we have of securing State and Federal Government funding,” she said.
The City has committed $66 million toward the anticipated $132 million cost for the project and seeks government funding for the remainder. “We need at least $16 million in funding support from the State Government and at least $50 million from the Federal Government.
“By presenting the community’s letters of support to Federal Member for Burt Matt Keogh and Southern River MLA Terry Healy, we hope to open their hearts and minds to SPLASH as a much-needed, long-awaited facility, to accommodate the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of people in our community and the south-east corridor.”
Mayor Lynes said outer-metropolitan areas of Perth are drastically underresourced in terms of 50m pools and aquatic centres.
“With multicultural communities overrepresented in drowning data from Royal Life Saving Australia, and with the City of Gosnells being one of the most richly diverse local governments in the Perth metropolitan area, a facility like SPLASH, which currently doesn’t exist in the City, would not only save lives but bring much-needed health and wellbeing benefits to our local community,” she said.
Many community members who signed letters of support have shared why they believe SPLASH is needed.
“The suburbs surrounding SPLASH are heavily populated with families and people who would greatly benefit from a venue to develop healthy habits to better themselves in all aspects of health and wellbeing,” one supporter wrote.
“We aren’t fortunate enough to be able to afford a house and a pool and it would be absolutely amazing for my [kids] if there was one just down the road!” another said.
Local schoolteachers also weighed in on the need for SPLASH, with one stating that it took a lot of time for students to travel to an aquatic recreation centre in Armadale: “SPLASH would mean local and accessible lessons and the convenience of a pool nearby for swimming carnivals,” they said.
For more information about SPLASH or to sign the City’s letter of support click here.
Mayor Terresa Lynes with the stack of letters from the community that support the proposed SPLASH development.
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