Blue Mountains City Council would like to advise that the close of submissions for the Draft Open Space & Recreation Strategic Plan has been extended to close of business on Monday 15 January 2017.

20 October 2017

HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE FUTURE OF PARKS POOLS AND PLAY

Blue Mountains City Council is seeking community comment on its ten year plan for providing open space and sport and recreation facilities for the local community and visitors.

The purpose of the draft Open Space and Recreation Strategic Plan is to guide how the Council provides and manages open space and sport and recreation facilities and services over the next ten or more years.

Council’s current approach to providing open space and recreation facilities is not sustainable. The way the community uses local sport and recreation facilities and open spaces is changing. Many of these facilities are ageing and do not meet modern standards.

The draft plan explores a broad range of different sport and recreation themes such as walking, cycling, play, parks, pools, nature based recreation, organised and informal sports, as well as funding options and potential partnerships with other providers, for example, NPWS, sporting groups, and the NSW Office of Sport and Recreation.

The draft plan draws on important data including, the current and projected demographics of the Blue Mountains, changing community needs, the demand for recreation, and patterns and trends in how people use sport and recreation facilities and open spaces.

Council has done a lot of research to inform the draft plan and the options for the best possible mix of sport and recreation services across the City. Now we are asking the community, have we got the balance right?

The draft plan has attracted a high level of community interest in the proposed changes to Council’s swim centres, especially Katoomba outdoor pool. It is important that the community is aware that no decision has been made to close Katoomba outdoor pool.

At its meeting on 17 October, the Council approved the draft Open Space & Recreation Strategic Plan being placed on public exhibition. This means the plan and other supporting information are made available to the public to view and comment on. The option of closing the Katoomba outdoor pool is one of many proposals in the draft plan, which considers all of the swim centres, not just Katoomba.

The Blue Mountains has five swim centres which is much higher than other areas with a higher population. The infrastructure at all of the swim centres is ageing, many facilities do not meet modern industry or community standards, and require significant investment to replace or repair. Katoomba outdoor pool, for example, will cost an estimated $6.8 million to replace the pipework, filtrations systems and the pool shell.

Council aims to provide the best possible services to meet the needs of the community, now and in the future, within available resources.

Residents are encouraged to be informed and be part of the conversation about the future of sport and recreation facilities and open spaces in the Blue Mountains.

The draft Open Space and Recreation Strategic Plan is on public exhibition for community comment for six weeks until Wednesday 6 December 2017. To view the draft plan and to make a submission visit www.bluemountainshaveyoursay.com.au/openspace. Printed copies of the draft Plan are available at Council’s Katoomba & Springwood offices and branch libraries. Submissions are accepted by email to council@bmcc.nsw.gov.au and Locked Bag 1008 Katoomba NSW 2780.

Photo: Blue Mountains City Council is seeking community comment on its ten year plan for providing open space and sport and recreation facilities for the local community and visitors. Have we got the balance right?

Council would like to advise of minor amendments to the Draft Open Space and Recreation Strategic Plan and Draft Play Guidelines prior to the documents being placed on public exhibition.

Did you know:

• Blue Mountains City Council services 76,904 residents (2016 census), who live in 27 towns and villages spread linear along 120 km of highway. The population of the City is essentially stable, with a slow rate of growth and steadily ageing.

• Blue Mountains has nearly 60 active sports clubs across the local government area.

• Blue Mountains City Council manages a very large range of open space sites and sporting facilities from Laptstone to Katoomba, and right around to Mount Tomah and including the Megalong Valley.

• Many sporting and recreational assets are more than 30 years old and do not meet current community needs or modern standards. There are issues of health and safety, accessibility, as well as changing trends in what our population actually do for recreation.

Things to think about:

• A lot of recreational infrastructure is ageing. Council does not have the resources for renewal and replacement of everything that will fail.
  

• The Blue Mountains has a rapidly ageing population, placing pressure on some facilities, as well as requiring facilities to be increasingly updated to increase accessibility for those with a disability.

Proposed Change/s:

• The strategic plan looks at how Council can structure investment to provide a better mix of quality and types of spaces and facilities in each of the 5 planning areas in the most financially sustainable way. It is about prioritising quality, within available resources.

• Changing trends in what we are doing for recreation means we need to be more responsive in changing our service mix to provide for more multi-purpose flexible spaces.

• The draft plan explores a broad range of different sport and recreation themes such as walking, cycling, play, parks, pools, organised and informal sports, as well as funding options and potential partnerships with other providers, for example, NPWS, sporting groups, and the NSW Office of Sport and Recreation.

  
  

Did you know:

• Blue Mountains City Council currently manages 105 parks across the Blue Mountains.

• 56 parks have traditional style play equipment, some of which is rapidly reaching the end of service life.

• There are also natural area track head parks, civic spaces and road side spaces that are maintained like parks for town and highway presentation.

Things to think about:

• What suited families in the 1960’s or even the 1990’s does not necessarily meet the needs of families today and Council is aiming to bring park experiences into line with the current thinking in children’s play.
  

• Experts in child development advise Council to supply a range of types of play for each of the major developmental needs, which are ‘Move the Body' play, ‘Kinetic’ play, ‘Social’ play, ‘Explorative’ play and ‘Imaginative’ or 'Inventive' play
  

Proposed Change/s:

• A service hierarchy will direct and prioritise investment.

• The highest level of investment is for the four identified District parks. The aim is to increase levels of quality and service within the resources available. This includes providing all abilities playgrounds for a range of ages covering all the play type needs, as well as some play accessibility for children with a disability.

• The next level of 'Local' parks investment will service each of the five planning areas.

• Neighbourhood Parks will have some decreased level of investment, and will be designed as an overall range of supply, where each park will meet at one or two of the identified childhood play need themes.

• There is a real opportunity to create a more nature based style of design in our parks, using natural materials and clever landscape design to create spaces that are more in sync with the Blue Mountains lifestyle and environmental values.

  
  

More information:

• See 'Play' in the Draft Open Space & Recreation Strategic Plan - Pages 54 - 63
• See 'Parks' in the Draft Open Space & Recreation Strategic Plan - Pages 64 - 66
• See the supporting document - Play Guidelines

Did you know:

• In Council's community consultation, it was found that 68% of the resident population surveyed use paths at least monthly and 63% named bush-walking tracks as their number one priority for future investment.
  

• Many assume the bush-walks in the Blue Mountains are all state managed National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS), but Blue Mountains City Council actually manages over 120 kilometres of bushwalking tracks, including the major sections of the regionally significant ‘Charles Darwin’ walk in Wentworth Falls and the ‘Prince Henry Cliff Walk’ in Leura/Katoomba,

• Council has 130 tracks and 98 lookouts, as well as the many ‘track head’ parks.

• Council also manages 7 major cliff sport precincts for activities such as rock climbing and abseiling. It also provides a gliding launch pad in Blackheath.

Things to think about:

• Many of the bush-walking tracks and natural area infrastructure managed by Council are rapidly deteriorating and will require major investment, with 80% thought to be failing and under-funded.
  

Proposed Change/s:

• Council needs to increase investment in walking tracks and natural area recreation. Investment in maintaining and upgrading bush-walking tracks in particular will be prioritised according to the track's status in the proposed hierarchy.

More information:

• Go to The Draft Open Space & Recreation Strategic Plan - pages 42, 44 and 49 - 53

Did you know:

Blue Mountains City Council currently provides:

• 5 Aquatic Centres with 16 individual pools.

• There are year round swimming opportunities at Katoomba, Springwood and Glenbrook.

• There are heated seasonal pools available at Katoomba and Lawson 6 months each year and unheated seasonal pools are available at Blackheath 4 months a year

• According to community consultation, swimming and aquarobics are the 6th most popular recreation activity

Things to think about:

• Each swimming centre operates at a subsidy varying from $12.60 per visit in Blackheath (short swimming season and low numbers of visits) through to $0.45 per visit in Springwood (year round indoor facility with high visitation).

• Climate is a significant consideration with regards to use of outdoor pools, particularly in the upper mountains
  

• There is a large shortfall in funding required to replace aging pool infrastructure.
  Council has capital $2,670,000 allocated for pool renewal in the next 5 years. To replace all failing pools as is required capital is $8,560,000.

Proposed Change/s:

• Investigate possibly retiring failing facilities and consult on replacement or other options where funding is insufficient. Make best use of existing facilities in good order, and extend their season of use.

• Vary the facilities upon renewal to better meet modern needs: Year round swimming opportunities would be available at Katoomba, Springwood and Glenbrook. Heated seasonal pool would be available 6 months each year at Lawson and Blackheath. Splash pads would be available at Lawson and Blackheath to compliment the swimming facility.

More information:

• See The Draft Open Space & Recreation Strategic Plan - Pools : Pages 71-73