Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 11

HARD COURT FACILITIES STRATEGY

2018-2028
A plan for the future of Greater Bendigo’s netball and tennis facility infrastructure
Contents About this document
The Hard Court Facilities Strategy 2018-2028 has been prepared by specialist sport and leisure
consultants insideEDGE Sport and Leisure Planning for the City of Greater Bendigo.
Introduction 3
The intent of this project is to provide Council and its stakeholders with a strategic assessment and clear
itinerary for the future planning, funding and development of outdoor netball and tennis facilities in the City
Overview 4
of Greater Bendigo.
Strategic facilities framework 5 The project delivers a planning and development framework with a clear vision and direction for the future
provision and enhancement of outdoor netball and tennis facilities. An assessment of the health, capacity
Key focus areas 6 and capability of user clubs and associations occupying Council owned and publicly accessible facilities is
also included in the scope of this project.
Prioritising projects 7
Four strategic priorities form the basis of the facility planning and development framework:
1. Increase access and use of facilities and enable more social and casual use.
2. Support clubs and associations through the ongoing renewal and upgrade of existing
facilities.
3. Ensure facilities respond to current and future demand for netball and tennis.
4. Improve the health, capacity and sustainability of clubs and associations through stronger
partnerships.
Key priorities and recommendations in the Hard Court Facilities Strategy have been informed by the Key
Findings Report developed in the early stages of this project. The Key Findings Report was developed
following consultation with key stakeholders, including peak sporting bodies, associations, clubs and
Council, and provides the evidence base from which the priorities and recommendations have been
developed.
This Strategy aligns and recognises previous strategic and facility planning work undertaken by Council
and the peak sporting bodies. Council’s Active Living Census, the Tennis 2020 Facility Development
Framework and the recently released Netball Victoria Statewide Facilities Strategy have helped shape the
direction of the Hard Court Facilities Strategy.

2
Introduction
The City of Greater Bendigo Hard Court Facilities The responsibility for delivering sport and Summary netball and tennis facility findings:
Strategy focusses on the current and future recreation facilities is shared across a range of • There is a shortage of lit courts to support
provision of outdoor netball and tennis venues stakeholders to ensure demand for facilities is training and night competition.
across the City, and provides strategic advice in met. Predominantly, local facilities being used
• There is an increasing shortage of skilled
the following key areas: by clubs and associations are planned and
volunteers to deliver local competitions and
delivered by the City, with some sites owned by
• Asset auditing – facility condition, manage and maintain facilities.
the Crown and the Department of Education.
compliance, capacity, ownership, • There is a preference for acrylic courts due to
management and lifecycle. Community netball and tennis competitions are playability, multiuse and reduced maintenance.
organised and managed by two local netball
• Club / Association Health – participation, • Facilities lack adequate player and spectator
associations, three football netball leagues and
affiliation, viability and governance. amenities, especially for females.
four tennis associations. Local leagues and
• Hierarchy and provision framework – supply associations are responsible for delivering the • There is an oversupply of courts in low
and demand, user needs, service levels, sport to approximately 50+ netball clubs and 32 population areas (Elmore/Rural North and Long
population growth and catchment. affiliated tennis clubs. Club, leagues and Gully/West Bendigo/Ironbark) and an
• Prioritised recommendations –investment / associations are supported by the state bodies – undersupply of courts in key growth areas
divestment plan including renewal, upgrade Netball Victoria and Tennis Victoria. (Maiden Gully, Kangaroo Flat and
and consolidation of facilities or services. Strathfieldsaye).
Netball and tennis competitions are played at 66
different venues across the City (20 netball and • Single and two court tennis facilities located in
The City of Greater Bendigo is a key regional City
46 tennis). These venues combine to provide a outer suburbs and townships are locked up,
with 85% of the 114,000 residents living in
total of 246 separate courts or playing areas. have limited use and are not being maintained.
urban areas and 15% living in rural areas.
Greater Bendigo is an active community where Detailed audits and lifecycle assessments of • There is a shortage of tennis coaches making it
participation in sport, recreation and leisure these facilities were completed as part of the difficult for clubs and the sport to thrive.
activities is highly valued and frequently development of this Strategy. • Not all clubs are affiliated with their state body
undertaken. The facility audits, research and stakeholder which creates challenges around facility usage,
Netball and tennis are popular sports. The City’s consultation undertaken for this project insurance and club development.
2014 Active Living Census identifying netball as identified a range of gaps, issues and challenges
the ninth and tennis the eleventh most popular that will need to be addressed to ensure netball
activity among Greater Bendigo residents. and tennis is adequately supported by Council in
3
the future.
Netball and tennis in Greater Bendigo
The diagrams below provide a brief overview of netball and tennis in Greater Bendigo, including the number of affiliated and audited venues with the number
of courts, members, associations and clubs. Information does not include courts that were unable to be audited and non affiliated members and clubs.
According to Tennis Victoria there are 13 clubs located in Greater Bendigo who are not affiliated.

20 venues 46 venues

50+ clubs
across 5 18 affiliated
affiliated 55 courts 189 courts
clubs
associations
& leagues
23 multi-
lined courts

Two Four 28% floodlit


63% floodlit
associations associations courts
courts
/ three FNLs

4,342 2,238
registered registered
members members

4
Strategic facilities framework
The diagram below outlines the strategic framework for the future planning and provision of outdoor hard court (netball and tennis) facilities for the next 10
years. Strategic priorities are informed by the vision and guiding principles which should be considered for all future planning and development projects.
Priorities are supported by key recommendations provided in the implementation section of this report.

VISION ŹPROVIDE HIGH QUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE OUTDOOR HARD COURT FACILITIES

Ź GUIDING PRINCIPLES – SPORT AND LEISURE FRAMEWORK

Recognise the social Realistic and practical Localised population


Effective and
value of local facilities recommendations that characteristics Economic and social
transparent stakeholder
in small townships and align with long term determine service return on investment
engagement
rural areas financial plans priorities

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Ź THE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL FACILITY DEVELOPMENT

PRIORITY 1 PRIORITY 2 PRIORITY 3 PRIORITY 4

Increase access and use of Support clubs and associations Ensure facilities respond to current Improve the health, capacity and
facilities and enable more social through the ongoing renewal and and future demand for netball and sustainability of clubs and
and casual use. upgrade of existing facilities. tennis. associations through stronger
partnerships.

SUMMARY RECOMMENDATIONS Ź FOLLOWING PAGE


5
Key focus areas
Priority 1 – Priority 2 – Priority 3 – Priority 4 –
Improve access and use Renew & upgrade facilities Respond to demand Club & association health

• Consider Tennis’s Book a Court • Continue to invest in facility • Plan for future population • Encourage all clubs and
system in the future planning renewal and upgrade projects growth in Huntly, Strathfieldsaye associations to be affiliated and
and upgrade of facilities and over the next 10 years in line and Maiden Gully and provide a make it mandatory to receive
highlight its benefit to clubs and with the developed criteria for suitable level of provision. Council funding support.
the local community. prioritising projects.
• Align future projects with • Engage with Netball Victoria and
• Partner with Netball Victoria and • Where appropriate convert priorities from Council’s Sport local netball associations to
local netball associations on the asphalt netball courts to acrylic and Recreation Framework. explore opportunities to address
use of the 10 indoor courts at to improve the playability and court shortage and amenity
• Identify external funding or
the Bendigo Stadium. longevity of the asset. issues.
resourcing opportunities and
• Enhance existing court lighting • Ensure future renewal and provide a clear framework and • Engage with TV and the BTA to
and install new lights at club upgrade projects consider criteria for funding (i.e. financial investigate the possible
venues where participation will blended court lines for Hot capacity, strategic planning and reduction or relocation of grass
be maximized. Shots, NetSetGo and other social diversity). courts at Barnard Street.
based programs.
• Increase the number of multi- • Continue to investigate • Investigate a potential site for
lined courts where appropriate – • Undertake a lighting audit of all opportunities to partner with clay tennis courts to support
consider public courts or where netball and tennis facilities to schools and the Department of player development.
smaller clubs exist. identify future works schedule Education for community access
• Encourage all tennis clubs to
and budget requirements. to existing and new school
• Provide an appropriate level of undertake annual Operational
facilities.
‘off-court’ amenity (access to • Budget for the re-auditing Health Checks.
toilets and shelter) to enhance facilities every 5 years to update • Recreation based facilities such
• Partner with Sports Focus to
user and spectator experience. baseline data and inform revised as hit up walls, netball rings and
ensure club development and
capital program. Hot Shots courts in parks and
• Ensure courts can be accessed education programs are
open space areas should be
by the community outside club • Use both netball and tennis delivered in line with recent
supported where appropriate.
times and support recreational sports facility hierarchy, clubs survey responses.
and competition pathways and guidelines and service levels to
• Share facility audit findings with
player development. assist in scoping and delivering
clubs and collectively identify
future projects.
priority projects that improve
access and increase 6
participation.
Prioritising projects
The City of Greater Bendigo and its stakeholders will be required to invest A set of criteria has been proposed to assist Council in prioritising and
significant resources and funding to address identified need in the provision assessing projects and to guide funding and decision making. The proposed
of netball and tennis facilities over the next 10 years. criteria enables a fair and equitable assessment of projects by applying a
scoring system that allows Council to identify those projects that are of high
Optimising the use of existing facilities through renewal and upgrade
priority.
programs, developing additional facilities where demand is identified, and
establishing strategic partnership to deliver facilities for the community is a It is understood that each project will still be subject to Council’s standard
high priority. budgetary process and the scale of the project may require a detailed
business case. The criteria set out in the adjacent table has been developed
However, consideration will also need to be given to whether a facility should
in accordance with the vision and principles established as part of this
be renewed at the end of its asset life or whether it should be returned to
project, to guide the future provision of netball and tennis facilities.
public open space. The condition of the facilities, existing usage, the provision
ratios and community engagement will all need to be factored in to any The City will work with relevant Clubs, Associations and Leagues when
decisions to not renew a facility. This will ensure that resources are used prioritising projects to ensure that the overall priorities of the affected
efficiently and directed to facilities where there is a clear need and demand. Association or League are also considered along with those of the clubs in
assessing the proposed project.
Criteria Score Reference points Aligns with
Inadequacy of current facility to meet
Out of 30 Refer to facility audits. Priority 2 – Renew & upgrade facilities
State Sporting Association standards

Number of participants that will Refer to current player / team numbers and other Priority 1 – Improve access and use &
Out of 30
directly benefit uses (schools, clubs etc.). Priority 3 – Respond to demand

Meeting SSA service levels, attendance at club


Policy and club development Out of 15 development workshops, club planning, diverse Priority 4 – Club & association health
participation opportunities.

External funding opportunities and savings in Guiding Principle – Economic and social
Value for money Out of 15
maintenance costs. return on investment

Considers distance between venues and access to Priority 3 – Respond to demand &
Geography Out of 10 quality facilities. Considers relative socio-economic Guiding Principle – Economic and social
disadvantage. return on investment
7
Attachment 2 – Summary of Feedback – Hard Court Facilities Strategy
Note: this is a Council staff member’s interpretation of submissions for the purpose of being transparent while protecting the identity of the submitter and providing
an executive summary of the individual submissions.
Submission Summary of key comments Comment and changes incorporated into the final master plan
Netball Believes that the Strategy is focussed more on Tennis than Netball, which While labelled Priority 1 through 4, this is purely an identifier for the
Association has led to the priority order for the 4 focus areas being in an order that is priorities of the Strategy and not an indicator of the preference of
greater aligned with Tennis interests than those of Netball. where resources will be allocated.

Concerns over the recommendation within the Strategy to partner with The 10 indoor courts at the Bendigo Stadium are not at capacity in
Netball Victoria and local netball associations on the use of the 10 indoor terms of usage and the City will endeavour to get a greater use of these
courts at the Bendigo Stadium. facilities prior to investigating the construction of new facilities.

Agrees with the Strategy that there is an increasing shortage of skilled No change.
volunteers to deliver local competitions, which is a key logistical problem
when trying to change a competition format.

Tennis • Where there is an oversupply of courts in low population areas Noted.


Association (Long Gully, West Bendigo, Ironbark etc), however it needs to be
noted that a number of these courts haven't been utilised for
periods of time for anything more than a 'social' hit at best due
to the condition of the courts.
• Concerned that the cost for country clubs to install options like Programs such as ‘Book a Court’ will be looked at as part of any capital
‘Book a Court’ will be cost prohibitive unless funding is received renewal/new project in terms of the additional benefits that this may
from Tennis Vic and Council to support. A number of these have. It is recognised that ‘Book a Court’ will not be appropriate for
courts are maintained by volunteers with a number of these each and every site, but will need to be considered on its merits.
courts not having any council work undertaken for a number of
years. The courts that are unlocked, it is very hard to gauge how
often they are being utilised.
• Understand that weekend tennis is declining, however, weekend No change. Consistent with strategy.
evening tennis is increasing. The replacement/increase of lights
across the association will significantly increase the size of the
association. With improved lights the association would be able
to provide social/competition tennis midweek.

1
Submission Summary of key comments Comment and changes incorporated into the final master plan
• Multi used courts are the way of the future to get more No change. Consistent with strategy.
participants utilising the facilities going forward, especially for
smaller venues.
• Off court amenity is increasingly important. Noted.
• Having multi use courts for tennis/netball is ok, however, having Multi-lining of courts will need to be considered on a project by project
extra lines for Hot Shots and NetSetGo etc will cause a lot of basis in partnership with the user groups of the courts. However, it is
issues when playing, Hot Shots and NetSetGo we believe would noted that different line marking is not required for NetSetGo.
need to have own courts.
• Was a lighting audit undertaken as part of the audit that was No, it was never intended that a lighting audit be undertaken as part of
undertaken during winter last year? this project.
• Partnering with the Department of Education to utilise courts, No change. Consistent with strategy.
especially where they are in growth corridors is a really good
outcome.
• Number of participants that would directly benefit – concerned Agreed – Scoring in this criteria will look at the level of demand for each
that this criteria, assessing participants that will directly benefit site for that particular sport (high, medium, low), rather than looking
will disadvantage Tennis due to the differing nature of the two solely at the number of users.
sports and the impact on participation numbers. Believe netball
needs to be compared to netball numbers, tennis to tennis
numbers.
• Geography - work will need to be done with surrounding clubs, Paragraph added to page 7 acknowledging that the City will work with
however, this will take work with council, for example the use of relevant Clubs, Associations and Leagues when prioritising projects to
Canterbury Park as these courts are within a couple of kilometres ensure that the priorities of the Association or League are also
of the Crowther Street courts, however, Crowther St is the home considered along with those of the clubs in assessing the proposed
of the EDTA, with multiple courts, and room for expansion and is project.
an ideal location to have another major tennis venue in Bendigo,
possibly the home of the clay courts (as currently have enough
room behind current courts for 10 more courts).
Resident Believes that there is an opportunity to greater use the Bendigo Stadium No change. Consistent with strategy.
indoor and outdoor courts. Would like to see the Bendigo Strathdale
Netball Association and Golden City Netball Association amalgamated to
ensure a more efficient use of the facilities the city has.

2
Submission Summary of key comments Comment and changes incorporated into the final master plan
Tennis Would like to see Tennis Associations involved with the submission Paragraph added to page 7 acknowledging that the City will work with
Association process for any facility upgrade. This is to ensure that there is cohesion relevant Clubs, Associations and Leagues when prioritising projects to
with the Association’s submissions rather than clubs making submissions ensure that the priorities of the Association or League are also
in an ad hoc manner. considered along with those of the clubs in assessing the proposed
project.
Tennis Club Supportive of the strategy and would like to be considered for future No change. Request for future works noted.
works under the strategy’s proposed criteria.

Football & Support the proposed strategy. Requested an interim solution to issues No change. Request for interim solution to existing court surface issues
Netball Club with existing netball court surface. forwarded to appropriate staff for response.

Sport and • Is there an intention to align the facility hierarchy with court Preference for acrylic surface in strategy is due to the minimised
Recreation surface quality - so that there is a progressive move to a higher maintenance and renewal costs to the City and won’t be tied to the
Victoria grade playing surfaces and that facilities that have a regional role facility hierarchy.
are supported with facilities of high quality nature?
o This would align with the identified preference for acrylic
in the strategy?
• The alignment of financial investment through the strategy with No change.
the health, capacity and sustainability of clubs is a welcome
inclusion as it should help maximise the use of the facility.
o It also aligns with the State Governments efforts to
promote fairness and equity in clubs through initiative
like the newly released Fair Play Code.
• Given the strategy does not include non-affiliated clubs' facilities, While the figures provided on page 4 only reflect affiliated clubs and
is there a risk for gaps in the planning, prioritisation and associations, audits were conducted across non-affiliated sites to
provision of facilities. enable accurate planning for future provision. It is also a commitment
of the City to work with clubs and associations to assist with the
transition to the affiliation model.
• The Prioritisation Criteria needs further development.
o It wasn't apparent how the application of the criteria Additional column added to the prioritisation criteria table stating
would provide CoGB with a ranking that aligned with which area of the strategy each of the five criteria aligns with.

3
Submission Summary of key comments Comment and changes incorporated into the final master plan
other areas of the strategy.
o The current criteria and reference points would benefit Added a reference point to the prioritising criteria “Geography” that
from further development, and the consideration of acknowledges that consideration of areas of relative socio economic
additional criteria such as alignment of investment to disadvantage is required.
areas of socio economic advantage.

Department of No issues with the strategy. Requested that facilities located on Crown No change. Crown land reserves managed by publicly elected
Environment, land reserves managed by publicly elected committees of management committees of management have previously had their court renewal
Land, Water and will have the same opportunities for renewal as City managed sites. works undertaken by the City on an ad hoc basis. These facilities will be
Planning assessed using the strategy’s criteria along with all other court renewal
projects and prioritised accordingly. Funding strategies for these
facilities will be considered as part of the budget process.
Funding of non-Council assets (including hard courts) is an ongoing
concern as the City does not budget renewal of these assets and they
are therefore considered alongside ‘new’ investments. This cost
shifting from State Government to Local Government limits the
Council’s ability to invest in other projects for the community.

Department of Supportive of Strategy. Acknowledge that investigating opportunities to No change.


Education partner with schools and City for community access can be a good
outcome, but needs to be considered on a case by case basis.

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi