The City of Holdfast Bay in South Australia is converting a former landfill site into a vibrant sporting precinct, and community groups are just about to receive the keys.
At just under 14 square kilometres in size and home to around 36,000 residents, the City of Holdfast Bay in South Australia is relatively small.
But this coast-hugging, history-rich city features some of Adelaide’s most sought-after suburbs, including Seacliff (just a short drive south of Glenelg).
In early April, the Seacliff community celebrated a significant milestone: the completion of the new $6 million Kauri Community and Sporting Centre.
It’s not quite the final stage in the City’s two-year, $15 million project to convert a former landfill site into a vibrant sporting precinct.
But it is the most exciting stage for the community members who have worked with the council to inform the design and development, and who will soon take the keys, and the reins to managing the centre.
Under the auspices of the new, incorporated, Kauri Community and Sports Centre Management Board, the Seacliff Hockey Club, Seacliff Tennis Club, Seacliff Sport Club, Seacliff Netball Club and Holdfast Bay Music Centre will move in, and continue sharing the centre and precinct – welcoming the Seacliff Uniting Church Netball Club to their long-running, continually evolving collaboration.
Based on extensive consultation with these key user groups and the broader Seacliff community, the project has involved working closely with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to successfully resolve the issues associated with the site’s former use as a landfill site.
Old asphalt tennis courts will be replaced with 12 new acrylic tennis/netball courts (including four for community use) and an old sand hockey pitch will be replaced by a state-of-art, hybrid wet/dry hockey pitch.
Built into the embankment between the tennis courts and the hockey pitch, the new three-storey centre features a sports club room with a bar/function area, a canteen, an office, meeting rooms and a music centre, plus change rooms and public amenities.
The project was staged to provide the best possible benefit to the clubs, with the courts constructed in time for the 2016 tennis season and the pitch opening in March, ahead of the hockey season.
The sale of two former local tennis court sites has increased the City of Holdfast Bay’s funding commitment to the project, which was supported by $5 million from the Commonwealth Government through the Community Development Grant Programme; $500,000 from the State Government through the Office of Recreation and Sport; and $45,000 from Tennis Australia.
The City of Holdfast Bay, the project’s funding partners and the Seacliff community will officially open the new precinct this summer, when the final stages are complete.
But, in the meantime, Seacliff’s clubs, community members and visitors will be moving in, making themselves at home and celebrating this highly successful community collaboration.
