Agenda item

SUMMARY

Wesburn Park is currently used by the local community for junior sports, equestrian and social recreation. It also plays a significant regional role for emergency response with a staging area located within the park. In order to ensure this large area functions well, the draft Wesburn Park Master Plan (Attachment 1) was developed.

The Wesburn Park Master Plan (draft Master Plan) provides strategic direction for coordinated and timely improvements to the reserve to maximise its use for social recreation, improve community use and support significant regional projects. The draft Master Plan also provides strategic justification for future grant opportunities to assist Council in delivering the proposed infrastructure upgrades.

In addition to its current roles, Wesburn Park will serve as the primary trail head for stage 1 of the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination (WMBD). This space will provide key infrastructure to assist Council to manage visitation and traffic safely, ease pressure on the Warburton Township and spread the economic benefits of the WMBD beyond Warburton itself. The draft Master Plan, including the proposed Community and Recreation Centre, contributes to the customer experience for visitors, supporting Councils commitment to this project, while managing amenity impacts on local communities. Designing for increased use in a safe way is paramount. Failing to plan for the required infrastructure to support large projects can have significant consequences for customer experience and tourism brand, the success of the project in the long term and impact the amenity of local communities.

With the WMBD project now supported following the EES decision of the Minister, its acknowledged that the draft Master Plan represents significant investment. Given the proposed investment, the project team investigated all avenues to maximise future use of the asset. While it is expected that weekend and holiday   periods will be peak use for mountain bike riders, daytime and mid-week use are likely to be quiet. An opportunity for schools to utilise the community pavilion to conduct their outdoor education courses, aligning with the soon to be delivered pump track, proposed skills park and nearby mountain bike trails was identified. An outdoor education market assessment was undertaken to test revenue potential of charging for access to specific facilities and services that would be provided at Wesburn Park. Council would not be entering into the delivery of education but rather providing the facilities for schools to hire. The outcomes of the market assessment suggested demand for this type of arrangement. It also identified that operating the facility in this manner would offset the ongoing operational cost following the proposed upgrades.

In addition, Wesburn Park, and in particular the Community and Recreation Centre, will be utilised by emergency services as a staging area during an emergency event. The proposed pavilion has been designed to accommodate the existing users, expected tourist visitation and other potential emergency functions as required by relevant authorities.

The draft Master Plan was developed following extensive community consultation with the local sporting clubs, community groups, reserve users, schools and outdoor education providers and included several meetings, on site pop ups and an online campaign. Given the high level of interest and engagement, the project team engaged with the community more than usual for a project of this nature. The draft Master Plan was on public exhibition during March and April 2021 and received 788 comments on the Shaping Yarra Ranges page, as well as elevated levels of community engagement at pop up consultation sessions on site (Attachment 1). Overall, the project team has had over 1,000 comments and touch points with members of the community. While the project elicited mixed reactions, the project team have focused on the safety of all users and optimising the function of this asset in developing the plan. Key amendments to the plan following community consultation included the provision of barrier fencing and clear zoning of uses to reduce risk following expected intensity of use. While some community members are still apprehensive about the proposed changes, the risk-based approach to developing the plan has been supported by the community. Changes made to the draft Master Plan are detailed later in the report.

The draft Master Plan recommends future reserve and infrastructure improvements tailored to the local community needs, which have been prioritised over the next ten years and beyond. This report seeks to inform Council of the outcomes following the exhibition and further community consultation of the draft Wesburn Park Master Plan (draft Master Plan), provides options for levels of support, and seeks Council endorsement of the draft Wesburn Park Master Plan for adoption.

In accordance with Governance Rule 58, Nicole Murray spoke in objection to the recommendation included in the officer report.

The Mayor called for a division:

In Favour:      Mayor Child, Cr Cox, Deputy Mayor Todorov, Cr Skelton,
Cr Heenan, Cr Eastham and Cr McAllister

Against:          Cr Fullagar

Absent:          Cr Higgins