Cockburn council adopts western suburbs sporting precinct study

COCKBURN residents could have access to better sporting grounds after council adopted the final Western Suburbs Sporting Precinct Study (WSSPS) on Thursday night.

The WSSPS was drafted to address sporting needs in the growing western suburbs of Coogee, Hamilton Hill, Munster, North Coogee and Spearwood and whether an increase in the use and capacity of existing reserves and facilities was required.

During the recent public comment period the vast majority of respondents supported an upgrade at almost a dozen sporting sites including Beale Park, Dalmatinac Park, Davilak Park and Santich Park.

The potential development of Dixon Park and Wally Hagan Stadium received the biggest response, with the City of Cockburn putting forward three options.

Option one involved developing a new six-court basketball facility on Dixon Park and into nearby Main Roads land as well as the creation of a new oval and two new rectangular pitches, option two was to build a new stadium on the current site of Wally Hagan and two rectangular pitches, while the third option included an upgrade and expansion of the current stadium and two rectangular pitches.

Option one received the most backing with 231 supporting the proposal, while 203 voted for option three and 65 for option two.

At Thursday’s ordinary council meeting, City of Cockburn councillors voted to endorse option one as the preferred development, with option three as a backup if the Main Roads land could not be used.

Councillor Kevin Allen also included an additional recommendation which stated full consultation with affected residents and stakeholders had to be undertaken before development began.

Wally Hagan Stadium is home to the Cockburn Basketball Association and general manager Tyrone Thwaites said they were happy with the decision.

“(Option one) safeguards the needs of the Cougar family and wider community beyond the next 20 years and without a new facility, we risk overpopulating an already crowded stadium,” he said.

“Not only does option one cater for future growth, it allows the CBA to compete for tender to host Australian Junior Championships, expand its reach in the community, broaden our programs and provide an elite training facility for teams like the Perth Lynx (WNBL) and Red Dust Heelers (NWBL) who already utilise an ageing Wally Hagan Stadium.

“The City of Cockburn has recognised this as a necessary requirement to cater for the growing needs of the association, and is something we are very excited about working towards.”

The City will now investigate the feasibility of the Dixon Park options and will consider all the proposed infrastructure developments within their Community Sport and Recreation Facilities Plan (CSRFP).