New home for netball proposal

Community consultation now open  

Bayside City Council is proposing the joint development of new community sports facilities at Sandringham Secondary College in Holloway Road, Sandringham.

Our proposal follows in-principle support for Council to enter into a Development Agreement with the Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) to fund new community sports facilities at the campus.

This proposal includes delivering a minimum of three indoor sporting courts, nine outdoor sporting courts and an oval at the College.

To assist Council in further developing the project concept at the school site, we want to hear from the community about how we can mitigate impacts and address concerns you may have with the proposal.

This feedback will support VSBA and Council to address the functionality of the site and assist to make the area safer for the local community, including addressing historical traffic issues and the additional use relating to community sport.

We have been working on a preliminary design for the site and a traffic management plan to guide traffic movements and parking in the area. Key aspects of the traffic report are now available for comment. An indicative site plan has also been provided to demonstrate how the site would be developed. Information on the proposed hours of community access for organised sport to take place is also available for comment and review.

Additional detail on the proposed lighting plan for the site will be released once it is developed.

The draft plans and a frequently asked questions page is available to view via the Have Your Say project page. Please review the supporting information and provide your feedback in the Have Your Say survey.

Comments close on 11.59pm Wednesday 23 December 2020.

More information

Council will also be conducting a virtual Question and Answer presentation on this project via Zoom.

The objective is to provide information in a transparent forum, accessible to as many interested community members as possible.

The presentation will be hosted by Council’s project team on Wednesday 16 December from 6pm to 7pm. Find out more information here.

This session will be recorded and posted to the Have Your Say website following the event.

Council has sought to increase netball courts in Bayside since 2014. The proposal to construct the netball centre at the College provides an opportunity for Council to co-invest in community sporting facilities at a site approximately 200 metres from the originally proposed Wangara Road site.

Netball is the most popular female team sport across Australia and participation has more than doubled in Bayside since 2010. Nearly 2,500 registered players from 12 clubs play on Sandringham District Netball Association’s (SDNA) existing seven courts at Thomas Street Reserve - six outdoor and one indoor.

The significant growth means players miss out each week due to a lack of courts and adequate court lighting. Games are shorter than the national standard and team numbers are capped.

The SDNA is the only netball association in Victoria who has had to place restrictions on its membership based on location of work, residence or school. Council is committed to providing appropriate facilities to encourage an active community and to addressing historical underinvestment in netball.

The Centre will also provide significant benefit to Sandringham College Students and Council is negotiating/discussing with the VSBA regarding options for the facility to service and support cricket within Bayside.

Subject to the outcomes of Council's proposal to fund new community and sports facilities at the Sandringham College Holloway Road, the future use of the Wangara Road site is now on hold and will be considered through a future master planning process.

The Wangara Road site will continue to undergo an Environmental Protection Authority approved audit over the next year to identify possible improvements for suitability of the site.

Sign up to be kept informed here.

The current netball centre at Thomas Street will remain in place until the completion of the new centre at Holloway Road.