Sports groups using Kensington Gardens Reserve oppose Burnside Council master plan for park
A COUNCIL in Adelaide’s east wants to redevelop one of the area’s largest and most well-used parks but it’s managed to get every single sporting group that uses it off side. Here’s the reason why ...
A TWELVE-year plan to redevelop the east’s largest park has been unanimously rejected by resident sporting clubs.
The cricket, rugby, tennis and lawn bowls clubs that call Kensington Gardens Reserve home say Burnside Council’s largely uncosted masterplan to demolish their clubrooms and replace them with a central hub needs to be overhauled.
The clubs say the draft masterplan – which the council has paid consultants $35,000 to develop – has the hub in the wrong spot, on the eastern side of Parkinson Oval.
For cricket it would mean looking into the western sun, for rugby it would be in an awkward spot to see games and for lawn bowls it would be too far from the greens.
Burnside Rugby Union Football Club president Wally Bell said the plan was “farcical”.
His club told consultants Tredwell Management its clubrooms needed to be in line with the halfway mark of the field to best see matchplay.
“It’s ridiculous, to be honest with you,” Mr Bell said.
Cricket club president Grant Chapman said the hub’s location east of the main oval meant spectators would have to look into the sun.
“It’s not ideal for where you want a pavilion to be located,” Mr Chapman said.
It also said plans to move practice nets to a spot north-east of Ford Oval – under trees – would make it too hard for batsmen to see the ball.
East Torrens Kensington Gardens Tennis Club president Alan Wells was concerned about a reduction in tennis courts from 26 to 17.
Two of these would become shared courts with lines for basketball and netball.
“What are currently club courts will be required for community use and the club won’t have exclusive access to them,” Mr Wells said.
The reduced number of tennis courts was also a concern for the Kensington Gardens Tennis and Bowling Club, as was the hub’s location too far from its greens.
However, president Neil Jones said the club was largely positive about the plan.
“Heavens above, if (the) council really want to spend all that money on the development, then we can only benefit from it,” Mr Jones said.
Burnside Council has allocated $475,000 for work on the reserve this financial year, including $60,000 for a plan to return Stonyfell Creek and the duck pond to a more natural state.
A report to last week’s council meeting, where the draft plan was endorsed 10:1, said the more expensive work, such as the hub, would take up to 12 years to complete.
Work in the next five years would focus on landscaping, new paths and bridges and refurbishing the rotunda and pump house.
Mayor David Parkin said while clubs may prefer to continue to have separate clubrooms, it did not make financial sense for the council, with many of the buildings coming to the end of their lives.
“It doesn’t make sense to use ratepayers’ money to provide clubs with individual facilities,” Mr Parkin said.
Public comment is open until December 18 and includes on-site consultation next month.
Details: engage.burnside.sa.gov.au