Thebarton Community Centre, Torrensville Bowling Club will be demolished for North-South Corridor project

A western suburbs community centre and bowling club costing millions of dollars will be demolished for the South Rd tunnels.

Tunnels to be built for the North-South Corridor project will claim a community centre, bowling club and part of a sports oval, official letters have confirmed.

Transport and Infrastructure Department chief executive Tony Braxton-Smith has met with West Torrens Council chief executive Terry Buss to discuss the construction of two three-lane tunnels under South Rd from near the Brickworks Market to Richmond.

The tunnels are part of a $9.9bn project to complete the North-South Corridor, with another two tunnels to be built under South Rd from Glandore to Clovelly Park.

Mr Braxton-Smith has told Mr Buss that more land than initially estimated was needed for the project within the West Torrens Council area.

The Thebarton Community Centre on South Rd at Torrensville.

In a letter to Mr Buss on October 20, Mr Braxton-Smith said the “immediate priorities” for further work included:

TORRENSVILLE Bowling Club relocation.

THEBARTON Community Centre “relocation options in the vicinity of Richmond Oval”.

KINGS Reserve masterplan and Thebarton Oval “realignment proposal”.

THEBARTON Bioscience precinct and open spaces.

Mr Braxton Smith said the project’s team would soon start holding workshops with council staff to plan the compulsory acquisition of land and construction schedules.

“The (department) project team will make contact separately on matters pertaining to the acquisition process for the City of West Torrens properties as being required for the T2D Project,” said the letter.

The undercover bowling green at Torrensville Bowling Club on South Rd.

This followed another departmental letter sent to the council on October 19 that said “more space is required than the existing road corridors permit, and some council land will be permanently required for construction”.

“This is early notification that some land owned by the City of West Torrens will be required by the project,” it said. “The T2D Project will require the land by late 2024. We need to meet with you to discuss what this means for your property and to explain the next steps.”

The Thebarton Community Centre and Torrensville Bowling Club are located beside South Rd, opposite the West Thebarton Hotel.

Both were built by the West Torrens Council in the past decade using proceeds from the sale of land occupied by the Brickworks Market.

The letters are the first official confirmation to emerge publicly that the facilities will be demolished for the tunnel project.

They have been attached to the agenda for the council’s monthly meeting on Tuesday night and were circulated on Friday by a residents’ group monitoring the compulsory acquisition of homes and small businesses.