Council report concludes Gympie has plenty of sports fields

Despite pleas from a number of Gympie sports clubs about the ‘squeeze’ put on them by a lack of space, a new council review of parks and rec spaces has concluded there is more than enough. Vote in the poll:

A new review into the region’s parks and rec spaces has turned up some unexpected findings, and delivered some welcome news for sports clubs feeling the squeeze too.

Gympie has no shortage of sports parks, it just needs to use them better.

This was one of several findings of a new report from Gympie Regional Council into parks and recreation areas ahead of the creation of its new planning scheme in 2024, which outlined the likely future of these community assets in the coming decades.

Its most surprising conclusion was that the region had more than enough sports fields, despite many sporting groups reporting a “squeeze” in recent years and calling for them to be expanded.

While fields might have missed the cut, one expansion was on the cards.

The report confirmed Gympie would get a new indoor sports stadium in what would undoubtedly be good news for indoor clubs reporting the same problems.

What is left unanswered is when, where and at what cost.

A new report by the Gympie council ahead of its new planning scheme has found the region needs to upgrade and better use its existing sports fields, rather than build new ones.

The report says the provision of a stadium should be included in its Local Government Infrastructure Plan with a shortage of courts identified in the report.

It says by 2046 the region would face a shortfall of “six indoor courts, 15 indoor specialty spaces, and four outdoor courts”.

In contrast, the 36 sports fields across the region were being used at rate of just shy of 60 per cent, as revealed by a review by third party consultant Otium Planning.

Otium said in its report this meant the “field squeeze” which has been a long standing issue in the region “should be addressed through upgrading existing infrastructure and stakeholder management”.

Private sports facilities were not included in the study.

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A review of available sports parks across the Gympie region by third party group Otium Planning revealed capacity hod not yet been reached.

There will still need to be some growth, with Otium finding that by 2046 there would be a 27.9ha shortage of space needed for sports.

The bulk of this would be required outside the city, with only a minor 2.66ha shortfall expected there.

Recreational parks were put under the microscope too.

The report concluded there was an “oversupply” of recreational parks across the breadth of the region, although some corners were still missing out.

New guidelines adopted in 2020 for parks included provisions that development blocks be no longer than 250m, include one tree on each side of the street every 15m, and ensure all blocks are within 400m of a park.

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This latter requirement meant some “gaps” had now opened up in the city.

These included in areas nor of the CBD between King St, Popes Rd, Musgrave St and Spicer St, at the Southside between Power Rd, Smerdon Rd, Watson Rd and Julienne St, and near Victory Heights and Veteran from Rifle Range Rd to Spring Rd and Tin Can Bay Rd.

The council’s focus now was on “on consolidation and embellishing the existing network rather than expanding the footprint,” the report said.