Take a closer look at plans for popular swimming spot
PROPOSED plans for Bexhill Quarry aim to turn the problem site into a safer asset for the community.
Lismore
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AN ADVENTURE playground, wetland boardwalks and swimming enclosures are all key elements of plans to turn Bexhill Quarry into community parkland.
Touted as a means to turn a problem site into an attraction for locals and tourists to enjoy, the group behind the idea was seeking political support to lobby the Lands Department for approval.
REVEALED: Exciting plans for Bexhill Quarry
Bexhill Quarry Redevelopment Committee shared its vision for the old brickworks site in the Landscape Concept Design Report, saying it was an exciting opportunity for Bexhill, and would be of great benefit to the local community.
The committee imagined a parkland area of 1.6ha that emphasised the beauty of the site, using natural materials to reflect the former use as a brickworks and railway corridor.
We take a closer look at some of the features of the plan.
• Unique way to access the site
The proposed rail trail running through the site offered the opportunity for people to access the parklands via foot or bicycle.
On arrival from either Lismore or Eltham, stations at each entry point would provide shelter, interpretative information and bicycle storage.
Shared pedestrian/cycle paths continued through the site.
A new, low-key carpark was also part of the plan.
• Visitor / orientation centre
A central building would contain a kiosk, public amenities, an information centre including site history, and sheltered viewing areas.
• Swimming platform
A timber decked swimming platform would provide single, safe and controlled water access for swimmers entering and leaving the water, while reducing the potential for shoreline erosion. The platform had ramped water entry, shelter seating and changing facilities. The area available for swimming should be delineated by a buoyed enclosure. Swimming would be permitted at the eastern end of the pit lagoon only.
• Wetland boardwalk
A discrete area of shallow water and inundated shoreline at the eastern end of the pit lagoon provided the opportunity for enrichment plantings of wetland and wetland margin species and the establishment of a boardwalk as a specialised structure providing access to a small wetland
and water level viewing platform / photographic vantage point.
• Lookout
The proposed sheltered viewing platform / photographic vantage point was located on an elevated site at the western end of the pit lagoon. The platform would be accessed by a stairway and elevated boardwalk.
The boardwalk may be extended in order to provide pedestrian access from the platform via Grace Road to the existing Open Air Cathedral.
• Adventure Trail play scape
The potential exists for the creation of a specialised play precinct in a discrete area between the rail corridor alignment and the open grassed area adjacent to the lagoon, specifically designed to promote children's interaction with the natural environment in a playful and challenging setting.
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