Garth Hamilton, Trevor Watts and David Janetzki support water park, despite Toowoomba Regional Council claiming it’s decades away

As the region battles with another sweltering heatwave, city leaders have thrown their support behind a future water park, with Toowoomba Regional Council giving a possible time frame.

• Water park a tourism opportunity

A water park may be on the cards for Toowoomba residents, however not until your great grandchildren are old enough to play in it.

Sweltering weather throughout the past month on the Darling Downs has reignited more questions as to why Toowoomba Regional Council has no plans to install a community water park for another two decades.

Toowoomba’s three state and federal politicians have thrown their support behind the proposal and have urged council to take action.

TRC Planning and Development Committee portfolio leader councillor Bill Cahill said it could take 20-30 years to come to fruition, with the Toowoomba Railway Parklands earmarked as a potential site.

A proposed water park feature was included in the concept designs for the $65m parklands project, however those plans were only an “illustrative guide”.

Specific plans would be subject to community consultation, however Groom MP Garth Hamilton believes none has taken place almost a year on from securing $25m from three levels of government for the parklands.

The similar sized Fraser Coast region is home to two free waterparks with 10,000 visitors recorded at Hervey Bay’s free-entry, $12m WetSide water park between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve.

“Council is keen to ensure we have a healthy and active community here on the Fraser Coast and facilities like WetSide and SplashSide (in Maryborough) help us to achieve that outcome,” Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour said.

Even Toowoomba’s country cousins out west in Chinchilla have enjoyed having a water park in their community, as part of their $5.9m Botanic Parkland project.

FAST-TRACKED: Celebrating the inclusion of the Toowoomba Railway Parklands project in the upcoming Southeast Queensland City Deal are (from left) Mayor Paul Antonio, Groom MP Garth Hamilton and Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl.

Mr Hamilton said he was shocked to learn the water park design was an “illustrative guide” and not a definite feature, pending community consultations.

“We’re coming up to a year since that ($25m) funding was announced … that I fought for and won in my first term,” he said.

“There’s no time like the present to get things moving.”

However, Mr Cahill said though the Parklands project had secured partial funding, the next step was not as easy as some would like to believe.

“While a funding announcement for projects in the SEQ City Deal, which includes the Toowoomba Railway Parklands, was made in March 2022, no funding will flow to the listed projects before respective Implementation Plans are ratified by the Commonwealth, state and local governments (under the Council of Mayors South East Queensland),” he said.

“The Implementation Plan will clarify the funding arrangements and how these commitments will be delivered for the City Deal projects.

“While Toowoomba Regional Council is committed to the Railway Parklands project, there are more immediate budget priorities to address, given our financial constraints.”

Facing a potential 30-year wait, Mr Hamilton said the parklands project showed great potential and was a “really important project” for Toowoomba.

“I would hope we could beat that timeline … I think the people of Toowoomba would expect us to beat that timeline,” he said.

“(Toowoomba has) the things we need, we’ve got great hospitals and great education, but we need to be the place with the things you want and love. When the council is ready for more funding, I will go to Canberra to fight for it.”

Children escaping the hot weather at the WetSide on the Esplanade at Hervey Bay.

Member for Toowoomba North Trevor Watts slammed the TRC for taking almost a decade after the parklands project was originally declared to progress the plan forward.

“Since the LNP state government gifted the Railway Parklands land to Toowoomba Regional Council we have gone through two local government elections,” he said.

“Why has it taken eight years for this council to not have a comprehensive plan for the Railway Parklands Development?

“If this project is intended to drive future growth, wouldn’t it be beneficial to showcase the plans to the private sector to encourage investment?”

Mr Watts said a water park would be the “perfect addition” to the Garden City, with calls by residents echoing over the decades to no success.

“Just look at the success of water parks in Hervey Bay and Springfield – they have proven to be a hit with locals and visitors alike,” Mr Watts said.

“Places like Ballarat and Bendigo, both smaller and colder (in the winter) than Toowoomba, have ‘splash parks’.”

Southern Queensland Country Tourism CEO Peter Homan said successful water parks had been delivered in remote western communities such as Winton and Julia’s Creek, so he could see no reason why one wouldn’t be popular in Toowoomba.

“Every child and every family in the world loves water, so we would absolutely love to see one in Toowoomba,” he said.

“It will get people who are already in town to stay a little longer and partake, which is where you get the economic benefit when they inject on average $250 a night (per family) into the local economy.”

State Member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki said a water park had been frequently discussed with members of the public and “all options need to be on the table”.

TRC Deputy Mayor Geoff McDonald said funding to progress projects such as the Toowoomba Railway Parklands would be staged over several years to accommodate more urgent infrastructure upgrades over the coming decade.

“Council must give priority to community expectations for the delivery of our critical services and upgrades in the first instance,” Mr McDonald said.

“The vision for the Railway Parklands and the surrounding Priority Development Area has always required private investors to drive the development opportunities, whether for commercial, retail or residential developments or possibly other elements like a water park. Investors need to be satisfied that any of these elements are commercially viable before committing to prospective projects.”