The first outdoor wave pool in Victoria is on its way to Whittlesea.
Whittlesea council voted last Tuesday to approve an application for a wave pool and cafe to be built at Funfields.
Funfields owner John Verga said the wave pool was being added to the Plenty Road fun park in response to a patron survey.
“By and large, people were asking for a body of water they could chill out in,” he said.
“We drilled that down further through further surveys and the preference was for a pool or wave pool.”
Mr Verga said he expected the pool to be open on December 1, with the new attraction and cafe set to create 15-20 jobs.
Before the pool can be opened, Funfields will need to build sound walls along the northern side of the pool and along the northern site boundary, along with a 2.4 metre sound wall along the park boundary which will be tapered at the eastern and western ends.
Landscaping will also have be carried out on council land to the north of the park, at a cost to Funfields.
An acoustic report must also be submitted to council to monitor noise levels.
Councillors included the conditions in their planning permit for the pool and cafe in response to concerns from Funfields’ neighbours.
The application received six objections, mainly around noise levels.
Cr Tom Joseph said Funfields was important to the municipality.
“It is a business that is beneficial to the entire municipality and as a fun park, it is important for them to bring in new attractions,” he said.
“These types of conflicts will be there but we need to manage them taking into consideration the concerns of residents and the interests of the owners.”
