By Laura Michell
Mernda residents won’t be diving into the suburb’s long-awaited swimming pool any time soon, with Whittlesea council planning to begin construction of an aquatic centre in 2027-28 – subject to external funding.
Council administrators approved a business case for the Regional Sports and Aquatic Centre at Mernda on Monday, July 18, deciding to build the facility in stages over a number of years after the COVID-19 pandemic added $67 million to the project costs.
A report to the council meeting stated the project is expected to cost $180 million, up from $113 estimated in December 2021.
Council will prioritise the construction of the centre’s indoor and outdoor courts to address the city’s significant court shortfall.
Construction of the courts will be part of stage two of the project, which will also include designs for the aquatic and leisure facility, with work expected to start in 2024-25, subject to $40 million in external funding.
Council chief executive Craig Lloyd told administrators that a future council will decide to whether to proceed with the aquatic centre, with construction proposed to begin in 2027-28 if external funding is secured.
The Mernda community has been campaigning for a 50-metre pool in the suburb since February 2019, when the previous council said it could not afford to build such a pool.
The project was never progressed by the previous council, with councillors unable to agree on the size of the pool.
In December 2020, council’s administrators said the project, including a 50-metre pool, could cost about $80 million.
Administrator Chris Eddy acknowledged that people would be disappointed the aquatic centre won’t be delivered as soon as they would like.
“We cannot afford to do it now,” he said.
Chair administrator Lydia Wilson said council was prioritising the sports courts because the city had a shortfall of 43 indoor courts and 32 outdoor netball courts.
A council officer told the meeting that about half of the municipality’s netball and basketball players leave the city to participate in their sport.
Ms Wilson said staging construction of the project would enable to council to remain financially sustainable and deliver projects in other parts of the city.
“We are a rapidly growing municipality with a growing population with competing needs,” she said.
“The staging approach gives us the best opportunity to maximise external funding.”
