By Laura Michell
Whittlesea council is hoping to rezone land on Plenty Road in Mernda to enable the Mernda Regional Sports and Aquatic Facility to be built on the site.
Council will ask Planning Minister Lizzie Blandthorn for authorisation to prepare and exhibit an amendment to the Whittlesea Planning Scheme, enabling the land at 1470, 1475W, 1485 and 1485W Plenty Road to be rezoned from general residential to public park and recreation.
A report to the Monday, August 15 council meeting stated that the site was identified in the Mernda Strategy Plan as the home of the Mernda Regional Sports and Aquatic Facility, however, a general residential zone was applied to the site when the land was developed.
“Since then, the majority of the reserve has been acquired or transferred to council … and is now in council ownership,” the report said.
As such it is now appropriate to ensure the zoning of the land reflects its public ownership and intended recreational use. In this respect, the public park and recreation zone is considered the most suitable zoning. This will also streamline approvals required for development of the regional recreation reserve including the Mernda Regional Sports and Aquatic Facility project.”
As reported by Star Weekly, council’s administrators approved a business case for the Regional Sports and Aquatic Centre 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.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.
At the time, 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.
