The Spotswood Cricket Club would like to provide all our members with an update on the Donald McLean Reserve Masterplan.
As some of you may recall the issue of redevelopment / upgrade of the Couch Pavilion and playing / recreational facilities has been on Hobson Bay City Council’s agenda for many years and the SCC have been active in pursuing improved facilities for our Club.
As background to the current development project, the proposal has partly come about as a result of the Westgate Tunnel project impacting on the Donald McLean Reserve, and as such the sporting club tenants of the Reserve have been invited to provide input into these proposed changes/upgrades. The issue is slightly complicated by the fact that some of the funding for the proposed upgrades are being provided by the Westgate Tunnel project via John Holland constructions.
In regards to current plans for the Donald McLean Reserve and the new pavilion, these were provided to all clubs released by the Council in October 2018. The plans broadly are for a refurbishment of Oval#1, new irrigation and lighting for Oval#2, transfer of cricket practice nets to a new location in the Reserve and a new Couch Pavilion. Other improvements such as sealed car parking along The Avenue, new tennis courts and a playground adjacent to Melbourne Road are included. Please refer to plans below for more details.
In terms of consultation and input to these plans, representatives of SCC have met with Council officers and architects on a regular basis since late last year to provide feedback on project scope, design and timelines.
All the meetings/workshops with the Council have been attended by representatives from both the cricket and football clubs plus two from the Westgate Golf Club. John Wheeler, Simon Barnes and Keith Brown attended on SCC’s behalf.
Local residents and club members were invited and encouraged to attend a briefing on 26 June in the Couch Pavilion by Council. Apart from individual responses direct on the night, a collective response to those publicly exhibited plans was provided to Council by all tenant clubs so that they are aware that we have common objectives/issues with the redevelopment.
At this point we’re still waiting on a confirmed schedule of activities as Council have not officially approved the project. At this stage we understand it will be considered at the September meeting of Council.
However, we are fairly confident that the Oval 1 refurbishment will commence prior to / at start of season 2019/20. We will utilise Altona Green turf pitch as a decant oval during the period that Oval 1 is out of action (which will hopefully only be for season 2019/20). Therefore 1XI and 2XI will play on Oval 2 and 3XI and 4XI will use Altona Green for 2019/20.
Timelines for development of the Couch Pavilion are still not confirmed, however there is a possibility that this will commence in early 2020. This timeline for the pavilion creates significant issues for the SCC which the Committee are actively investigating and planning for.
We should all be very excited about the proposed plans and in particular the prospect of that the Club’s upgraded facilities (both clubrooms, playing fields and ancillary upgrades) enabling us to grow and achieve greater things into the future.
However, given the disruptions to ‘normal business’ over the next few seasons we will need to be organised, plan well and be ready as a collective to take on these challenges!
We will continue to provide updates to members throughout the life of this project.
If you would like to discuss this further please feel free to contact Simon Barnes (Senior Vice President – SCC) on 0407 302 522 or vicepresident@spotswoodcc.com.au.
Thank you
SCC Management Committee
Couch Pavilion plan
8a Donald McLean_Pavilion_REV F
Reserve plan