The use of school facilities may be the answer to our city's problems finding enough indoor sporting facilities to cater for our community's growing needs, according to Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown.
Her comments follow The Illawarra Flame revealing Council's plans to relocate a number of sporting groups from Beaton Park's popular Ted Tobin Hall, to make way for the Illawarra Hawks. The Hawks CEO Stu Taggart said the Snakepit wasn't available exclusively for the Hawks and they were looking for another training venue.
Both the Hawks and Council have now stressed that users of Ted Tobin Hall will not be moved out until suitable alternative accommodation has been found.
Speaking on ABC Illawarra, Lord Mayor Cr Brown said the planning to accommodate sporting groups, including badminton, table tennis and pickleball was all part of the Beaton Park Master Plan.
Getting the balance right
"Can I assure users, access will still be available, we're not displacing anyone, but it is about getting balance right. It won't be 100 per cent access for the Hawks," she said.
Cr Brown said taking advantage of school facilities when not in use could be the solution to our growing sporting accommodation needs.
"There is a lot of prime real estate that gets locked behind the school gates after 4 o'clock," Cr Brown said.
"Staff are looking for appropriate locations to keep everyone happy, but it is a balancing act," she told ABC Illawarra.
It is understood a number of Illawarra schools already open their doors to outside groups after hours for sport, art, dance, yoga and other community-based activities.
Sharing school facilities
Enquiries by The Illawarra Flame has found that the NSW Department of Education has a Sharing of Facilities policy document, which acts as a guide for anyone wanting access to areas such as school halls and sporting fields.
It says, "Schools are valuable community assets that should be available for community use when not required for school purposes."
It appears sporting groups would only be able to gain access outside of school hours.
"School facilities must be used appropriately and only for activities that do not interfere with the school's teaching and learning programs," the policy says.
It says before signing an agreement, consultation would be required involving all parties, including the school principal, departmental officers, the applicant and any other stakeholders.
"Shared use of school facilities should not be a financial burden to the school or the department," the policy says. "Schools may charge appropriate usage fees or, in some cases, provide free use of facilities. The school principal sets the hire charges... based on market conditions."
12-month agreements
It is understood agreements are generally for a period of 12 months, after which they are reviewed, and issues such as indemnity insurance, security, set up and clean up are all included in the executed written agreements.
"Mandatory requirements including the school's risk assessment and users' child protection declaration apply when sharing facilities with the community," the Department of Education policy says.
Secretary of the Illawarra Badminton Association, Eric Bradley, said Wollongong City Council confirmed that council staff had already begun exploring alternative locations for his group to play. Things got off to a bad start when one of the options presented was outdoors.
"The requirements for badminton are much more stringent than other indoor sports – requiring overhead height clearance of 7.5 metres – as well as the obvious net post anchors and court lines that pickleball also needs," Eric said.
"We have made it clear that unless any proposed venue has more courts to offer than Ted Tobin Hall, then any alternative would not be suitable for Illawarra Badminton Association."
