Overall community feedback was supportive of the vision for the Sports Park, including initial $4.71 million upgrade (now underway) and the longer-term vision, which includes a proposed regional play space and skate park.
City of Onkaparinga Mayor Erin Thompson welcomed the news, calling the approval a significant milestone for the project as the project’s first stage progresses full-steam ahead.
“This plan sets the vision for the site over the next 15 years and beyond, meeting increasing demand for sport and recreation in the community, so it’s fantastic to see it get the green light,” she said.
“We received lots of constructive feedback from residents in November and December, with much of it focused on increasing greening, ensuring enough car parking, concerns about increasing traffic, user safety and adequate connections with cycling and pedestrian pathways through the site.
“We’ve made changes to the master plan in response to this feedback, which will inform the detailed design process for the implementation stages.”
These changes included:
- increasing carparking
- strengthening shared-use pathways with the site and key connections to it from Port and Old Coach Roads and the new Aldinga B-12 School (due to open 2022)
- maximising the number of trees retained and planted and using natural materials and native plantings where possible
- including half-court basketball in the proposed play space
- clarifying the shared-use arrangements with the school facilities
- consideration of public toilets at the site including the regional play space.
The master plan also confirms the position of the new soccer pitch and shared soccer/hockey building in the park’s south-western corner, with concept plans currently being refined to meet the budget.
Investigations continue into alternative sites for the relocation of the sports park’s equestrian facilities.
Works are progressing on Stage 1 of the project, with reconstruction (three) and resurfacing (three) of the netball courts more than 50 per cent complete.
A construction tender to build a three-lane fully-enclosed cricket net will be released in the coming weeks, after council was awarded a $30,000 grant from the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund.
A tender for the civil, services, soccer pitch and sports lighting works is also expected in the next few months.
You can view the master plan at council’s Your Say page.
Meanwhile, the state government is seeking feedback on its Aldinga Suburban Neighbourhood Development Plan Amendment until Thursday 25 March.
The proposal to rezone land at Aldinga—approximately 90 hectares of land bound by Quinliven Road, Main South Road, Aldinga Beach Road and How Road (currently zoned Deferred Urban)—would enable a diversity of low-to-medium density housing and community development.
Renewal SA has released its final Aldinga Deferred Urban Land Structure Plan to guide the future rezoning and development of the land, which adjoins Aldinga Sports Park.