City seeks feedback on stage two of Drysdale aquatic facility

THE City of Greater Geelong is pressing on with its plan to build an outdoor pool in Drysdale, despite calls to halt the process and build an indoor pool instead.

Public consultation opens tomorrow (Thursday, November 11) on the North Bellarine Aquatic and Leisure Centre’s stage two, which could feature indoor heated pools, a gymnasium, and wellness centre.

The city has released tenders for stage one, which will be a $15.5 million outdoor 50-metre pool jointly funded by the City of Greater Geelong ($5.5 million) and a $10 million election commitment made by then-Liberal member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson in 2019, and is expected to open in late 2022 or early 2023.

On October 6, incumbent Labor member for Corangamite Libby Coker pledged a further $20 million towards the North Bellarine Aquatic and Leisure Centre if Labor won the coming federal election and urged the city to halt and review its tender process for the 50-metre outdoor pool, saying the various amounts of funding could be combined to create a $35.45 million facility with an 50-metre indoor pool.

The city has previously said its vision was to deliver the facility in a two-stage process.

In its announcement today (Wednesday, November 10), the city appears to be rejecting any delays to the process, and says community feedback on stage two will be used to develop concept plans to advocate for $45 million in funding support from the Victorian and federal governments.

Concepts for stage two, which the city says were developed from submissions made to the council in April 2021 and consultation with the North Bellarine Aquatic Centre Advocacy Group, include:

• Warm water exercise pool with accessible ramp (21m x 14m)
• Learn to swim program pool with accessible ramp (15m x 8m)
• Water play pool with accessible ramp (19m x 19 m)
• Spa, sauna and steam room
• Male and female change rooms, family change village, group change, accessible change, a changing places facility
• Gymnasium
• Group fitness rooms
• Health and fitness change rooms
• Health consulting suites
• A café, and
• Occasional care and program room.

City of Greater Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher, who is also the Liberals’ endorsed candidate for Corangamite in the coming federal election, is quoted at length in the city’s announcement.

“Delivering both indoor and outdoor heated pools is based on extensive planning, consultation and the identified need for a new centre for the north Bellarine community, including more than 3,500 students who attend local schools adjacent to the site,” Cr Asher said.

“This is not about delivering an indoor pool or an outdoor pool, it’s about advocating for the right aquatic products and the best service possible for the North Bellarine community.

“We want to listen to everyone’s views before we progress the concept designs.”

The city says the stage two plans are illustrative only and will be subject to what funding is received and further business case development.

“The city is delivering on its executed funding agreement with the Australian Government for an outdoor 50-metre facility and is on track to award the construction tender by the end of the year,” Cr Asher said.

Now a Liberal Senator for Victoria, Sarah Henderson has described Ms Coker’s proposal as a “cruel hoax” and cited a recent letter from federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck to city chief executive officer Martin Cutter about the aquatic centre, which stated the city had received $2.5 million of the $10 million on June 18 and was scheduled to receive a further $2.5 million this month.

Consultation on stage two opens tomorrow on the City of Greater Geelong’s website and closes at 5pm on December 12.