More changes proposed for aquatic centre

THE facilities at the proposed Surf Coast Aquatic and Health Centre (SCAHC) would change in scope again under the latest proposed revisions to the more than $40 million project.

The Surf Coast Shire council resolved in June last year it would review the project by no later than this month, and the agenda for the council meeting on Tuesday, February 28 contains an officers’ report with recommendations for the long-awaited centre, earmarked for a site in Torquay North.

Officers are recommending the council build the 25m pool indoors instead of outdoors, build only one indoor program pool instead of two, and pay as much as $3.57 million more itself so the project can proceed to tender.

Originally envisaged as a facility with a 50m indoor pool, SCAHC finally got the nod from the council in June 2022 with Option C, which would contain an outdoor 25m pool, two indoor program pools, gym, program spaces, allied health suites, café and supporting amenities, and a future option to enclose the 25m pool.

October’s announcement that the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games would result in a permanent community pool in Armstrong Creek was “new to the market”, the officers’ report states, and has forced a major rethink of the implications of the shire’s decision.

A pool in Armstrong Creek will split the catchment of SCAHC’s target market, with recent modelling finding that the number of users travelling to SCAHC from 10 minutes or less away would drop by 22 per cent, equivalent to more than 4,000 people.

“Lower demand will negatively impact visitation and revenue, and the subsequent slower growth means that learn to swim and hydrotherapy capacity will be reached over a longer time period,” the report stated.

As a result, officers have recommended Option F – a 25m indoor pool and only one indoor program pool but otherwise the same as Option C – as it “better reflects the projected need and demand in our community over the next decade.”

The budget shortfall for Option F is estimated to be up to $3.57 million, based on existing costings, and the councl has been recommended to underwrite this amount “to confirm sufficient budget to proceed to tender, noting that the true cost will only be known when tenders are received”.

“It is not expected that any Council contribution would be required until 2025 when the project delivery is well progressed, which provides time to pursue further funds.”

The shire will continue to pursue external funding sources to reduce the amount the shire has to underwrite.

The report states the proposed $5 million Veterans and Families Hub promised by Corangamite Labor federal member Libby Coker at last year’s federal election – as an “opportunity”, which would mean the hub would be incorporated into SCAHC instead of at Torquay RSL or Geelong RSL, who are both pitching to host it.

The officers’ report rules out reducing the scope of SCAHC’s Option F by, for example, not constructing a gym and program spaces, as “this would significantly adversely impact the operating performance of the facility” by about $400,000 per year (averaged over 10 years).

Local, state and federal cash make up the $42.25 million confirmed funding for SCAHC but it is unclear whether the state and federal governments will support the shire changing SCAHC’s scope again, as officers state “funding partner approvals have not yet been obtained for Option C”.