The issue of council not having a policy in regard to funding projects on Crown land came to a head last year when a project to provide funding for new lighting at Rochester Recreation Reserve won council support.
The Rochester Recreation Reserve funding decision created significant debate among councillors in regard to the historic preference of council to only fund projects on council-owned land.
That meeting was the catalyst for the development of the Sport and Recreation Facilities Capital Contributions Policy, which was adopted at the March meeting.
Council has received a number of requests from crown land committees of management through the years, seeking financial assistance towards the renewal, upgrade or development of new assets on crown land.
There has never been a guiding policy to address these submissions, but (as a rule) council has not financially supported these projects on the basis it was not recognised as a council asset.
The change of attitude, seemingly kick-started by the Rochester decision, is on the back of an increased number of requests for council to support capital projects on crown land.
Council officers reviewed the limited policies available across the state to develop a set of principles and criteria that could be applied to such requests, subject to the level of effort and commitment from relevant clubs and committees.
Those principles are (in summarised form):
• The project will address an unmet need or identified gap in demand, will attract new participants, contribute to an improved pathway for the sport and is in a growth area, or the sport is seeing a significant growth phase.
• Multiple users will be encouraged as a result of the project.
• The development aligns with council-endorsed classification and doesn’t exceed the recommended service provision.
• State sporting associations endorse the project and it aligns with council strategy.
• It includes provision for females, all abilities and culturally diverse participants, maximising accessibility and inclusion.
• Non-compliance challenges are mitigated by a fit-for-purpose facility.
• There is economic benefit to support the project, the group is financially sustainable and there is a financial contribution from the community.
The council officer assessment of the policy was that the document would “guide a fair, inclusive and documented assessment process for evaluation of both council and crown land sport and active recreation infrastructure projects for consideration in future capital and operational budgets”.
