By Alesha Capone
A decade-long campaign to have Wyndham’s third major indoor sports or aquatic facility built in Point Cook is firing up again.
The Point Cook Action Group (PCAG) is ramping its advocacy efforts for Wyndham council to construct the facility in their suburb and is calling for residents to lobby council on the issue.
The council allocated $70,000 in its 2020-21 draft budget for a feasibility study into a third major indoor sports facility for the municipality.
PCAG secretary Christine Macpherson said that Point Cook residents have long been asking for an aquatic centre.
“We feel it’s very much overdue, not just for us but for the community, which has been asking for an aquatic centre for at least 10 years now,” she said.
Back in 2018, Ms Macpherson made a submission to Wyndham council’s annual budget, on behalf of PCAG, requesting a swimming pool or indoor recreational facility for the area.
She said now would be “a brilliant opportunity” to build an aquatic centre in Point Cook, after the state government committed to building new schools in the suburb in its 2021-22 budget.
She said school students could potentially use the pool during the day and the public after hours and on weekends.
Ms Macpherson said that she understood why some Wyndham councillors were pushing for the third sports centre to be built in Tarneit, as the suburb is growing quickly.
However, she said that Point Cook’s population was bigger – around 68,088 residents as opposed to Tarneit’s 47,720 residents – and increasing rapidly.
Ms Macpherson said also suggested that a pool could be installed for public use at the $25 million sports training facility and 15,000 seat stadium which is planned for Sayers Road, Tarneit.
“Here at Point Cook we won’t be able to do that unless council actually comes to the party, I don’t think anyone else will,” she said.
Wyndham mayor Adele Hegedich said the council did not yet know whether the future facility would be an aquatic or indoor sports centre.
“After confirming the next site to be developed, we will progress the feasibility planning for that facility and commence the development of a concept plan that we will release for community feedback in the future,” she said.
