Work on a $5.7 million sports reserve in Williams Landing will start in coming months, with Wyndham council approving a planning permit for the site.
Williams Landing Boulevard Reserve – which is bounded by Williams Landing Boulevard, Palmers and Freya roads and Chessington Drive – will be constructed over two stages, with stage one slated for completion by mid-2017.
As reported by Star Weekly in May, the reserve will include two full-size ovals, six tennis courts, two of which will also be suitable for netball, and a playground.
Stage two will include a sports pavilion and a 131-space carpark.
The permit was approved by all councillors bar Aaron An, who abstained.
Cr An said Williams Landing needed a new school before a sports facility.
“I can relate to the frustration many people feel about the gap between growth and infrastructure,” he said.
“I am aware of families who are moving out of Williams Landing [because there’s no school] … I have never heard of anyone moving out of a suburb because of a lack of a sports oval.”
Cr Peter Maynard said he respected Cr An’s position, but said the council had to work within its own parameters.
“We need lots of things, and sporting facilities in this particular case [are something] we have control over,” he said.
“We don’t have control over provision of schools.”
