Community calls foul over junior oval

The Vasse community has accused Busselton City council of backtracking on their promise to upgrade Kaloorup Oval as sports facility congestion reaches a tipping point.

Vasse Primary School principal Brian Devereux says demand has outstripped supply for sports spaces at the school and, if upgraded, neighbouring Kaloorup Oval presented a viable and immediate solution.

“The City is keen to spend the money previously allocated to this on the Vasse sporting precinct,” he said.

“I fully support the precinct but that’s a senior oval, this is a junior oval. It’s a safety concern for our young kids to have to travel across there and you can’t have little kids mixing with older children.”

Vasse MLA Libby Mettam said the Department of Education had committed to providing water to the oval for the next 20 years and community members had pledged in-kind support.

“I am aware of the plans for a $3.6 million sporting precinct in Vasse but this should not be about one project or another. It is clear this project would not be able to be realised straight away whilst the upgrade of this oval could be a reality for sporting clubs for next year, ” she said.

Mayor Ian Stubbs said upgrading the oval would cost about $400,000, plus costs associated with providing change facilities which could run into several hundred thousand dollars.

“It would cost approximately $30,000 annually to maintain the oval,” he said.

Cr Stubbs said a key hurdle was the lack, up to now, of a sustainable, continuous water supply for the oval. He said community members had approached the council about plans for a country club-type facility and councillors were concerned there would be recreational facilities on three different sites in Vasse.

“Which would be costly, inefficient and highly fragmented,” Cr Stubbs said.

He said a site large enough to accommodate up to three full-size ovals and country club-type amenities where facilities could be consolidated as part of a single, integrated precinct had now been identified.

“Kaloorup Oval is simply too small to meet the most pressing, recreational needs, as it is not large enough to accommodate a full-size oval and can only accommodate a single soccer or rugby game, ” Cr Stubbs said.

“The alternative site we have identified would see a full-size oval developed in the near term.”

He said consultation with the community as a whole had not yet been undertaken.

Click here to go mobile with iNFOGO - local everywhere