Bomaderry Aquatic Park Developments
The Shoalhaven Community and Recreational Precinct Masterplan includes the relocation of the croquet courts and connects and integrates the new Indoor Sports Centre, which is currently under construction, with other elements of the plan. The plan includes upgrades playing fields, walking/ cycling track and outdoor spaces along with a 400m athletics track and new community pavilion.
The vision for the facility is to deliver an integrated community and recreational precinct to meet the needs of the region, operating on a commercially viable and sustainable basis seven days a week and in reality, vastly improve services in the northern Shoalhaven.
Aquatic Facilities
The new facility will introduce more water space facilities that will add to the indoor 50-metre eight lane pool to meet Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) requirements for competitions for Regional and State events. The 50-metre pool will have an additional two lanes moving from 6 to 8 lanes.
Additional facilities include a therapy pool with inclusive access that is currently not available in the Northern part of the Shoalhaven, a dedicated learn to swim pool which will remove congestion from the main pool, a beach entry/play pool and a leisure water facility to accommodate the needs of more users, similar to Bay and Basin Leisure Centre and Nowra Aquatic Park Pools.
Council plans to increase the overall water space rather than reducing it, the proposed planning will accommodate a broader numbers of user groups than at present and is an overall enhancement of aquatic facilities.
The Plan provides open space and community facilities such as a community pavilion providing support services that have the potential to provide aquatic, medical, physiotherapy, rehabilitation health, wellness and fitness services. This is a long-term Plan and is intended to meet the needs of a growing community now and into the future.
Current yearly patronage statistics show that the Bomaderry Aquatic Centre Indoor 25-metre pool is more popular than the outdoor 50-metre pool with less than 10% of patrons utilising the outdoor 50-metre pool.
The current 50-metre pool is at the end of its serviceable life being 41 years old with maintenance costs growing. Rather than simply replace an ageing facility, Council believes money is better spent providing additional water space in a different form.
The new Plans meet established planning and provision principles of:
- One local aquatic facility per 10,000 – 40,000 people;
- One district aquatic facility per 40,000 – 70,000 people;
- Providing 1 x 50m pool meets capacity to service needs of northern Shoalhaven now and well into the future.
Public Pool planning and provision principles demonstrate that from Council’s 12 aquatic facilities across the Shoalhaven, there is adequate pool provision for a population of 210,000 to 570,000 residents, that is two to five times more than required.
