In early 2017, a revised Master Plan for Stribling Reserve was adopted by Surf Coast Shire Council. The Shire agreed to an innovative approach to developing the Master Plan whereby the community was the project owner with Ian Stewart, Chairman of Committee for Lorne as Chair of the Project Control Group. This project governance model resulted in strong community participation in the workshops which were conducted to determine the community’s wishes for the future of Stribling Reserve. A number of key priorities were identified and tabled in the Master Plan. Since the Master Plan was adopted, several of those priorities have either been addressed or are in process:
- Installation of ventilation for the indoor stadium
- Replacement of cooking appliances in kitchen, including procurement of a modern Combi oven
- Installation of new electronic scoreboard
- Design for new viewing terraces in front of existing Leisure Centre
- Provision of new lighting to AFL standards for oval
- Development of new pavilion for Netball incorporating appropriate change facilities
- Replacement of existing Leisure Centre with a new pavilion which offers appropriate change facilities and incorporates space for a wide range of community activities.
Items 1 to 4 are now complete. This week, item 5, new lighting for the oval, will be complete. Work to install foundations for the new light towers commenced earlier in 2019, but weather conditions and the imminent start of the football season prevented the completion of these works. You may have noticed the light towers, in sections, lying near the fence on the William Street side of the oval. In the past few weeks work on the foundations has been completed and this week the light towers have been erected in time for the 2020 season. Save this date in your diaries – Saturday April 25, 2020. Lorne will play in a twilight game under lights at Stribling Reserve!
Item 7, development of a new Netball pavilion and replacement of the existing Leisure Centre is a project now underway. The Project Control Group has been convened including representatives of the Shire, Stribling Reserve Committee, Lorne P-12 College, a major user of facilities at Stribling Reserve and Lorne Football and Netball Club. Utilising the same governance model as the Master Plan project, Peter Spring, Chair of Stribling Reserve Committee, is the project owner.
Concept designs have been developed for both new pavilions and it is expected that the Shire will issue tender documents by end of January 2020. This $6.5M project is jointly funded by the Federal Government through the Building Better Regions Fund and the Surf Coast Shire.
It’s an exciting time in the history of Stribling Reserve. The master planning process identified that the community wanted to see the facility as more than just a sporting location; it should be a comprehensive community facility accommodating a wide variety of activities. With the tasks underway at the moment, things are definitely heading in that direction.
Stribling Reserve Committee
LATE UPDATE
On Wednesday, 11 December, three of the new light towers were installed. Due to a problem in manufacturing the fourth tower won’t be in stalled until early 2020.
