Adelaide Park Lands Association

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An outcome 28 times better

Shane Sody

Debate about a new Adelaide Aquatic Centre has dragged on for many years. However in the next three months it will come down to a simple choice.

Will the State Government and the City Council Restore and Protect? Or will they combine to Restore and Attack?

The Council and the State Government agree that the current Aquatic Centre is close to the end of its useful life. Hence, they both agree that it should be demolished, and this site in Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2) should restored to Open, Green Public.

The Adelaide Aquatic centre, which occupies 28,000 square metres of your Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2) Park Lands. There is an opportunity to restore all of this area to Open Green Public. But the State Government wants to attack an adjacent 27,000 square metres, or more.

There was debate at the Town Hall on Tuesday 20 June 2023 about whether or not the City Council should pick up the estimated $20 million cost of this restoration project.

However, replacing the Aquatic Centre, and WHERE, is an entirely different question.

Councillor Keiran Snape told the meeting: “I do support the… State Government taking this from our hands and doing something new and different – I just don’t support the location.

“I just think this state government’s got a very narrow minded focus when it comes to the Park Lands and we [the City Council] are the last bastion when it comes to that.”

Cr Keiran Snape, who is supporting the community’s demand for a brownfield site.

Recent plans revealed by the State Government indicate that they want to build not just a new swimming pool, but also a two-storey megalith, including shops, club rooms, a gym, offices AND a vastly expanded car park, on your Park Lands right next to what would be the soon-to-be-demolished Aquatic Centre.

The State Government’s proposed expanded car park, and double-storey building, which the City Council has been told would be 10% larger than the existing Aquatic Centre, and would include shops, club rooms, a gym, consulting rooms and offices on its upper storey. This building is welcome, but on a brownfield site, NOT on your Park Lands.

The State Government has given contradictory advice to two different audiences, telling:

  • nearby residents in a leaflet on 17 June that the proposed replacement centre would result in 1,000 square metres being returned to your Park Lands; and

  • the City Council on 13 June that the new centre would be 10% larger than the existing centre.

Regardless of which is correct, it’s clear that if a new Aquatic Centre were to be built on a brownfield site instead, then the entire area of the Aquatic Centre, 28,000 square metres, could be returned to Open Green Public Space.

Therefore, picking a brownfield site would be at least 28 times better for your Park Lands!

Failing to switch to a brownfield site would be proof that your State Government does NOT Love Your Park Lands.

There is no dispute about what should happen to the current site (Restore!) but there is a clear choice to be made about the remainder of this Park. Protect? or Attack?

The State Government has no mandate to attack your Park Lands in this way. The State Government is ignoring its promises to protect Adelaide’s tree canopy. They’re now even back-tracking on a promise to keep the current Aquatic Centre open while a new one is being built.

This means swimmers would be denied a central Aquatic Centre for about 18 months, from August 2024.

The Government is ignoring the clearly-expressed wishes of voters for a win-win outcome. Our petition calling on the State Government to choose a brownfield site for a new Aquatic Centre, has received more than 4,300 signatures.

Why is the Government ignoring you? Why is it not working in co-operation with the City Council (and/or other adjacent Councils) to find a suitable alternative brownfield site?

How many more signatures will it take to prompt the State Government to re-think its Park attack plans, and opt instead for a win-win?

What can you do?

Time is running out. Destruction of trees is due to start within three months, by September 2023.

If you haven’t done so already, then:

Read more

See our ongoing coverage of the proposed new Aquatic Centre:

Read recent analysis (19 June 2023) by author John Bridgland “Public Not to be Formally Consulted” (PDF, 5 pages, 190 Kb)