The draft master plan for Kitchener Park in Gunnedah is now on public exhibition.
Community engagement to inform the draft master plans for Wolseley Park, Kitchener Park, Gunnedah Showground and Riverine Precinct (including Donnelly and Namoi Playing Fields and Woolshed Reserve), was given in late 2023 and early 2024 to gain input and background knowledge.
This included drop-in sessions outside Gunnedah Town Hall and Gunnedah Newsagency along with an online ‘Have Your Say’ survey for each site.
Most feedback given from the surveys were for the showground, which received 287 responses, followed by Wolseley Park (104), Kitchener Park (89) and finally the Riverine Precinct (45).
Kitchener (35 per cent) and the showground (31 per cent) were most likely to only be used monthly by responders compared to the Riverine Precinct and Wolseley Park which were more likely to be used weekly at 35 per cent.
Responders’ top three main issues with Kitchener were the basketball courts being unusable, tennis courts were unmaintained and the grandstands being in poor conditions.
Top three in the wish list for responders were new basketball courts, tennis courts along with new toilets and change rooms.
Previous to community feedback, was a stakeholder engagement meeting, which for Kitchener Park included Gunnedah Shire Council, Gunnedah Rugby League Football Club and GroupGSA (architecture and design group).
The meeting voiced issues regarding the lights being expensive to run, the cricket wicket in centre of field making hosting premier league or NRK games impossible due to injury risk, no female facilities for players, perspex screens over windows on high level of club room difficult to see out of, and vehicle access being uncontrolled around periphery of the field.
Three design principles had guided the draft plan including maximising general community use, considering sporting uses across multiple sites rather than in isolation and improving visual amenity and landscape setting.
The draft currently plans for multiple upgrades, including reconfiguration of sporting facilities – meaning the turf wickets and cricket usage on the oval will be removed. The field will be levelled and the irrigation system adjusted. It is proposed the cricket facilities to be maintained at Wolseley and a new facility within the Riverine Precinct. However, repositioning and upgrading of the Kitchener cricket nets would be included, providing three fully enclosed cricket nets.
Another include upgrading existing club building facilities and amenities – with dedicated male and female change rooms.
It is also planned to replace existing grandstand seating on western side of the field to provide improved structure, with shade and shelter to two central grandstand bays.
Also on the list is to upgrade the courts, retaining one dedicated basketball court and convert one to a multi-court to accommodate alternate sports, improve tennis courts in current location and add a ‘learn to ride facility’ (see picture above).
More of the changes can be found in the draft master plan on the Gunnedah Shire Council website.
A final plan will be produced for a following council meeting after assessment of potential submissions.
An example of a multi-use sports court taken from the draft master plan.
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