Clubhouses to be rebuilt under revised Wolseley Park masterplan

Gunnedah’s Wolseley Park could feature two new amenities buildings under a revised draft masterplan currently on public exhibition.

Several designs were proposed mid-last year including one option that suggested relocating the main oval within the park.

After several rounds of community consultation, a decision was reached to retain much of the existing park features – including the main oval – but with significant upgrades.

Key to these improvements are new facilities for the existing cricket and AFL amenities on Tempest Street and construction of a new building for the tennis club on Chandos Street.

The revised draft masterplan suggests a new amenities building be constructed over the existing Wolseley car park area to enable the continued use of existing facilities until a new building is complete.

Once complete, the existing building would be demolished and the land may be used for car parking or an expansion of green space.

The new building would feature a minimum of two gender-neutral change rooms with flexible use as ‘home’ and ‘away’ on game days, and as male and female on training days.

It would also feature a canteen and equipment storage, council storage umpire and first aid room, toilet facilities for spectators, covered outdoor areas and a bottle refill water point.

In this scenario, the plan stated consideration should be given for a community room to be incorporated into the building at the southern end. This location would connect to the community recreation zone along Conadilly Street and provide a space for local community groups or small events.

It is also proposed the tennis clubhouse be upgraded as the existing building needs renewal and anecdotal reports from users indicate that it is not suitable for renovation.

A replacement building would incorporate the minimum of toilets and change rooms, club room, kitchenette space, storage and external break-out space and covered viewing areas.

A two-storey structure may be explored pending budget and required uses, as well as a cafe or function space which opens the facility to general community use.

The masterplan suggests retaining all tennis courts and addressing drainage and subsidence issues in the southern courts.

Retention of the current oval in the current location including the turf cricket wicket is also a core component of the master plan, however, a lighting upgrade is required to enable safe usage throughout the year.

A ‘changing places facility’ – toilets are larger than standard accessible toilets which provide people with a disability and high support needs – has been included in the master plan within Brock’s Court. This may be either a standalone building pod, or accommodated in an extension to the existing public amenities known as the ‘Lyrical loos’.

The public plaza (Brock’s Court) at the corner of Conadilly and Chandos streets is to remain but with improvements including water refill stations and public art.

No upgrades or extensions to the Livvi’s Place playground are proposed but it is suggested the existing playground on Bloomfield Street be removed at the end of its useful life.

New planted garden beds are proposed at the northwest and south-west corners of the park to provide beautification, along with new seats and a covered picnic shelter.

New trees are proposed throughout the park to increase canopy cover and provide shade for users, as well as a new loop path on the western side of the oval and new footpaths along Tempest Street and Bloomfield Street. The existing footpath along Chandos Street is recommended to be replaced and widened.

Retention of the existing parking within the site is dependent on the preferred option for the amenities building (renovation and extension or replacement in a different location), according to the master plan.

If the amenities building is to be located over the existing car park area, a new vehicle access with limited parking may be installed in the location of the current building.

This would not be intended to provide significant parking for sporting uses, rather it would be intended to include accessible parking bays, facilitate canteen deliveries and maintenance access and provide parking for casual use outside peak periods.

It is recommended to formalise the existing angle parking along Tempest St and Chandos St with line marking to maximise efficiency. Consideration may be given to marking long vehicle parking on Chandos St opposite the visitor centre.

Community members are encouraged include their comments in a submission to council by 5pm, Monday, February 3, 2025.

The new draft master plan for Wolseley Oval could feature new amenities buildings for tennis and cricket/AFL, in addition to other improvements.