The Huon Valley Council is pleased to announce it has engaged Leisure Management Excellence to develop an Aquatic Centre Strategy for the Huonville Pool and Port Huon Sports & Aquatic Centre.

The consultant will start its review of the centres in early August 2021 and this process will take several months to complete.

“The Huon Valley is the fourth fastest-growing regional municipal area in Tasmania and our population is expected to grow to 20,464 by 2042,” Huon Valley Council Mayor Bec Enders said. “The Aquatic Centre Strategy will include a ten-year capital investment plan to ensure that the Council’s short and long-term decisions about the Huonville Pool and Port Huon Sports & Aquatic Centre are always in the best interests of our community.

“There will be many opportunities for our Huon Valley residents to get involved.”

“An important part of the review is to undertake community engagement to hear our community’s views on future planning for the facilities.

“There will be many opportunities for our Huon Valley residents to get involved. If you are already a user of the pool and sports centre, you will be invited to attend face-to-face meetings and community forums, as will other internal and external stakeholders. This will ensure Council gains a good understanding of the views and desires of people, schools and organisations across the community.”

The review will consider the following:

• Whether predicted population growth will result in an increase in demand
• Is there any duplication of services being provided to our community?
• Would an increase in income be offset by greater expenses?
• Does the current service delivery meet community needs and the objectives of Council’s strategic plans?
• What are the ongoing capital and recurrent expenditure requirements to provide the levels of service our community desires?

“Leisure Management Excellence has an impressive portfolio of similar public facility reviews, and their team includes a specialist aquatic engineer who will be assessing the two facilities,” Cr Enders said.

“We want to hear from everyone in our community, so if you are a Huon Valley resident, we encourage you to stay connected with Council to find out when and how you can Have Your Say on the Aquatic Centre Strategy. Please visit Have Your Say on our website at www.huonvalley.tas.gov.au/haveyoursay. Here you can also sign up for Council’s e-newsletter.

“You can also stay up to date by following Huon Valley Council on Facebook and Instagram, and stopping by our noticeboards around the Valley.”