Explanation for new park underutilisation

By Nadia Dimattina

The City of Melbourne says it is easing Ron Barassi Senior Park into its role as home to inner-city sporting clubs.

A council spokesperson said it had been overwhelmed by the number of submissions from sports clubs to use the area.

“The City of Melbourne has been inundated with requests from established clubs to use this new sports park for training and competition,” the spokesperson said.

Docklanders have been recently wondering why the facility appears not to be used.

In response to Docklands News questioning, the council says it is concerned that the year-old facility could be overused if not monitored carefully.

“Being a new piece of infrastructure we are conscious of the need to avoid overuse of the space in its first 12 months. We are, therefore, carefully managing the frequency of use at this time,” the spokesperson said.

The council acknowledges that sporting facilities and opportunities are important to Docklanders.

”We are working with the local Docklands community to provide physical activity opportunities and sports clinics and we are working with local residents to set up a local sports club to maximise opportunities for the space going forward,” the spokesperson said.

The council says its priority is for the Docklands community to make the most of the new green space.

“We understand that there is limited green space available for clubs to expand in the inner city but our priority is to make this green space available to those who live and work in Docklands. We need to ensure that Docklands residents also have the opportunity to participate in regular outdoor physical activity,” the spokesperson said.

The City of Melbourne is working collaboratively with Places Victoria in relation to further park developments.