If you’ve driven along William St or Otway St lately, you will have seen that the new Community Pavilion at Stribling Reserve has really taken shape. The two-storey structure sits in front of the indoor basketball stadium and from Otway Street, you can see the steel structures which will provide access and linkage between the car park, Netball Pavilion and Community Pavilion are well underway. We had hoped that the Pavilion might be ready for use before Christmas, but unfortunately COVID related restrictions in the construction industry have resulted in delays. We are now looking at a February 2022 completion.
When the new Master Plan for Stribling Reserve was adopted in 2017, the community feedback was that the facility was seen more as a community hub rather than just club rooms for sports teams. The construction project has been under the auspices of a Project Control Group (PCG) since inception. It is not the usual management model adopted by the Surf Coast Shire but was used in developing the Master Plan for Stribling Reserve and subsequently, the design and construction project. The main difference is that the community is the Project Owner and the Shire is the Project Sponsor. There is strong community representation on the PCG and we have endeavoured to think beyond just a sports pavilion and to plan for a multi-purpose community facility.
For over a year now, local volunteers have worked diligently with the architect, builder and Shire representatives to ensure that the Community Pavilion reflects multi-purpose community usage in the design and the incorporated facilities. It will provide new amenities and community meeting and function spaces for all to enjoy. The new pavilion has gone from a single storey to double storey building to accommodate all required spaces and will be a feature and centrepiece of Lorne’s community activities. The ground floor will include a canteen and bar, office, change rooms and amenities for use by the school and sporting groups, male and female and public toilets.
The second storey will include a large social and community meeting and function space capable of hosting events for up to 240 people. It will have a balcony overlooking the oval and commercial kitchen and bar. The social space can be divided into three separate spaces accommodating varied activities at the same time.
With the closure of conference facilities and the auditorium at Cumberland, we wanted to provide a space for community gatherings, school performances and music events. We want to ensure that we have the best possible facility including the quality of the fit out, use of latest technology for sound, audio and video, a kitchen and bar designed to provide the best experience for visitors and even the infrastructure to support musical concerts and performances. Each of the three spaces will have a large format digital display capable of showing live TV, streaming video, showing a feed from the scoreboard, displaying digital presentations and showing digital honour boards.
We have ensured that access to the facilities, both the new Netball Pavilion and the Community Pavilion under construction will be 100% wheelchair accessible. We want these facilities to be inclusive for all members of our community.
The original facilities at Stribling Reserve were seriously deficient in terms of accessibility for people with disabilities. We consulted with community members with disabilities and took their requirements and feedback into consideration. We committed that the entire facility would be all-accessible and meet and, in some areas, exceed the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
What do these extra features mean in terms of all-accessible use of the facility?
- There will be access to sealed, disabled car parking off Otway Street at the rear of the new Netball Pavilion.
- Wheelchair access to the new Netball Pavilion and the Community Pavilion will be via DDA compliant ramps.
- The Netball Pavilion has its own disabled toilet, accessible from within the Pavilion and also from outside.
- Access to the Community Pavilion will be via the upper level directly to the multi-purpose social space.
- There are disabled toilets on both the upper and lower levels of the Community Pavilion.
- There is an additional disabled toilet which will be always available for public use at the facility.
- Access between levels is via an elevator specified as larger than normal configuration to accommodate a person in a wheelchair and additional people.
- Access to the oval is via a DDA compliant ramp.
- All ramps and paths will have tactile surface indicators to assist the vision impaired.
- All ramps have specifically designed handrails to provide safe passage.
The additional features and upgraded specifications for the kitchen, sound, video and other technology has meant that the costs have exceeded the budgeted provision. And so, in May 2021, we launched a fundraising campaign to raise the additional funds needed to deliver the best Community Pavilion we could. So far, we have raised over $350,000 towards our target of $500,000.
Once again, we are asking for your support.
The fund-raising program has been set up through Australian Sports Foundation which provides a system to enable ease of use to donate and full transparency and accountability in managing funds.
To learn more about our fundraising campaign and to make a contribution to make sure that the Stribling Reserve Community Pavilion is equipped to serve the needs of our community well into the future, you can do so by following this link – tinyurl.com/strib-reserve
If you prefer, you can download a donation form, complete the form and post to the address shown. You can download the form at this address – tinyurl.com/Strib-Donation-Form
All donations will be gratefully received and acknowledged and remember, your donation is tax deductible.
Pete Spring
Chairman
Stribling Reserve Community Asset Committee
