Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts on the draft policy for allocating sportsgrounds for seasonal sport.

We appreciate feedback from sports clubs, schools, residents and other groups.

There are many health benefits associated with staying active. Participating in organised sport helps many Boroondara residents to keep physically fit and healthy. Organised sport also helps us to connect socially with others, benefitting our mental health and wellbeing too. Many people in the community therefore want to use sports grounds and pavilions for training and games.

Council seeks to manage competing demands around open spaces across Boroondara. This includes limiting impacts on resident amenity, while facilitating access to sportsgrounds for organised community sport.

We carefully plan how sports clubs, schools and other groups use these facilities by letting them apply for a seasonal licence. This licence tells a group which sportsground and pavilion they can use and for how long they can use these facilities during a season (typically a winter season or a summer season).

The Organised Sport Seasonal Allocation Policy helps create a clear and consistent way to allocate sportsgrounds and pavilions over a sports season. It also now provides a framework for how requests for a seasonal licence will be assessed and applied.

Before the new policy, there was no process to formally guide the allocation of sportsgrounds and pavilions for groups including sports clubs, schools and other organisations. The new policy:

• demonstrates Council’s commitment to making sure there’s fair and equal access to sportsgrounds and pavilions in Boroondara, for all participants
• responds to feedback provided by the community as part of the consultation on the policy
• addresses how sportsground hours of use will be subject to ground carrying capacity, conditions and supporting infrastructure (for example, lights for evening use).

We asked those who currently have a seasonal licence (sports clubs, schools and other groups) and the whole Boroondara community for their thoughts on the draft policy. We conducted a survey from 27 February until 19 March 2024.

Several changes to the draft policy were made, based on the community’s feedback and comments.

• We received 150 completed surveys and 8 written responses.
• 60% of survey respondents told us they live nearby a sportsground.
• 17% told us they use sportsgrounds for sport only.
• 11% told us they were involved in sport and also use sportsgrounds for informal activities.
• 4% told us they use sportsgrounds for informal use only.
• 7% preferred not to say.

Overall, there is community support for the new policy to formalise the way sportsgrounds are allocated to clubs, schools and other groups.

The community is very supportive of the following 3 things in the draft policy.

1. The proposed order priority of allocations for each season, arranged from:
   • clubs from previous year
   • public schools
   • private schools
   • commercial/private operators.
2. The proposed order of priority for local community sport before state/elite team activities.
3. The introduction of consistent criteria for groups who are allocated use of sportsgrounds and pavilions (for example, proof of insurance, equitable club processes, sharing participation data).

Updates to the policy based on your feedback

4 aspects of the proposed policy have been adjusted based on community input during the consultation. While there is general support for these parts of the policy, there are diverse views on how to refine the proposed policy. The following adjustments have been made to the policy as a result:

1. Hours of sportsground usage

The draft policy proposed to extend sportsground hours of use on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to 10 pm and extend pavilion hours of use on Thursday nights until 11 pm. Following community feedback these times have now been reduced, as follows:

• sportsground hours of use until 9:30 pm instead of 10 pm
• pavilion hours of use until 10 pm on Thursday nights instead of 11 pm.

The ‘Hours of use’ section was also amended to address the impact of sportsground and pavilion use on residents’ amenities. Updates include guidelines about noise control that seasonal tenants must follow.

2. Responsible behaviour

A new ‘Responsible behaviour’ section was added to the policy about the measures Council can take with seasonal tenants if they wilfully or repeatedly breach the terms of their Seasonal Licence Agreement. This section also outlines the obligations of seasonal tenants regarding respectful behaviour towards surrounding residents and park users.

3. Fair Access principles

An amendment was made to the Policy’s essential criteria (Appendix 1, section 4) to reflect Council’s recently endorsed Sport and Recreation Fair Access Policy principles (rather than the Victoria Government’s Fair Access Roadmap principles).

4. Arrangements when sportsgrounds and pavilions aren’t available due to maintenance and works

A new section outlines how clubs can be accommodated when works are being carried out to maintain and improve sportsgrounds and pavilion buildings. For example, if a sportsground requires significant alterations, Council may terminate a club’s seasonal licence for that facility and (where possible) make a suitable alternative sportsground available to them.