Holroyd City
Aquatic/Wellness
Centre Opportunities
Study
October, 2013
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4
CHAPTER 1:
PRELIMINARIES
1.1 BACKGROUND
1.2 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.3 STUDY APPROACH
17
17
17
17
18
CHAPTER 2:
RECREATION, SPORT AND WELLNESS TRENDS
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
KEY TRENDS
CURRENT RECREATION PARTICIPATION
RECENT TRENDS IN RECREATION PARTICIPATION
THE ‘WELLNESS INDUSTRY’
TRENDS IN AQUATIC SPORT AND RECREATION FACILITY PROVISION
IMPLICATIONS OF THE TRENDS
19
19
19
20
22
24
26
27
CHAPTER 3:
REVIEW OF EXISTING COUNCIL AQUATIC FACILITIES
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
INTRODUCTION
MERRYLANDS SWIM CENTRE
WENTWORTHVILLE SWIM CENTRE
GUILDFORD SWIM CENTRE
USE OF COUNCIL POOLS
POOL USE BENCHMARKS
COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF COUNCIL’S POOLS
MODERNISATION PROPOSALS
29
29
29
29
30
30
31
33
34
36
CHAPTER 4:
UNMET DEMAND FOR AQUATIC & WELLNESS ACTIVITIES
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
INTRODUCTION
TARGET MARKET SEGMENTS
POOL/WELLNESS CENTRE CATCHMENT AREAS
CATCHMENT AREA POPULATIONS
IMPLICATIONS FOR AQUATIC & WELLNESS NEEDS
CONCLUSIONS ON CATCHMENT POPULATION ISSUES
37
37
37
37
38
40
42
44
CHAPTER 5:
POTENTIAL MARKET COMPETITION
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
INTRODUCTION
ADJACENT COUNCIL POOLS/LEISURE CENTRES
WET’N’WILD DEVELOPMENT
PRIVATE LEARN TO SWIM POOLS
FITNESS CENTRES/GYMS
46
46
46
46
50
50
51
2
5.6 WELLNESS CENTRES
5.7 CONCLUSIONS - POTENTIAL MARKET COMPETITION
52
52
CHAPTER 6:
WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY WANT?
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 PREVIOUS CONSULTATIONS
6.3 CONCLUSIONS ON PREVIOUS CONSULTATIONS
53
53
53
53
55
CHAPTER 7:
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDED OPTION
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
INTRODUCTION
EXISTING POOLS – STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING A SINGLE NEW CENTRE
CERM PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
WHAT SIZE POOLS ARE REQUIRED IN A NEW CENTRE?
PREFERRED CONCEPT
57
57
57
57
58
60
61
64
CHAPTER 8:
BUSINESS PLAN PRO FORMA
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
INTRODUCTION
REVENUE FORECAST ASSUMPTIONS
EXPENDITURE FORECAST ASSUMPTIONS
FORECAST SENARIOS
OPERATIONAL FORECASTS
67
67
67
67
71
72
73
CHAPTER 9:
CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
78
78
INTRODUCTION
COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
CONCEPT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
DETAILED BUSINESS CASE
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE REVIEW
CAPITAL FUNDING STRATEGY
COMMUNITY ASSET TRANSFER
78
79
79
80
80
80
85
ATTACHMENT A: POOL CATCHMENT REVIEW
86
ATTACHMENT B: BUSINESS PLAN FORECASTS IN DETAIL
87
ATTACHMENT C: REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUSTRALIA FUND
91
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background
At Council’s meeting on 16 April, 2013, it was resolved on the motion of Clr
Grove, seconded Clr Zaiter, that a report be submitted to Council on the costs
and benefits of modernisation of the existing swim centres versus a new aquatic
centre development.
This report considers Council’s motion in the light of a detailed market
assessment of aquatic recreation and related needs in Holroyd and includes the
following elements:
•
A review of relevant trends and population change and needs.
•
The condition, current use and cost-effectiveness of existing aquatic
facilities
•
Service gaps and unmet needs
•
An upgrading rationale (including consideration of the benefits of wellness
and other elements with the potential to deliver improved amenity,
accessibility and financial sustainability)
•
Recommendations on a preferred course of action
•
The required next steps to progress the project
This report is based on a detailed consideration of changing community needs,
recreation trends, ‘competing’ facilities provided by the commercial and
community sectors, the age and condition of existing facilities and creative
alternatives for meeting Council’s financial constraints.
Major findings are detailed in the report and summarised briefly below.
Changing Community Needs
Needs have been evaluated through a review of aquatic recreation trends, the
catchment populations for Holroyd City’s aquatic centres (and ‘competing’ pools
in surrounding local government areas (LGA’s) and past needs research.
Recreation Trends
The participation trends provide evidence that swimming and other leisure,
fitness and wellness activities that can be accommodated in modern wet/dry
leisure facilities are popular and are likely to continue to grow.
The trends also provide evidence that a large and diverse clientele can be
tapped if centres provide for contemporary needs – via an appropriate
combination of facilities, programs and marketing.
4
Meeting contemporary needs requires a variety of water spaces (for leisure,
fitness, wellness programs and therapy), dry fitness facilities, kiosk/catering,
child-minding, effective programming and good presentation.
The trends confirm that, despite their significant values, Holroyd’s existing pools
are not keeping pace with contemporary needs and require ‘modernising’ or
replacement.
Catchment Populations
The catchment area for a facility is the geographical area from which the users
of the facility are drawn. The primary catchment is the geographical area
containing the majority – 70% to 80% - of potential users. For urban areas (such
as Holroyd City), this is usually around 5 kilometres travel distance and up to 15
minutes travel time from the facility.
The research also demonstrates that a significant proportion of pool users – 20
to 30% - will travel for more than 15 minutes to use high quality aquatic
facilities.
Based on a thorough review of travel times and distances in the areas
surrounding Merrylands Park (the preferred site for a new facility), it has been
concluded that the catchment area comprises most of Holroyd City and parts of
the Parramatta local government area.
Consultations
While no new consultations were undertaken for this study, previous
consultations identified strong support for the development of a modern facility
in Holroyd.
The key needs and demands identified in the consultations included:
•
A year-round heated indoor pool – suitable for lap swimmers, schools,
learn to swim, squad training and swim club activities
•
Program/therapy pool suitable for an ageing population
•
Leisure pools – water play parks
The needs expressed in the consultations are generally consistent with the
more general needs identified through the assessment of aquatic recreation
trends.
The Existing Use and Financial Performance of Holroyd City’s Pools
Holroyd City’s pools currently attract around 190,000 visits per annum. The
pools are important venues for school activities – including annual swim
5
carnivals, intensive learn-to-swim and weekly sports programs. This use
accounts for more than 30% of annual visits to the pools.
Other key programs include children’s learn-to-swim (LTS) and squad training
(although the Wentworthville squad is not currently active). There are currently
no aquarobics or similar programs at the pools.
Lap swimming (for fitness) and family visits (for cooling off) in the warmer
months appear to be the other main uses of the pools.
Usage is well-below average on a national benchmark basis. Thus, based on
the national facility use benchmarks produced by the Centre for Environmental
and Recreation Management (CERM) at the University of South Australia,
average participation within the catchment would generate around 315,000
visits to the pools – around 70% more than the 187,000 visits actually achieved
in 2012/2013.
Market Competition &Threats
Potential competition (for the pools modernisation and/or new aquatic/wellness
centre projects) is provided by a range of commercial and community sector
facilities within the City (fitness gyms) and surrounding areas (pools, leisure
centres and fitness gyms).
The main competitive threats are posed by the major centres in surrounding
LGA’s and close to Holroyd’s boundaries (i.e. Blacktown Aquatic Centre, and
the Fairfield and Prairiewood Leisure Centres).
Despite this competition, Holroyd has a substantial catchment population
(105,000) much of which is outside the primary catchment area of these other
facilities – and shares a significant catchment area with Parramatta LGA (more
than 30,000 people).
It is concluded therefore, that these major facilities do not represent a serious
constraint on Council’s upgrading or new aquatic centre proposals.
With respect to the fitness/gym facilities, it is arguable that a new iconic
aquatic/wellness centre will raise public awareness of healthy, fit lifestyles to the
benefit of all gyms in Holroyd City.
As well, gym/fitness space is a key income driver and a critical element in
supporting the financial viability of leisure centres.
Holroyd’s Existing Pools: Strengths and Weaknesses
This study has identified the following strengths and weaknesses of Holroyd’s
existing aquatic facilities:
6
Element
Location
Strengths
• Good distribution of swimming facilities
across Holroyd City
• Existing facilities are highly valued by
sections of the community
• Merrylands Pool is located within an
attractive, treed site, and has synergy
values with a large sports complex
Weaknesses
• Guildford Pool’s ‘out of the way’ site
increases marketing requirements and
limits marketing options
• Wentworthville Pool lacks synergy
opportunities
• Merrylands and Wentworthville Pools
have high visibility (being adjacent to
major transport routes)
Physical
facilities
• Merrylands and Wentworthville have 50
metre outdoor pool – important assets
for schools, clubs and lap swimmers)
• All centres have a diversity of
pools (main, program and toddlers) for
enhanced programming
• Recent upgrades of change/amenities
and ground furniture well received by
user groups
Capacity to
meet the
needs of
target
markets
• Merrylands Pool site has ample room
for expansion and/or replacement to
cater for new and emerging needs
(warm water therapy, leisure water,
wellness, cross-training etc)
• Older facilities (around 40 years)
nearing end of economic life
• Merrylands and Wentworthville are
outdoor-only facilities (shorter ‘peak’
season, no weather protection)
• Likely substantial water loss from
ageing pipes and/or pool tank
• No ‘leisure’ water (e.g slides, lazy
rivers, beach entry, aqua play)
• Existing facilities can not meet the
needs of the new and emerging target
markets
• Existing outdoor facilities are open only
half the year
• Existing outdoor facilities provide
excellent facilities for some target
markets (lap swimmers, LTS in
summer, swim carnivals)
Any new upgrading and/or replacement proposals will need to address the
weaknesses and build on the strengths of the existing facilities.
Development/Upgrading Rationale
Consistent with the requirements of Council’s motion, this study has taken into
account:
• Relevant aquatic and indoor recreation trends,
• The size, structure and forecast growth of Holroyd City’s population,
• The specific aquatic recreation and fitness needs of the population – including
the need for year-round facilities for schools, swim clubs, fitness swimmers,
families, health club members and recreational swimmers,
• The need for more year-round warm water for the area’s growing (older
person) therapy and rehabilitation markets,
• The current lack of modern indoor year-round leisure water in the City,
• The provision of aquatic and wellness facilities in neighbouring LGA’s and the
implications for the proposal (in terms of competitive threats),
• The travel distances to the proposed site (Merrylands Park) from various
locations within the City and surrounding areas, and
• Potential synergies with the broader indoor sports and ‘wellness’ markets.
7
The study has concluded that there is a demonstrated demand and need for
contemporary year-round aquatic facilities in Holroyd. This conclusion is
supported by the needs and aspirations expressed in the consultations
undertaken for previous studies and the difficulty of accessing facilities (due to
travel distances and/or expense) in neighbouring local government areas (for
many of of Holroyd City’s residents).
The need is also supported by the review of trends in leisure and recreation
participation and changes within the aquatic, fitness and wellness industries.
National and global participation in aquatic/wellness centre type activities is
surging (as detailed in Chapter 2) and this will continue as the population
becomes more aware of wellness centre-type opportunities.
Industry experience has clearly demonstrated that health club gyms (and, more
recently, ‘wellness centres’), health-oriented cafes and leisure/water play
elements are an essential value-ad to integrated pool/leisure centres and, along
with learn-to-swim programs, rate as the biggest centre revenue earners.
It is therefore desirable that these facilities be included in any new aquatic
development in Holroyd City.
The benefits of doing so are clearly demonstrated by the experience of those
many councils that have already travelled that path.
A comparison with Fairfield City (documented in Section 7.3 of this report), for
example, demonstrates how use of that Council’s facilities is more than three
times higher than in Holroyd City – because the former is providing the
contemporary facilities that people now need and want.
Another way of looking at the finding is that there is an untapped market in
Holroyd City of at least 450,000 visits per annum if the appropriate standard and
type of aquatic, fitness and wellness facilities and programs were provided.
According to planning benchmarks, the catchment population (currently around
140,000) is more than sufficient to financially support a heated indoor pool and
associated facilities. The continuing substantial growth in the population, to at
least 2031, further underpins this conclusion
Recommended Concept
Specifically, the research conducted during this Study indicated the need to
provide:
•
•
•
More indoor heated water for year round lap swimming and club/school
programs
More indoor heated water (for warm water therapy, learn to swim)
Contemporary leisure/water play facilities (e.g. aqua play area, beach entry,
lazy river, slides, inflatables etc.),
8
•
•
Integration with revenue-generating opportunities (e.g. gyms, health club,
wellness activities and quality food/cafe service)
Improved support services including change/amenities and creche facilities
A leisure pool is desirable in this type of development – to cater to the broader
(rather than just specialist) aquatic needs of the catchment population and to
help underpin financial viability.
However, given the potentially high competition from leisure pools at nearby
locations (Wet’nWild, Blacktown Aquatic Centre and the Fairfield and
Prairiewood Leisure Centres), marketing and promotion of an upgraded facility
will be a critical operational requirement.
Specifically, the preferred concept would entail:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Retain and refurbish or rebuild the outdoor 50m pool
New 25m x 8 lane indoor heated pool
New indoor teaching/program/hydrotherapy pool
Free form leisure pool with play features, beach entry etc. (minimum
500m2)
New sauna/spa (associated with indoor pool)
Multi-space gym (i.e. with weights/cardio space and group
fitness/functions space – minimum total 850m2)
Café/dry lounge
Wellness zone (studio space for massage therapy, physiotherapy for
leasing to providers - 120m2)
Two-court sports hall
Multi-purpose room (for crèche, parties, meetings, cultural programs etc.)
Amenities/support facilities (change, toilets, storage, first aid, wet lounge)
This initial notional concept – which requires detailed testing through a detailed
design development and public participation process – is consistent with
planning guidelines and the expressed needs of the Holroyd City community.
Based on a review of recently constructed facilities elsewhere in Australia, the
capital cost of the preferred concept will be in the order of $30 million. This
however would need to be confirmed through specialist architectural,
engineering and QS advice.
The rationale for the recommended concept is summarised as follows:
Component
Rationale
Retention of
outdoor 50m pool
• 50m outdoor pools are highly valued by lap swimmers in the
warmer months and are preferable for swim carnivals and meets
9
Component
Rationale
Indoor heated 8lane 25m pool
• New multi-purpose pool available year round – unconstrained by
weather and maintenance problems and with water temperature
appropriate for lap swimming and programs
Teaching/program/
leisure pool
• Necessary for the LTS markets
Warm water
therapy pool
• Necessary for the warm water therapy markets (particularly for an
ageing population and large sports and industrial injury markets)
Leisure/aqua play
• Attraction of the large non-competitive, non-sporting family
market to the centre
• LTS is the biggest revenue earner in the indoor heated pool
market
• Provision of separate leisure water minimizes user conflicts (with
lap swimmers and LTS classes)
Spa/sauna
• Spa/sauna facilities are relatively inexpensive to build and operate
but increase the attractiveness of the facility and generate
revenues
Multi-space
Gym/Health Club
• Indoor fitness activities are amongst the fastest growing physical
recreation pursuits in Australia
• Gym casual and membership fees are the 2 biggest income
earner (behind only LTS) in integrated leisure centres
nd
Wellness zone
• Strong growth in the demand for preventive, health promoting
services
• Potential high source of centre revenue
Two-court sports hall
• Strong growth in the demand for indoor sports – futsal, basketball,
netball, volleyball and badminton
• Significant shortfall of 9 indoor sports courts identified in Holroyd
Open Space and Recreation Study (May 2013) with
recommendation to ‘construct two indoor sports courts as part of
any new aquatic centre’
Cafe/Kiosk
• Café facilitates secondary spend potential
• Healthy food and drink options consistent with ‘wellness’ theme
Creche
• Supports use of the pool by residents with young children
Multi-purpose/party
room
• Parties provide a useful revenue generating option
• Multi-purpose meeting space contributes to community hub
The key point is that the preferred option will fully meet the facility needs of
Holroyd City’s existing aquatic demands - but for the whole year and at a much
higher quality level. Perhaps even more importantly, it will greatly expand the
range of aquatic, fitness and wellness opportunities available to the community
and these will benefit a much higher proportion of the City’s population. This will
improve social access and equity and the cost effectiveness of Council’s
recreation expenditure.
Business Operational Forecasts
Income and expenditure estimates have been prepared for the first 3-year
period of operations and are based on:
•
The current and projected demographics of Holroyd City (population size,
projected growth and distribution),
10
•
Program and service needs identified through previous consultations,
•
The experience of similar centres around Australia (as identified by the
CERM PI Project national benchmarks),
•
Detailed discussions with the managers of other, similar facilities within the
sub-region (Emerton and Blacktown Leisure Centres),
•
A series of operational assumptions (on staffing, user fees, opening times,
etc), and
•
The assumption that the markets for the recommended centre will behave
‘typically’
In the event that the markets do not behave ‘typically’ and/or where, following
centre commissioning, the actual operational practices deviate from the
assumed ones, the realised results may be higher or lower than the forecasts.
The expenditures include both ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ costs (as required by the
NSW Government’s Capital Expenditure Guidelines) but do not include asset
renewal/whole of life costs. These are typically 1.0 to 1.5% of the facility capital
costs.
In accordance with risk management principles, sensitivity analyses (including
baseline, worst-case and best case scenarios) have been undertaken.
The key findings are as follows.
Baseline Scenario
The following table summarises the projected revenue and expenditure for the
baseline scenario for pre-open commissioning (up to 6 months prior to opening)
and the first three years of operation.
The pre-open establishment costs comprise of non-leased equipment (aquatics
and crèche), office fit out, IT, staff costs and pre-open marketing.
Proposed Concept – Baseline Forecasts
Pre-open
(6 months)
INCOME
Health and Wellness
0
Memberships
0
Casual gym/group fitness
0
Wellness suites lease
0
School holiday program
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
1,700,000
61,000
30,000
21,000
1,785,000
64,050
31,500
22,050
1,874,250
67,253
33,075
23,153
Total health and wellness
0
1,812,000
1,902,600
1,997,730
Aquatics
General entry
LTS
Squad
0
0
0
550,000
1,229,150
89,000
577,500
1,290,608
93,450
606,375
1,355,138
98,123
11
Aqua fit
Schools
Other
Total aquatics
Sports Hall
Hall hire
Other
Cafe
Merchandise
Creche
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Staff/salaries
Administration/office
expenses
Trading (cost of sales)
Facilities
Programs
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET RESULT
Pre-open
(6 months)
0
0
0
0
Year 1
14,400
238,000
54,000
2,174,550
Year 2
15,120
249,900
56,700
2,283,278
Year 3
15,876
262,395
59,535
2,397,441
0
134,000
140,700
147,735
0
0
230,000
160,000
241,500
168,000
253,575
176,400
0
0
20,000
21,000
22,050
4,530,550
4,757,078
4,994,931
320,000
3,193,375
3,289,176
3,387,852
100,000
210,000
216,300
222,789
0
120,000
240,600
684,000
247,818
704,520
255,253
725,656
20,000
230,000
236,900
244,007
560,000
4,557,975
4,694,714
4,835,556
-560,000
-27,425
62,363
159,376
With the baseline scenario, it is anticipated that the proposal will require an
operational subsidy of around $27,000 in year one, and will produce an
operational surplus of around $160,000 by year 3. It should stabilise there with
further improvements in line with the forecast increase in the catchment
population size.
The forecast first year operating result (not including pre-open establishment
costs) entails a subsidy of around $0.04 per centre visit (compared to the
subsidy of $7.04 per visit for existing pools). This is forecast to become a
$0.33c/visit surplus by the third year of operation.
(Note: The operating estimates do not include life cycle – depreciation and
asset renewal – costs. Based on the typical 1% of capital cost, this would entail
an asset renewal provision of around $300,000 per annum).
Best Case Scenario
The following table summarises the projected revenue and expenditure for the
‘best case’ scenario for pre-open commissioning (up to 6 months prior to
opening) and the first three years of operation.
12
Proposed Concept – Best Case Forecasts
Pre-open
(6
months)
Year 1
INCOME
Health and Wellness
0 1,870,000
Memberships
0
Casual gym/group fitness
67,100
0
Wellness suites lease
33,000
0
School holiday program
23,100
Year 2
Year 3
1,963,500
70,455
34,650
24,255
2,061,675
73,978
36,383
25,468
Total health and wellness
0
1,993,200
2,092,860
2,197,503
Aquatics
General admissions
LTS
Squad
Aqua fit
Schools
Other
Total aquatics
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
605,000
1,352,065
97,900
15,840
261,800
59,400
2,392,005
635,250
1,419,668
102,795
16,632
274,890
62,370
2,511,605
667,013
1,490,652
107,935
17,464
288,635
65,489
2,637,186
Sports Hall
Hall hire
0
147,400
154,770
162,509
Other
Ancillary income
0
451,000
473,550
497,228
0
4,983,605
5,232,785
5,494,425
320,000
3,353,044
3,453,635
3,557,244
0
120,000
20,000
560,000
214,200
264,660
697,680
253,000
4,782,584
220,626
272,600
718,610
260,590
4,926,061
227,245
280,778
740,169
268,408
5,073,843
-560,000
201,021
306,724
420,581
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Staff/salaries
Administration/office
expenses
Trading (cost of sales)
Facilities
Programs
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET RESULT
100,000
With the ‘best case’ scenario, it is anticipated that the proposal will generate an
operational surplus of around $201,000 in year one improving to a surplus of
around $420,000 by year 3 (which is a 108% recovery rate which compares
with the most successful centres in Australia).
The forecast first year operating result (not including pre-open establishment
costs) entails a surplus of around $0.41 per centre visit – and this is forecast to
increase to $0.85/visit by year 3.
(Note: The operating estimates do not include life cycle – depreciation and
asset renewal – costs).
13
Low Case Scenario
The following table summarises the projected revenue and expenditure for the
‘low case’ scenario for pre-open commissioning (up to 6 months prior to
opening) and the first three years of operation.
Proposed Concept – Low Case Forecasts
Pre-open
(6
months)
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
INCOME
Health and Wellness
Memberships
Casual gym/group fitness
Wellness suites lease
School holiday program
0
0
0
0
1,530,000
54,900
27,000
18,900
1,606,500
57,645
28,350
19,845
1,686,825
60,527
29,768
20,837
Total health and wellness
0
1,630,800
1,712,340
1,797,957
Aquatics
General admissions
LTS
Squad
Aqua fit
Schools
Other
Total aquatics
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
495,000
1,106,235
80,100
12,960
214,200
48,600
1,957,095
519,750
1,161,547
84,105
13,608
224,910
51,030
2,054,950
545,738
1,219,624
88,310
14,288
236,156
53,582
2,157,697
Sports Hall
Hall hire
0
120,600
126,630
132,962
Other
Ancillary income
0
369,000
387,450
406,823
TOTAL INCOME
0
4,077,495
4,281,370
4,495,438
320,000
3,049,673
3,141,163
3,235,398
0
120,000
20,000
560,000
205,800
216,540
670,320
207,000
4,349,333
211,974
223,036
690,430
213,210
4,479,813
218,333
229,727
711,142
219,606
4,614,208
-560,000
-271,838
-198,443
-118,769
EXPENDITURE
Staff/salaries
Administration/office
expenses
Trading (cost of sales)
Facilities
Programs
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET RESULT
100,000
With the ‘low case’ scenario, it is anticipated that the proposal will require an
operational subsidy of around $270,000 in year one, reducing to around
$118,000 by year 3. It should stabilise there but improve gradually in line with
the forecast population growth.
14
The forecast first year operating result (not including pre-open establishment
costs) entails a subsidy of around $0.56 per centre visit (which is still a
significant per capita improvement on the current operation of $7.04 per visit).
(Note: The operating estimates do not include life cycle – depreciation and
asset renewal – costs).
Conclusions and Next Steps
This study has used currently available information (on Holroyd City’s
population structure and growth; the condition and use of existing aquatic
centres; trends in recreation participation; trends in the aquatic, fitness and
wellness industries; competition from surrounding council facilities; and previous
market research) to compare the costs and benefits of refurbishing the existing
pools with the costs and benefits of building a new single aquatic/wellness
centre.
The study has concluded that building a new centre is the preferred option due
to its high potential to provide a much improved service to Holroyd City’s
residents.
In particular the study has demonstrated that a new centre will have substantial
social and health benefits. They include greater diversity of opportunities,
increased participation in aquatic and fitness recreation, improved health and
wellbeing, enhanced access and equity, improved water safety through more
people learning to swim and more opportunities for family and group outings.
The forecast economic benefits are also substantial – with the proposed centre
having the potential to generate an operational surplus (excluding depreciation
costs) or only a small annual subsidy (and at a much lower per visit cost than
the existing pools are capable of providing).
Additionally, the modernisation expenditure of $20.3M has an expected useful
life of only 10-15 years, compared to the 50+ years for the estimated $30M
expenditure on a new Aquatic/Wellness Centre. The per annum cost of the two
options is therefore as follows:
Option
Total
Cost
Estimated useful
life (years)
Cost per year
Modernise existing pools
$20.3M
10-15
$1.35 to 2.03M
New Aquatic Wellness
Centre
$30.0M
50+
$0.6M or less
The substantially lower (economically useful life) per annum expenditure will
also generate much higher visits, in the order of 400,000+ visits per year (based
on the baseline projection for the Aquatic/Wellness Centre of 650,000 visits per
15
annum and the existing visits to the existing centres of less than 200,000 per
annum).
These evidence-based findings are sufficient for Council to commit to inprinciple support of the recommended direction. That is, to commence the
detailed planning and design of an integrated aquatic/wellness centre on the
site of the Merrylands Aquatic Centre at Merrylands Park.
To progress the project, the next steps include at least the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Community consultation
Concept design development
Detailed business case (based on concept designs)
Capital expenditure review (in full compliance with the Department of
Local Government’s Circular to Councils, 10-34)
Capital funding strategy
Detailed investigation of community asset transfer as an option for the ongoing operation of Wentworthville Pool
16
CHAPTER 1:
PRELIMINARIES
1.1
BACKGROUND
Council currently provides aquatic recreation services to its 106,000 population
via the Guildford, Merrylands and Wentworthville Heated Swim Centres. The
Centres are best described as ageing, traditional municipal pools without the
capacity to provide the year-round design and operational features found in
modern aquatic, leisure and wellness centres.
Options for modernising the three centres and/or closing the centres and
replacing them with an aquatic wellness centre (with the potential to more broadly
support healthy lifestyles within the community) have been discussed by Council
for several years.
Given the significant works required to upgrade the existing swim centres (at a
current estimated cost of $20.3m), it would appear that a single aquatic wellness
centre (at an indicative cost of circa $30m) could, potentially, be a more costeffective option for Council to pursue.
A previous report 1 identified Hyland Road as a possible location for a modern
aquatic centre. However, this area has been allocated to parkland under the
current Section 94 plan, and is therefore no longer available for this use.
A 2010 report to Council 2 reviewed nine sites in detail and recommended the
Merrylands Swim Centre site based on its attractive central and accessible
location (and a range of other social, economic and environmental criteria).
The Merrylands site also has the space for a large car park sufficient to support
the multiple, year-round activities of a modern aquatic wellness centre.
Council recently (June 2013) commissioned a Pool Modernisation Study to
develop short and medium term priorities for the redevelopment of Council’s
three pools 3. The Study – completed and submitted to Council on 9 July addressed the current condition of the pools and options for upgrading them.
1.2
PURPOSE OF REPORT
At Council’s meeting on 16 April, 2013, it was resolved on the motion of Clr
Grove, seconded Clr Zaiter, that a report be submitted to Council on the costs
and benefits of modernisation of the existing swim centres versus a new aquatic
centre development.
1
2
Complete Urban Pty Ltd, 2010, Holroyd Aquatic Leisure Centre – Site Feasibility and Options
Analysis Report
3
Geoff Ninnes Fong and Partners, 9 July 2013, Upgrading and Modernisation of Existing Swim
Centres
17
Accordingly, the purpose of this report is to compare the costs and benefits of
modernizing Council’s existing three swim centres (as documented in the Geoff
Ninnes report) with the costs and benefits of developing a single new centrallylocated aquatic leisure centre.
1.3
STUDY APPROACH
The work program undertaken to meet the requirements of Council’s motion
cover three stages. These are described below, together with the research and
planning tasks completed within each stage.
Stage Description
1. Market assessment
2. Analysis
3. Conclusions and
Tasks
• Aquatic and fitness/wellness participation
and industry trends
•
Review of existing Council aquatic
services & facilities
•
Holroyd demographic profile and change
•
Existing and potential markets for
aquatic/leisure/wellness facilities in
Holroyd
•
Review of market competition within
Holroyd City and immediately
surrounding areas
•
Review of previous stakeholder
consultations
•
Strengths and weaknesses of existing
pools
•
Rationale and justification for a single
new aquatic/wellness centre
•
Initial schedule of facility occupants and
uses and preferred facility components
•
Preliminary business case and
operational forecasts
•
Recommendations on the preferred
option
•
Moving forward/next steps
recommendations
18
CHAPTER 2:
RECREATION, SPORT AND WELLNESS TRENDS
2.1 KEY TRENDS
In a just released report on the future of Australian sport, the Australian
Government has identified the key trends which it expects to shape the sports
and recreation sectors over the next 30 years. 4
The report identifies six ‘megatrends’ likely to shape the Australian sports sector.
Two of these trends (‘New Wealth New Talent’, ‘Tracksuits to Business Suits’)
are more specific to national and international sport issues. The other four
concern community-based sport and recreation and are highly relevant to the
consideration of options for modernising and/or upgrading Council’s swimming
pools.
The key attributes of these four megatrends are summarised in Table 2.1.
Megatrend
A Perfect Fit
From Extreme to
Mainstream
Key Forecast Trends
• Individualised sport and fitness activities are on the rise
• People are fitting sport into their increasingly busy and
time-fragmented lifestyles to achieve personal health
objectives.
• Participation rates in aerobics, running, walking, along
with gym membership, have all risen sharply over the
past decade while participation rates for many
organised sports have held constant or declined
(Standing Committee on Recreation and Sport, 2010).
• People are increasingly opting to go for a run with
headphones and a music player when the opportunity
arises rather than commit to a regular organised
sporting event.
• Expenditure on healthcare as a proportion of total
expenditure has been, and is forecast to continue, rising
(Australian Government, 2010).
• Australians are becoming more health conscious. We
are increasingly playing sport to get fit, rather than
getting fit to play sport
• Rise of lifestyle, adventure and alternative sports which
are particularly popular with younger generations.
• These sports typically involve complex, advanced skills
and have some element of inherent danger and/or thrillseeking.
• They are also characterised by a strong lifestyle
element and participants often obtain cultural selfidentity and self-expression through these sports.
• These sports are likely to attract participants through
generational change and greater awareness via online
content (e.g. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter).
4
CSIRO for the Australian Sports Commission, April 2013, The Future of Australian Sport –
Megatrends Shaping the Sports Sector over Coming Decades
19
Megatrend
Key Forecast Trends
• There is strong viewer demand for extreme sports
videos on the internet and television.
• These sports are also finding their way into the Olympic
Games; with a recent addition being BMX cycling,
introduced at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. International
associations for skateboarding and rock climbing are
making substantial efforts to have these included as
Olympic sports in the future
More than Sport
• The broader benefits of sport are being increasingly
recognised by governments, business and communities.
• Sport can help achieve mental and physical health,
crime prevention, social development and international
cooperation objectives (Cameron & MacDougall, 2000;
Schmitz et al., 2004).
• Sport for children and adults is an effective means of
reducing the rising rates of obesity and chronic illness.
• If managed appropriately, it can be an effective
mechanism to help achieve social inclusion for
marginalised groups and reduce crime rates.
• Sport can also build bridges to other countries and
achieve overseas aid, peace, development and foreign
policy objectives.
Everybody’s Game
•
•
•
•
Australia and other countries of the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) face
an ageing population. This will change the types of
sports we play and how we play them.
There are indications that Australians are embracing
sport into their old age. To retain strong participation
rates, sports of the future will need to cater for senior
citizens.
They will also need to cater for the changing cultural
make-up of Australia. Australian society has become,
and will continue to become, highly multicultural.
Different cultures have different sporting preferences
and recreation habits.
Sporting organisations will be challenged with capturing
the interest and involvement of diverse cultures
2.2 CURRENT RECREATION PARTICIPATION
Most Popular Physical Recreation Activities - Adults
Average Australian and State-wide participation rates in physical recreation
activities – including those activities of relevance to Council’s pool proposals was most recently measured in the 2010 Exercise, Recreation and Sport
Survey 5. The survey found that 82.3% of Australians aged 15 years and over
5
The Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) is a joint initiative of the Australian Sports Commission and
State and Territory Departments of Sport and Recreation. It was first conducted in 2001 and repeated each year
to 2010. The ERASS collects information on the frequency, nature and type of activities of persons aged 15 years
and over for exercise, recreation and sport during the 12 months prior to interview.
20
participated in at least one physical activity for exercise, recreation or sport in the
previous 12 months (and 69.4% had participated at least weekly).
Participation rates for the most popular activities are shown in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2: Recreation participation (at least once in previous 12 months), Australia & NSW, 2010
Participant Group (%)
NSW
Activity
All
Australia
Males
Females
All
15-24
years
35-44
years
65 years
+
Walking
34.0
23.9
43.8
35.9
10.6
35.6
47.8
Aerobics/fitness
22.4
19.0
25.7
23.5
24.9
26.7
16.6
Swimming
13.6
13.8
13.4
13.0
11.5
16.4
7.0
Cycling
10.6
13.7
7.6
11.9
7.9
18.7
4.1
Running
9.1
11.2
7.1
10.6
14.4
15.9
1.3
Golf
7.6
13.0
2.4
6.7
1.8
7.1
9.4
Tennis
6.8
7.7
5.9
6.0
7.7
7.0
4.2
Soccer (outdoor)
6.5
9.2
4.0
4.8
16.1
4.3
0.0
Touch Football
4.4
6.0
3.0
2.8
8.1
2.2
0.0
Bush walking
4.4
6.0
3.0
4.8
1.3
6.3
3.8
Cricket (outdoor)
3.4
6.0
0.9
3.2
7.1
3.2
0.2
Yoga
3.4
0.6
6.0
3.5
2.8
3.8
2.0
Netball
3.0
0.3
4.3
3.9
11.3
3.3
0.1
Both in Australia and NSW, the activities of most relevance to the provision of a
modern aquatic/wellness centre (aerobics/fitness and swimming) were the
second and third most popular physical recreation activities, respectively – and
this was consistent across genders and age groups (as illustrated in Table 2.2).
Most Popular Physical Recreation Activities – Children
Table 2.3: Children’s participation in Culture & Leisure Activities, Australia & NSW, 2012
Participant Group (%)
Activity
NSW
Australia
All
Males
Females
All
Bike riding
62.6
68.7
56.2
63.5
Skateboard/roller/
scooter
52.3
57.5
47.0
53.8
Soccer (outdoor)
21.3
32.3
9.7
14.3
Swimming/diving
18.7
16.2
20.4
17.7
Netball
8.1
-
15.4
8.0
Tennis
6.8
7.5
6.1
7.4
Rugby League
6.6
13.0
-
3.9
Martial Arts
5.2
7.2
3.1
5.8
21
Participant Group (%)
Activity
NSW
Australia
All
Males
Females
All
Basketball
5.1
6.0
4.1
7.9
Cricket (outdoor)
4.5
8.2
0.6
4.7
Gymnastics
4.4
1.6
7.3
4.8
Touch Football
2.9
3.7
2.2
1.8
AFL
2.6
4.3
0.7
8.1
2.3 RECENT TRENDS IN RECREATION PARTICIPATION
Participation rates in recreation activities are not static. They change with
changes in the age profile and other characteristics of the population. They also
change in accordance with changing fashion and the influence of the megatrends
identified in Section 2.12, above.
The following sub-sections summarise recent trends (where available) in adult
and child participation in activities of relevance to aquatic/leisure/wellness
facilities. These activities include
Adult Swimming
The 10-year trend is down – both in terms of numbers and participation rates – as
illustrated in Table 2.4. In NSW, the participation rate in 2001 was 19% but had
fallen to 13.6% by 2010. This could be partly due to the continuing high
immigration levels (and the usual lower participation rates of CALD populations)
and the continuing waning of the Olympic Games effect.
Table 2.4: Adult’s swimming participation, NSW & Australia, 2001-2008
YEAR
NSW
Australia
No.(‘000)
%
No.(‘000)
%
2001
967.4
19.0
2,415.5
16.0
2002
877.5
17.0
2,278.0
14.9
2003
915.6
17.5
2,383.1
15.3
2004
961.8
18.3
2,605.7
16.5
2005
871.7
16.4
2,311.2
14.4
2006
814.7
15.4
2,200.0
13.7
2007
737.7
13.8
1,966.2
12.0
2008
875.0
16.1
2,414.0
14.5
2009
813.1
14.5
2,419.1
14.1
2010
771.2
13.6
2,279.2
13.0
22
Adult Aerobics/Fitness
In contrast to adult swimming trends, the 10-year trend is strongly up – both in
terms of numbers and participation rates – as illustrated in Table 2.5. Both in
NSW and Australia, the participation rate almost doubled (from around 13% to
over 23%) in the 7 years from 2001 to 2008. Since then it appears to have
stabilised at around 23%.
Table 2.5: Adult’s aerobics/fitness participation, NSW & Australia, 2001-2010
NSW
YEAR
Australia
No.(‘000)
%
No.(‘000)
%
2001
636.8
12.5
1,981.0
13.0
2002
739.0
14.3
2,236.9
14.6
2003
845.5
16.2
2,487.6
16.0
2004
842.0
16.0
2,698.2
17.1
2005
978.4
18.5
2,959.7
18.5
2006
992.4
18.7
3,074.5
19.2
2007
1,062.6
19.8
3,303.0
20.2
2008
1,258.6
23.2
3,901.9
23.5
2009
1,253.0
22.4
3,932.4
22.9
2010
1,270.5
22.4
4,117.6
23.5
Children ‘Organised’ Participation
Table 2.6 shows changes, between 2000 and 2012, in children’s participation in
the ten most popular ‘organised’ sports 6.
Overall, there was a 2% increase in children’s ‘organised’ sports participation
between 2000 and 2012 - but this overall figure disguises significant shifts
amongst individual sports.
As illustrated in Table 2.6, swimming was not only the most popular ‘organised’
activity for children throughout this period, it also experienced one of the fastest
growth rates between 2000 and 2012 (23%).
Table 2.6: Children’s ‘organised’ sports participation, Australia, 2000-2012
Activity
Participation rate (%)
2000
2003
2006
2009
2012
Change
2000/2012
Swimming
14.4
16.6
17.4
18.5
17.7
+23
Soccer
11.4
13.4
13.2
13.2
14.3
+25
AFL
6.6
7.3
7.5
8.6
8.1
+23
6
ABS, Participation in Sport and Physical Activities, 1996/97; ABS, Children’s Participation in Cultural and
Leisure surveys 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012
23
Activity
Participation rate (%)
2000
2003
2006
2009
2012
Change
2000/2012
Netball
9.1
9.1
8.5
8.4
8.0
-12
Basketball
7.6
7.7
6.6
7.4
7.9
+4
Tennis
8.5
8.6
7.3
7.9
7.4
-13
Martial arts
4.0
4.9
4.5
5.7
5.8
+45
Cricket
5.3
5.0
5.4
5.2
4.7
-11
R League
3.6
2.9
4.2
3.6
3.9
+8
Athletics
3.9
3.8
2.9
3.3
3.2
-18
All sports
59.0
62.0
63.0
-
60.2
+2
Two other popular children’s sports of relevance to an aquatic/leisure/wellness
centre – basketball and martial arts – also experienced growth over the past ten
years. In the case of martial arts, this growth has been substantial (at 45%).
2.4 THE ‘WELLNESS INDUSTRY’
The current rapid growth of the ‘wellness industry’ is a major global trend impacting
health and recreation services in both the private and public sectors.
Wellness is defined, as follows:
“Wellness is a broader concept than physical health or fitness, focusing on
the well-being of the whole person. It is not simply the absence of physical
disease, but an approach that emphasizes all aspects of a person – body,
mind, and spirit – working in harmony”. 7
The focus on ‘wellness’ has emerged in response to the following drivers:
•
•
•
•
the rapid ageing of the population
the surge in lifestyle-related chronic disease
failure of the medical system to prevent chronic disease, and
the global sharing of health knowledge (via the internet and other media)
The key specific trends include the following:
• The baby-boomer generation is demanding (more than previous generations) to
have their physical health needs fully met.
• There is a substantial increase in lifestyle-related diseases despite their
preventability with changes in diet, increased levels of physical activity, and
abstinence from smoking.
• There is a growing realization that the current healthcare system is failing to
ensure good health and cannot be trusted to adequately take care of everyone.
• At least partly because of this realisation, there are signs of greater personal
responsibility for maintaining good health.
7
SRI International, 2010, Spas and the Global Wellness Market: Synergies and Opportunities, page i
24
• This, in turn, is driving people to engage in proactive health behaviours and to
investigate alternative forms of healthcare (e.g. acupuncture, osteopathy,
traditional Chinese medicine and other herbal medicines, massage, tai chi, yoga
and meditation).
• The cost increases associated with ageing, sedentary, and chronically-ill
employees (in healthcare expenses and lost productivity), is impacting company
profits and this, as a consequence, is driving workplace ‘wellness’ programs.
• Blogs, chat forums and media shows (e.g. Oprah, Dr. Phil, Dr Oz) are spreading
wellness-related concepts and awareness into mainstream communities.
In response to the trends, a ‘wellness industry’ has emerged. With a focus on the
prevention of illness (rather than cure), the wellness space is a distinct component
of the broader healthcare industry. It provides:
“products and services to healthy people, with the goal of making them
feel even healthier and look better, slowing the effects of aging, and/or
preventing sickness from developing. People become customers of the
wellness industry voluntarily” 8
Components of the wellness industry with a high relevance to Council’s potential
aquatic/wellness centre are listed in Table 2.7:
Table 2.7: ‘Wellness’ industry components of relevance to aquatic/wellness centres
Category
Specific components
Fitness and mind-body
exercise
Primarily a pro-active to health and wellness (but can also
be pursued re-actively in response to physical ailments).
Elements include:
•
•
•
•
•
Complementary and
alternative
medicine(CAM)
Diverse medical, health care, holistic or spiritually-based
systems, practices, and products not generally considered to
be part of conventional medicine. They are used both for
treatment (of conditions) and wellness. They include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Workplace wellness
Gyms/health clubs;
Personal training;
Yoga, pilates, tai chi, and other mind-body practices;
Fitness and exercise clothing;
Fitness and exercise equipment.
Homeopathic
Naturopathic
Chiropractic
Traditional Chinese medicine
Ayurveda
Energy healing
Meditation
Herbal remedies
Programs offered by workplaces to improve the health and
wellness of employees (in order to reduce costs and
enhance productivity and performance). Elements include:
• Education/awareness raising
• Incentives that address specific health risk factors and
behaviours (lack of exercise, poor eating habits, stress,
obesity and smoking) and encourage healthier lifestyles.
8
Ibid, page 18
25
The ‘wellness’ concept has been actively taken up by the public aquatic and
leisure centre industry. Many facilities, in Australia and globally, have ‘wellness
centres’ as key parts of their offerings. Very recently, new facilities have begun to
include ‘wellness’ in their names.
In Frankston (Victoria), for example, a state of the art indoor aquatic/wellness
facility is in the final design/tender stage and has been called the ‘Frankston
Regional Aquatic and Wellness Centre’.
Elsewhere in Victoria, it is common for facilities to have a ‘Wellness Centre’ or a
’Health and Wellness Centre’ 9.
This trend has also commenced in NSW, with the Annette Kellerman Aquatic
Centre (in Marrickville) also incorporating a Wellness Centre.
2.5 TRENDS IN AQUATIC SPORT AND RECREATION
FACILITY PROVISION
Over the last two decades there have been substantial changes in the design and
development of swimming/aquatic facilities. Many of these changes echo and
reflect the above-discussed trends in the broader ‘wellness’ industry.
Before the 1980’s, most swimming pools were outdoor, but there are now many
indoor pools serving different types of communities and various sizes of
population.
Conventional 50-metre outdoor pools, while they are great assets in mid-summer,
are less cost-effective than modern alternatives. The lack of shallow and heated
water, weather, the short season and heavy commitments to club and lap
swimming activities limit the range and flexibility of programming at the traditional
facilities. Substantial operating subsidies are common. 10
Indoor heated pools, on the other hand, have the potential to break even
financially – but this requires minimum size catchment populations (around
50,000 for fifty metre pools and 25,000 for twenty-five metre pools), no or minimal
competition from other facilities, integration with other leisure and wellness
facilities (sports halls, fitness facilities, wellness clinics, cafes), merchandising
and very sound management.
9
E.g. Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (‘Wellness Zone’); Monash Aquatic and Recreation Centre (‘Wellness
Centre’); Thomastown Recreation and Aquatic Centre (‘Wellness Centre’); Northcote Aquatic and Recreation
Centre (‘Health and Wellness Centre’)
10
P Fitzgerald & S Dreyfus, Drowning by Numbers, 1994; Centre for Environmental &
Recreation Management (CERM), Performance Indicators Project, Annual Surveys 19952005).
26
Health and fitness facilities – comprising aerobics/program space and weights/
circuit training equipment - are now common components of aquatic centres.
So too are cafes, catering and merchandising facilities. Well run, these can be
important sources of “secondary spend” revenues.
The combination of facilities – indoor heated pools, gym/aerobic space, catering,
wellness centre and sports halls – in the one integrated centre provides extensive
synergies in use and the potential for “cross marketing” between activities.
The benefits of this are twofold – facilitating greater levels of participation and a
better financial performance than possible for an outdoor pool-only facility 11.
Additionally, integrated centres provide a major focus (identity) for recreation in
the community.
The relative success and demonstrated (financial and service) benefits of
integrated centres 12 provides an important planning context for the consideration
of options for Holroyd City – especially in regard to the particular needs of
specific target groups.
2.6 IMPLICATIONS OF THE TRENDS
Many of the trends summarised above have implications for the future options for
Council’s swimming facilities. It is critical therefore that the options
(modernisation or new facility) be evaluated within the context of these key
trends.
The participation trends provide evidence that swimming, aerobics/fitness and
wellness activities are and will remain popular and growing activities.
The trends also provide evidence of the market segments that can be tapped
through the provision of an appropriate diversity of opportunities – including the
traditional sport, education, fitness, wellness and health markets and the now
well-established leisure markets (attracted by free form leisure pools, inflatables
and other water toys, lazy rivers, hydro-slides, wave pools, fountains, sprays and
spas).
In other words, there has been an increasing recognition of, and response to, the
diversity of needs associated with pools and aquatic centres (or wellness centres
– as they are now commonly called 13) with the focus broadening from a fitness
11
As demonstrated in the annual CERM aquatic and leisure centre performance surveys
Some operate with substantial operating surpluses while many others operate at close to break-even
or have per capita subsidies considerably less than those experienced at cold water and/or outdoor
pool-only venues.
13
E.g. Frankston Regional Aquatic Health & Wellness Centre
12
27
and sport orientation to a more comprehensive approach encompassing
exercise, education, health, wellness, therapy and leisure.
These changes and trends need to be taken into account in considering the
appropriate refurbishment and/or re-configuration of Council’s pools – to ensure
that they are fully relevant to contemporary needs – and the specific needs of
Holroyd City’s pool (and leisure and wellness) catchment population.
28
CHAPTER 3:
REVIEW OF EXISTING COUNCIL AQUATIC FACILITIES
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter reviews the use and cost-effectiveness of Council’s existing swim
centres.
Specifically, it identifies the component facilities at each centre, the programs and
activities available, current use (including comparison to national benchmarks),
cost-effectiveness and current modernisation proposals.
3.2 MERRYLANDS SWIM CENTRE
The Centre comprises three pools (50m competition pool, a training pool and a
toddler’s pool) and operates from October to March each year. The Centre was
heated in 2004 and was open 8 months of the year from mid-September until
mid-May until 2010 when it reverted to 6 months.
The Centre forms part of Merrylands Park Regional Sporting Centre, located on
the corner of Burnett Street and Merrylands Road, Merrylands. The Park has
free parking for over 200 cars.
The Centre was built in 1968 and has had various components added to it over
the years. It consists of the following key features:
Detail
Component
‘Wet’ facilities
‘Dry’ facilities
•
•
•
•
•
•
Outdoor 50m x 20m x 8 lane pool
Outdoor 20m x 10m x 4 lane training pool
2
Outdoor 15m diameter toddler’s pool (177m )
2
Total 1,377m of pool space
Change and shower facilities
Water in the competition and training pools is heated to 27°C
•
•
Kiosk
Extensive lawn areas
Opening hours vary between the warmer and colder months. During the peak
season (January-February), the pool is open between 6.00am-8.00pm Monday to
Saturday and 7.00am-8.00pm on Sundays and public holidays. The opening
hours are slightly lower at other times (October-November and March).
Single entry fees are $4.80 for adults, $3.30 for children and pensioners, $2.70
for students and club members. Spectator fees are $3.30. Family and single
seasonal ticket options are also available.
29
Learn to swim fees for children are $12.50 for single half hour lessons or $108.10
for 9 lessons. For adults they are $23.30 for a single one-hour lesson or $103.30
for 5 one-hour lessons. School group lessons are $3.80. Squad and coaching
rights are held by the Merrylands Amateur Swim Club.
3.3 WENTWORTHVILLE SWIM CENTRE
The Centre is located off Dunmore Street, Wentworthville and comprises three
pools (50m competition pool, a training pool and a toddlers’ pool) and operates
from October to March each year.
The Centre was built in 1965 and comprises the following key facilities:
Detail
Component
‘Wet’ facilities
‘Dry’ facilities
•
•
•
•
•
•
Outdoor 50m x 17.5m x 7 lane pool
Outdoor 20m x 10m x 4 lane learn to swim pool
2
Outdoor 15m diameter toddler’s pool (177m )
2
Total 1,252m of pool space
Change and shower facilities
Water in the competition and training pools is heated to 27°C
•
Kiosk
Opening hours vary between the warmer and colder months. During the peak
season (January-February), the pool is open between 6.00am-8.00pm Monday to
Saturday and 7.00am-8.00pm on Sundays and public holidays. The opening
hours are slightly lower at other times (October-November and March).
Single entry fees are $4.80 for adults, $3.30 for children and pensioners, $2.70
for students and club members. Spectator fees are $3.30. Family and single
seasonal ticket options are also available.
As with Merrylands Swim Centre, learn to swim fees for children are $12.50 for
single half hour lessons or $108.10 for 9 lessons. For adults they are $23.30 for a
single one-hour lesson or $103.30 for 5 one-hour lessons. School group lessons
are $3.80.
Squad and coaching rights are held by the Wentworthville RSL Youth Club.
3.4 GUILDFORD SWIM CENTRE
The Centre comprises three pools (25m indoor, 25m outdoor and toddler pool)
and operates all year round. It is located on the corner of Tamplin and Guildford
Roads, Guildford and forms part of McCredie Park.
30
The Centre was built in 1973 and comprises the following key facilities:
Detail
Component
‘Wet’ facilities
‘Dry’ facilities
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Indoor 25m x 15m x 6 lane pool
Outdoor 25m x 10m x 4 lane pool
2
Outdoor 15m diameter toddler pool (177m )
2
Total 802m of pool space
Change and shower facilities
Water in the outdoor pools is heated to 27°C
Water in the indoor pools is heated to 28°C
•
•
•
Kiosk
Swimming club room
Large open space area
Opening hours vary between the warmer and colder months. During the peak
season (January-February), the pool is open between 6.00am-8.00pm Monday to
Saturday and 7.00am-8.00pm on Sundays and public holidays. The opening
hours are slightly lower at other times (October-November and March).
Single entry fees are $4.80 for adults, $3.30 for children and pensioners, $2.70
for students and club members. Spectator fees are $3.30. Family and single
seasonal ticket options are also available.
The learn-to-swim program is outsourced to ABC Swimming.
3.5 USE OF COUNCIL POOLS
The Centres offer casual entry for lap and recreational swimming, learn to swim,
swim club squads and school programs (carnivals and learn to swim).
Admission details for the three swim centres, for the five seasons from 2008-09
to 2012-13, are summarised in Tables 3.1 to 3.3, respectively. 14
Table 3.1: Merrylands Pool – Visits per annum 2008-2013 x Type of Visit
Type of Visit
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
Adult
18,953
15,838
13,133
8,492
10,766
Change
2008-13
(%)
-43.2
Child
15,296
12,271
10,778
7,954
9,494
-37.9
3,321
2,433
2,500
1,670
1,809
-45.5
919
691
574
334
431
-53.1
Child <5 yrs (free)
Pensioner
Spectator
Schools
Swim club
14
5,084
4,071
3,984
2,721
2,064
-59.4
14,463
15,180
16,169
11,562
15,002
3.7
3,956
3,223
3,110
2,837
2,625
-33.6
Figures provided by the Pool’s Team Leader, Tony Micallef in July 2013.
31
Type of Visit
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
LTS - child
2,989
3,146
2,678
1,548
1,136
Change
2008-13
(%)
-62.0
LTS - adult
149
131
24
56
83
-44.3
65,130
56,984
52,950
37,174
43,410
-33.3
Total
The visitor trends show that use of the Merrylands Swim Centre decreased 33%
between 2008 and 2013 – despite an almost 10% increase in the City’s
population in the same period. There was a dramatic fall in visits in 2011-12 – a
30% decrease over the previous year - with only a modest recovery in numbers
in 2012-13.
The significant decline in numbers in 2011-12 was partly due to the reduced
season (from 8 to 6 months) but could also have been due to the mild weather in
the summer of that year (with only 21 days above 30oC (compared to 45 days the
previous year). Having said that, it is noted that the 2011-12 weather was similar
to that in 2008-09 and 2009 – with their 20 and 18 days above 30C, respectively.
Merrylands Pool is an important venue for school activities – including annual
swim carnivals, intensive learn-to-swim and sports programs. This use accounted
for around 35% of visits to the facility in 2012-13.
General entry (for lap and recreational swimming) accounts for around 55% of
visits. Pool programs (child and adult learn-to-swim and squad training) account
for around 10% of total visits. The swim school numbers around 300 children per
season with around 50 children in the swim club squads.
Table 3.2: Wentworthville Pool – Visits per annum 2008-2013 x Type of Visit
Type of Visit
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
Adult
24,344
23,109
19,217
13,757
17,437
Change
2008-13
(%)
-28.4
Child
18,549
15,966
12,731
10,132
11,167
-39.8
Child <5 yrs (free)
3,684
3,658
3,233
2,273
2,626
-28.7
Pensioner
1,281
1,230
1,165
859
886
-30.8
5,150
4,770
3,470
2,873
2,315
-55.0
20,691
17,234
14,587
15,909
16,759
-19.0
Swim club
3,992
3,989
192
128
146
-96.3
LTS - child
1,292
2,393
3042
2,148
1,883
45.7
Spectator
Schools
LTS - adult
Total
189
391
499
381
476
151.9
79,172
72,740
58,136
48,460
53,695
-32.2
As with the Merrylands Centre, the visitor trends show that use of the
Wentworthville Swim Centre also decreased steadily between 2008 and 2013 –
down more than 25,000, or 32%, from 2008-09.
32
Wentworthville Pool is also an important venue for school activities – with this use
accounting for around 31% of annual visits in 2012-13.
General entry (for lap and recreational swimming) accounts for around 60% of
visits. Pool programs (child and adult learn-to-swim and squad training)
accounted for around 7% of visits in 2012-13. The swim school numbers around
300 children per season. There are no coaching squads at present but the Youth
Club is proposing to re-commence squads during summer 2013-14
Table 3.3: Guildford Pool – Visits per annum 2008-2013 x Type of Visit
Type of Visit
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
Adult
20,748
21,135
21,826
21,333
23,531
Change
2008-13
(%)
13.4
Child
27,632
27,240
24,873
27,102
29,524
6.8
Child <5 yrs
(free)
6,945
6,840
7,913
9,927
10,900
56.9
Pensioner
2,160
2,893
3,023
2,621
2,832
31.1
Spectator
12,596
11,629
11,666
15,383
16,437
30.5
Schools
4,988
5,448
7,571
3,610
2,182
-56.3
Swim club
4,069
3,670
4,068
5,069
4,942
21.5
LTS - child
709
21
8
0
0
-100.0
LTS - adult
130
0
0
0
0
-100.0
79,977
78,876
80,944
85,045
90,348
13.0
Total
In contrast to the other two centres, the visitor trends show that the use of
Guildford Swim Centre increased modestly between 2008 and 2013 – at a rate
slightly above the City’s population growth rate.
Guildford Pool is an important venue for learn-to-swim (LTS) activities with this
use accounting for around 40% of annual visits to the Pool. The swim school
numbers around 900 children per week with around 50 children in the various
squads (with up to 5 sessions a week per child).
The Centre is not an important venue for schools – with this use accounting for
less than 3% of total entries in 2012-13.
3.6 POOL USE BENCHMARKS
The use of Council’s three swim centres is well-below average on a national
benchmark basis. Thus, based on the national facility use benchmarks produced
by CERM 15, average participation within the catchment would generate around
15
The University of South Australia’s Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management (CERM) produces
annually a number of recreation/aquatic centre performance indicators. One of these is ‘catchment multiple’ –
‘the number of visits per year divided by the estimated population size within 5 kms of the centre’.
The median national catchment multiple for ‘outdoor wet centres’ (such as Merrylands and Wentworthville
Pools) is 1.8 and that for ‘indoor/outdoor wet centres’ (such as Guildford Pool) is 5.4. The product of the
average of these multiples (i.e. 3.0) and the pool catchment (i.e. the Holroyd City population of 105,000) is
around 315,000.
33
315,000 visits to the three pools – around 70% more than the 187,000 visits
actually achieved in 2012/2013.
The less-than-average visit levels are most likely a reflection of the ageing of the
pools and their diminishing relevance to contemporary aquatic/leisure centre
needs. It may also reflect their proximity to more modern (and more appealing)
centres in surrounding areas (e.g. Blacktown, Fairfield and Cabravale Leisure
Centres). It may also be a consequence of the increasing cultural diversity of the
City and the generally lower participation rates of CALD populations.
3.7 COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF COUNCIL’S POOLS
Table 3.4 illustrates the cost-effectiveness of Holroyd City’s pools – as measured
by visits per day and visits per annum per m2 of pool space.
The figures show there has been a decline in the average visits per day at both
Merrylands and Wentworthville Centres but a modest increase at Guildford Pool.
There has also been a decrease in the overall productivity of Merrylands and
Wentworthville Swim Centres in terms of annual visits per m2 of water space
(down from 47 to 32 at Merrylands and 63 to 43 at Wentworthville).
However, the productivity of Guildford Pool has improved – up from 100
visits/metre in 2008-09 to 113 in 2012-13.
Table 3.4: Holroyd City pools - Visits per day & visits per year/metre, 2008-09 & 2012-13
Use details
2008-09
2012-13
65,130
271
43,410
241
1,377
47
1,377
32
79,172
440
1,252
63
53,695
298
1,252
43
79,977
220
802
100
90,348
249
802
113
Merrylands Pool
Visits
Visits/day (240 days in 200809 and 180 days 2012-13)
2
Water area (m )
Visits/ yr/metre*
Wentworthville Pool
Visits
Visits/day (180 days pa)
2
Water area (m )
Visits/ yr/metre*
Guildford Pool
Visits
Visits/day (363 days pa)
2
Water area (m )
Visits/ yr/metre*
2
Visits per year per metre is a measure of the total annual visits divided by the m of
relevant program space. In this table, this is the pool water area. The measure allows
efficiency comparisons of centres of different sizes.
34
It is also noted that the quantum of use of the City’s pools is (as measured by
visits per metre2 of water space) are average on a national benchmark basis.
The visits per metre2 use in 2012-13 of Council’s two outdoor pool centres
(Merrylands and Wentworthville) were 32 and 43, respectively, compared to the
national average in 2012 of 32. 16
At Guildford Pool, the visits per metre2 use in 2012-13 of 113, compared to the
national average of 72. 17
The financial performance of the City’s swim centres - in terms of Council subsidy
per use – is illustrated in Table 3.5.
Table 3.5: Holroyd City pools - Financial Performance, 2010-11 to 2012-13
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
CERM 2012
Benchmark
Merrylands Pool
Net Operational Cost ($)
Visits (No.)
Subsidy per visit ($)
457,807
52,950
8.65
535,739
37,174
14.41
350,473
43,410
8.07
3.59
377,683
58,136
6.50
487,903
48,460
10.07
332,986
53,695
6.20
3.59
565,821
80,944
6.99
650,441
85,045
7.65
635,548
90,348
7.03
1.05
1,401,311
192,030
7.30
1,674,083
170,679
9.81
1,319,007
187,453
7.04
Wentworthville Pool
Net Operational Cost ($)
Visits (No.)
Subsidy per visit ($)
Guildford Pool
Net Operational Cost ($)
Visits (No.)
Subsidy per visit ($)
Total for all Centres
Net Operational Cost ($)
Visits (No.)
Subsidy per visit ($)
N/A
Table 3.5 shows that, in 2010/11, Council’s swim centres required a per capita
subsidy for EACH visit ranging from $6.50 (at Wentworthville) to $8.65 (at
Merrylands Pool. The subsidies were significantly higher in 2011-12 (including
$14.41 per visit at Merrylands Pool) due to the marked decline in total visits that
year.
The subsidies in 2012-13 were lower (as low as $6.20 per visit at Wentworthville)
due to the improved financial result at all pools.
On a national benchmark basis, the subsidies are high – twice the national
average for the Merrylands and Wentworthville (‘outdoor’) Pools and six times the
national average for the Guildford (‘indoor/outdoor’) Pool.
16
17
2
The CERM average visits per metre for centres with only outdoor pools is 32
2
The CERM average visits per metre for centres with indoor and outdoor pools is 72
35
3.8 MODERNISATION PROPOSALS
Council recently received a report on the ‘Upgrading and Modernisation of
Existing Swim Centres’ (July 2013). The focus of the report is on options to
freshen up and modernise the existing facilities rather than to replace them with
facilities with more contemporary relevance.
As indicated in the report, the objective is to meet safety, sustainability and
accessibility compliance standards, but also to make the pools “more appealing
to the public eye” in order to “attract customers and generate more income”.
Proposals to achieve this outcome include the following:
•
Better utilisation of cafes (street style – with two-way access)
•
Enhancement of child facilities to make them “more in line with modern day
kid’s water activities” (with new musical fountains etc)
•
Improved landscaping
While these proposals are all worthwhile – in terms of improving the visitor
experience – they do not address the fundamental shortcomings of the centres
(in terms of catering to contemporary markets and needs). The needs of these
broader markets are identified in Chapter 4, below.
36
CHAPTER 4:
UNMET DEMAND FOR AQUATIC & WELLNESS ACTIVITIES
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter looks at the potential users (markets) for an aquatic/leisure/wellness
centre in Holroyd City. It commences with a description of the generic market
segments for such centres and then assesses the likely size and nature of these
market segments within the proposed centre’s catchment area.
The assessment includes an estimate of the size and shape of the catchment
area, a review of the characteristics of the population within that catchment and
the identification of key implications for the use of a new aquatic/leisure/wellness
centre.
4.2 TARGET MARKET SEGMENTS
There are multiple markets for aquatic wellness centres (aquatic, indoor sport,
fitness, health and wellness) and the successful management of pools usually
depends on catering to as many of these market segments as possible. The core
segments are listed in Table 4.1
Table 4.1: Target Markets for Aquatic/Pools
Broad Grouping
Market Segment
RECREATION MARKET
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Families
Children
Seniors groups
Holiday programs
Children’s parties
Adult lap swimming
Corporate fitness
Rehabilitation programs
Wellness programs
•
Aqua-aerobics
SPORTS MARKET
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
School programs
Learn to swim
Stroke correction
Carnivals / competitions
Club training
Swim squads
Aquatic sports (scuba diving,
water-polo, synchronised
swimming, canoeing)
PUBLIC SAFETY MARKET
•
Life Saving training
HEALTH/FITNESS/WELLNESS
MARKETS
EDUCATION MARKET
37
4.3 POOL/WELLNESS CENTRE CATCHMENT AREAS
Market segments or ‘target markets’ for specific facilities are located within the
catchment area for those facilities.
The catchment area for a pool is the geographical area from which the users of
the facility are drawn. The actual size of a catchment depends upon many
matters including the pool’s intrinsic qualities, its uniqueness, marketing
campaigns, programs and activities, management skills and the presence or
otherwise of competing opportunities in the catchment, including other pools.
The delineation of precise catchment boundaries is more of an art than a science
but reasonable estimates can be made based on industry research and
knowledge.
The primary catchment is the geographical area containing the majority (70% to
80%) of potential users. Research undertaken both in Australia and elsewhere 18
has demonstrated that the primary catchment area for aquatic facilities is up to 15
minutes travel time from the facility.
This roughly translates to a maximum of 3-5 kilometres in congested inner urban
areas (and longer distances in outer suburban and rural areas).
The ‘secondary’ catchment – beyond the 15 minutes travel zone – is still
important as it comprises, on average, a still significant minority of pool users (up
to 20%).
Individual pool catchments, it is noted, may be larger or smaller than the notional
(or average) catchments, depending on specific local circumstances (such as the
uniqueness and/or quality of the facility, the location and qualities of competing
facilities and the ‘pulling power’ of individual managers, coaches and trainers).
Based on this research, the estimated primary catchment area for a modern
aquatic/wellness centre located at the Merrylands Pool site comprises the areas
detailed in Table 4.2.
The difference between the catchment area’s total population and effective
population (as detailed in Table 4.2) reflects an adjustment made for the
proximity of pools in surrounding local government areas.
That is, although around 180,000 people live within the 15 minute travel zone of
the proposed centre, many are also within the 15 minute travel zones of other
18
South Australian Swimming Pool Study, Recreation and Sport Division SA, 1980; Usage Patterns of
Ten Outdoor Swimming Centres in Victoria, Department of Sport & Recreation Victoria, 1987; Aquatic
Pools Visitors Survey Stage 1, Hepper Marriott & Associates, 1994-95; Kit Campbell, Fred Coalter and
Brian Hatfield (1998), The Facilities Planning Model - a planning tool for developing sports facilities,
London: English Sports Council.
38
pools or leisure centres – and some of these people will continue to prefer using
those other facilities rather than a new facility in Merrylands.
Table 4.2: Catchment Area Population (2011 Census) – Aquatic/Wellness Centre
Local
Government
Area
Holroyd City
19
Suburbs (with % of suburb in the primary
catchment area)
All suburbs (100%)
Total
Population
‘Effective’
Population
106,000
100,500
Parramatta
Constitution Hill (100%)
3,976
2,000
City
North Parramatta (50%)
6,000
6,000
10,000
10,000
Harris Park (100%)
5,014
5,014
Granville (100%)
8,250
5,000
Merrylands (100%)
7,188
7,188
South Granville (100%)
2,800
1,400
Guildford (100%)
6,400
3,200
and Arndell Park (50%)
4,000
0
Old Guildford (100%)
2,592
0
Yennora (100%)
1,397
0
Fairfield (30%)
5,000
0
Fairfield Heights (30%)
2,000
0
Wetherill Park (30%)
1,800
0
181,606
140,000
Parramatta (50%)
Blacktown City
Fairfield City
TOTAL
Prospect (100%), Huntingwood (100%)
The total ‘effective’ catchment population has accordingly been scaled back (to
around 140,000) to reflect this ‘competition’ (and as detailed at Attachment A).
The Table 4.2 figures are based on the 2011 Census. Allowing for recent
population growth in Holroyd and Parramatta LGA’s (around 2% per annum), it is
reasonable to assume that the catchment population is now around 145,000
people.
Approximately 70% of this population (102,000) reside within Holroyd City and
the other 30% are within the Parramatta LGA (43,000).
The overlapping catchments illustrate the potential competition (for patrons)
between a new aquatic/wellness centre in Merrylands Park and other aquatic and
leisure facilities in the sub-region.
19
The north-western areas of Holroyd City (comprising Girraween-Toongabbie and Pendle Hill) are
close to equi-distant to Merrylands Park and the Blacktown Aquatic Centre (in Blacktown LGA). The
‘effective’ population for the Merrylands Park proposal is therefore deemed to be 5,500 (or 50% of the
population of this area of 11,000 people).
39
The following conclusions are made with respect to the catchment area for the
proposed new facility:
•
•
•
It comprises almost the whole of Holroyd City (except parts of Girraween and
Pendle Hill) and parts of Parramatta local government area
Around half of this catchment overlaps the catchment areas of three other
major aquatic/leisure facilities in the sub-region (Fairfield and Prairiewood
Leisure Centres and Blacktown Aquatic Centre), and
The current population of the catchment is estimated to be around 145,000
people.
4.4 CATCHMENT AREA POPULATIONS
The population’s size and growth rate and its characteristics (age structure,
family type, income levels, mobility and ethnicity) are key indicators of recreation
needs and demands, including demands of relevance to the proposed
aquatic/wellness centre.
This Section summarises Holroyd City’s key population data (as a proxy for the
full catchment population) and draws out the main implications with respect to the
aquatic/wellness centre option.
Population size and characteristics
At the 2011 Census, Holroyd City had a population of 99,163 persons – up 10.4%
(or 2.0% per annum) from 89,764 in 2006. This was greater than the 6.6%
growth, in the same period, for Sydney overall.
The City’s population is, with respect to age and household structures, quite
similar to that for Sydney as a whole. It is however, significantly different in other
respects (including ethnic diversity and household wealth). The main
distinguishing features including the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
An above-average proportion of children aged 0-14 years (20.9% compared
to Sydney’s 19.2%),
A slightly below-average proportion of youth (15-19 years) and 'young adults'
(20-24 years),
A slightly higher than average proportion of adults in the ‘family forming’ age
groups, 25-49 years,
A slightly below proportion of ‘older’ people 65 years and over,
A higher than average proportion of ‘households with children' (38%
compared to Sydney’s 35%),
Well-below average incomes,
Below average labour force participation rate,
High level of ethnic diversity - with 39.1% of residents born in a culturally and
linguistically diverse (CALD) country (compared with only 26.3% in
Sydney),
40
•
Slightly below-average vehicle ownership with 42.1% of households owning
2 or more vehicles compared to 44.4% for Sydney).
It is noted that the City-wide averages ‘disguise’ some significant variations in
population characteristics within the City.
For example, the immediate pool catchment (Merrylands and Merrylands West)
of around 26,000 people has below LGA-average proportions of children 0-14
years, couple families with children and household incomes. All these
characteristics are negatively associated with pool/leisure centre use and would
need to be taken into consideration with respect to pricing and access structures.
Population growth and change
As indicated above, the City’s population grew significantly by nearly 10,000
between 2006 and 2011.
This growth was accompanied by modest changes in the age structure of the
population – including the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
A slight increase in the proportion of children 0-14 years (up from 20.5% to
20.9%) with an associated increase in numbers (up 2,287),
A modest proportional decline in the youth (15-19 years) population (down
from 6.5%) to 6.1% but with an absolute increase in number (up 162)
A slight proportional decrease in young adults (20-24 years) – down from
7.2% to 6.1%,
Little change in the adult (25-49 years) population (up from 37.7% to 38.6%),
A slight decrease in the proportion of older adults 50-64 years
A very slight decline in the proportion of people over 65 years (12.3 to
12.1%)
Despite these relative changes between different age groups, there was an
absolute increase in the size of all age groups except for those 55-59 years
(down 167) and 75-79 years (down 43).
The City’s population is expected to continue to grow and change.
Current population forecasts, prepared in conjunction with the Holroyd S94
Contributions Plan 2013, anticipate growth of more than 38,000 people (or 38%)
from 99,163 (in 2011) to 137,493 (in 2031). The majority of this growth (nearly
60%) is expected to occur in the Merrylands Town Centre (37%), Wentworthville
(10%) and Mays Hill (9%).
It is difficult to predict the characteristics of the incoming population in the growth
areas - mainly due to the lack of information on the characteristics of populations
attracted to medium and high density developments.
41
Early literature on urban consolidation 20 suggested that residents in such
developments were likely to be young (with a high proportion of 20-29 year olds),
single or childless couples, renting rather than purchasing and with a high level of
access to vehicles.
If these patterns occur in Holroyd, the City will see increasing proportions of
young adults, more couples renting, fewer older people and more very young
children (particularly in the 0-4 year age group).
These changes already appear evident – based on the population changes
between 2006 and 2011 (with, for example, the 0-4 year age group increasing by
1,619 – the highest of any age group – and the 25-39 age groups also increasing
strongly).
4.5 IMPLICATIONS FOR AQUATIC & WELLNESS NEEDS
The population characteristics discussed above (size, distribution, age structure,
individual and household incomes, household structure, ethnicity and growth) are
all major determinants of recreation needs – including needs for swimming pools
and leisure/wellness centres.
An area’s population size is a major determinant of its ability to sustain support
for a wide range of activities and facilities and the quality and diversity of those
activities and facilities.
The population’s age structure is a key determinant of the level and type of
demand for specific recreation opportunities and services. Very youthful
populations have a greater need for child and family oriented opportunities while
those with a large proportion of families with teenagers seek sporting and social
opportunities to a greater extent.
Changes in age structure are more significant, in some ways, than changes in
population size. The latter, while important, simply means more of the same, but
a significantly changing age structure requires major adjustments in the type and
mix of recreation services - because of the differing recreation preferences of,
and rates of participation by, different age groups in recreation activities.
Other factors including individual and household incomes, ethnic/cultural
background and vehicle ownership also impact resident’s preferences for and
access to recreation facilities.
Holroyd City’s key population characteristics are summarised in Table 4.3 –
together with the implications of these characteristics for the proposal to provide
an aquatic/wellness centre in the City.
20
See for example, Consolidating for People, A. Gooding, 1990
42
Table 4.3: Holroyd City Population Characteristics & Implications for Recreation Demand
Population Characteristics
Implications for Aquatic/Wellness Centre
Population Size
105,772 in the City in 2012 (ERP) and
•
The population is large enough to support a
large aquatic/wellness facility with indoor
and outdoor components
•
The higher than average proportion of
'children' (and lower proportion of ‘seniors’)
would normally imply higher than average
recreation demands (because participation in
sport and cultural activities is higher in
younger age groups)
Overall, the age profile implies a greater than
average level of need/demand for lap and
leisure swimming and an average need for
warm water therapy pools
estimated wider catchment population for
the proposed facility of 145,000
Age Structure:
Above average proportion of children (014 years)
Slightly below-average proportions of
youth 15-19 years
Slightly below-average proportion of
young adults 20-24 years
•
Average proportion of adults 25-64 years
Slightly below average proportion of
‘older’ people (aged over 65 years)
Family Type:
Increasing proportion and number of
•
households with children (both single
parent and couple households)
•
Children, youth and adults with children are,
typically, the high use markets for many
recreation activities, including swimming
The increasing number of households with
children implies an increasing demand for
swimming and other aquatic activities
Income:
Below-average individual and household
•
incomes
•
The below-average incomes imply that
residents will have a below-average capacity
to pay for recreation (particularly expensive
options - such as indoor sport and aquatics
activities)
Those on low incomes – and around 50% of
households are in this category - are more
likely to be restricted to local, lower cost and
home-based activities.
Ethnicity:
•
An above-average and increasing level
of cultural diversity
•
People from different cultural backgrounds
may have different recreation interests and
preferences
Both national and local level surveys have
found that people born overseas are less
likely to play sport than people born in
21
Australia
21
The ABS 1993 Survey of Involvement in Sport found, for example, that people born in Australia were far more
likely to play sport than people born overseas (40% of men and 27% of women born in Australia compared to 24%
of men and 13% of women born overseas). Subsequent ABS surveys have continued to confirm this finding.
The findings of recent research conducted in Fairfield LGA (Recreation Needs Study and Strategy Plan and and
Redevelopment Feasibility Study for the Cabramatta Pool) and other local areas (eg Ku-ring-gai Council’s 1999
Recreation Participation Survey) have also demonstrated this trend. In these studies people from CALD
43
Population Characteristics
Implications for Aquatic/Wellness Centre
•
The CALD population requires consideration
in terms of cultural preferences for ‘nontraditional’ sports and culturally-responsive
access to facilities
•
Any increase in the population implies
parallel increases in recreation demands and
need (unless offset by declining rates of
participation)
•
The substantial forecast population increase
will underpin the viability of any new centre
Population Growth:
Significant (2.0% per annum) between
2006 and 2011 – with only a slight
decline over the last two years (1.9%)
per annum (and a 12,000 person
increase 2006-2012). An additional
30,000+ in the next 20 years
4.6 CONCLUSIONS ON CATCHMENT POPULATION ISSUES
This Chapter has reviewed the key characteristics of the estimated catchment
population for an aquatic/wellness centre at Merrylands, in order to identify the
potential markets for such a facility.
Based on typical catchment analysis for pools and leisure centres, it is concluded
that the primary catchment area for the proposed facility is likely to encompass
the populations of Holroyd City (apart from parts of Girraween and Pendle Hill)
and parts of Parramatta LGA (generally within around 10-15 minutes driving time
of Merrylands Park).
Currently, the primary catchment comprises around 145,000 people. There will
also be a minor secondary catchment (but this will be quite small due to the
proliferation of other pools and leisure centres in the wider Region).
(It should be noted, however, that this catchment population estimate assumes
that Parramatta City will not be building modern aquatic/leisure facilities. If they
do, around 30% of the catchment population (or 40,000 people) will be ‘lost’ to
those new facilities).
Based on current forecasts (prepared in conjunction with the Holroyd S94
Contributions Plan 2013) the primary catchment population is expected to grow
by nearly 2% per annum over the next 20 years (to at least 180,000 in that time –
or 140,000 in the event that Parramatta City builds a modern aquatic centre in
that timeframe).
backgrounds were found to have lower than average participation rates in swimming and traditional team sports
(but a higher than average preferences for indoor court sports).
44
The key market components of this population 22 include:
• An above-average child and only slightly below-average youth market,
• A significant school market – with nearly 15,000 students attending primary and
secondary schools in the catchment ,
• An average adult (25-64 years) market, and
• A significant and rapidly growing ‘seniors’ market.
This population, due to its age profile, family structure and average (vehicle)
mobility, is likely to generate (in terms of national pool use benchmarks), higherthan-average (per capita) use of a new aquatic/wellness centre.
While the lower than average incomes may inhibit the revenue generating
capacity of the centre, the large size of the catchment population – together with
its expected substantial growth – should ensure more than sufficient demand
over the life of the project.
22
Holroyd City’s population used as a proxy measure here
45
CHAPTER 5:
POTENTIAL MARKET COMPETITION
5.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter reviews the potential market competition from other facilities both
within Holroyd City and in surrounding areas (e.g. the public pools in Parramatta,
Blacktown, Auburn, Bankstown and Fairfield local government areas).
Specifically, it addresses the market risks and competitive threats – and the
potential synergy benefits - that these facilities could pose for a modern
aquatic/wellness centre located at Merrylands Park.
5.2 ADJACENT COUNCIL POOLS/LEISURE CENTRES
The primary catchment area of an aquatic/wellness centre in Merrylands Park
would overlap with the primary or secondary catchment areas of several aquatic
facilities in neighbouring Councils – Granville and Parramatta Pools (Parramatta
City), Fairfield, Cabravale and Prairiewood Leisure Centres (in Fairfield City), the
Wran Leisure Centre (in Bankstown City), the Ruth Everuss Pool (in Auburn
Council), Blacktown Leisure Centre (in Blacktown City) and the Sydney
International Aquatic Centre at Olympic Park.
Some of these pools (Parramatta, Granville) are outdoor only, or have only
modest indoor facilities (Ruth Everuss, Wran Leisure Centre, Cabravale Leisure
Centre), and would not provide significant competition for a modern
aquatic/wellness in Merrylands.
Additionally, some of the more distant pools - the International Aquatic Centre only slightly overlap the proposed leisure/wellness centre catchment and are
likely to have only a minor impact on the potential catchment population for the
new facility.
The most significant competitive threats (in terms of alternate swimming, fitness
and wellness opportunities for Holroyd City residents) would most likely come
from the closer centres with a more contemporary range of facilities – Fairfield
Leisure Centre, Blacktown Aquatic Centre and, to a lesser extent (due to travel
distance) the Prairiewood Leisure Centre.
This Section identifies the facilities at these centres, the programs and activities
available, current use, user fees and, where relevant, future development plans.
46
Fairfield Leisure Centre
The Fairfield Leisure Centre is on the southern side of Vine Street, about 500
metres from the Fairfield CBD and less than 2 kilometres from Holroyd City’s
southern boundary.
The original outdoor pool was opened in 1960, with the indoor pool and sporting
facilities being added in the early 1970’s. An Aqua Play Water Park was added in
2010.
The centre comprises the following facilities:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
50 metre outdoor, unheated pool and concourse (summer only),
outdoor, unheated wading pool,
Aqua Play Water Park
indoor 25 metre heated pool
indoor one-court sports hall
squash court
gymnasium
support facilities (change, creche, kiosk)
sealed carparking for 106 cars (including 2 disabled spaces)
Centre operations are managed directly by Council.
The Centre is open year round. Public access hours are between 5.45am and
9.00pm from Monday to Friday and 6.45am to 5.45pm Saturday and Sunday.
Wet area programs include swim school, squad training, school bookings, school
learn to swim, gentle aquatic classes and aquarobics. Dry area programs include
fitness programs, personal training, squash and sports hall activities.
Single entry fees are $8.00 for adults (pool and sauna/steam), $5.00 for children
and pensioners and $3 for spectators. Casual program fees are $16.00 (for
squash, aquarobics, aerobics and gym). A range of membership and multiple
ticket options are also available.
Centre visits totaled more than 333,000 in 2009-10 – up strongly from the
average 190,000 per annum earlier in the decade, following upgrades and
improvements to the management of fitness programs. The swim school
enrolments totaled 1,947.
47
Prairiewood Leisure Centre
Prairiewood Leisure Centre is on the corner of Rickards and Prairievale Roads in
Prairievale. The Centre is a modern, fully integrated wet/dry complex and opened
in 1994.
The centre comprises the following facilities:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
25 metre indoor, heated pool
water play area with beach entry
Learn to swim pool
Sauna
Fitness facilities (circuit gym, gymnasium and aerobics room)
creche
change (including disabled) facilities
kiosk/cafe
health and beauty clinic
sealed carparking for 119 cars (including 3 disabled spaces)
Centre operations are managed directly by Council.
The original gymnasium floor area was a very inadequate 228m2. It had been
expanded twice prior to a 2011 Draft Master Plan for the centre which identified
the need for further gym extensions.
The Draft Master Plan has also identified a need for additional water, a double
court sports hall and external courts and gym circuits.
In March 2013, a mayoral minute called for the planning of an Adventure Water
Park at the centre.
The Centre is open year round. Public access hours are generally between
5.15am and 10.15pm from Monday to Friday and 6.15am to 5.45pm Saturday
and Sunday.
Wet area programs include swim school, squad training, school sport,
schoollearn to swim, aquatic classes/aquarobics, ‘active recovery rehab’ and pool
parties. Dry area programs include fitness programs, kindy gym, pilates, falls
prevention for seniors, active over 50’s and weight loss programs.
Single entry fees are $8.00 for adults (pool and sauna/steam), $5.00 for children
and pensioners and $3 for spectators. Casual program fees are $16.00 (for
squash, aqurobics, aerobics and gym). A range of membership and multiple
ticket options are also available.
48
Centre visits totaled more than 630,000 in 2009-10 – up strongly from the
average 275,000 per annum earlier in the decade, following upgrades (new
outdoor heated pool and expanded gym space). The swim school enrolments
totaled 9,455.
Blacktown Aquatic Centre
The Blacktown Aquatic Centre is located in International Peace Park, off Boyd
Street, Blacktown and around 4 kms from Holroyd City’s north western boundary.
The traditional facility received a major refurbishment for the Sydney 2000
Olympic Games.
The centre comprises the following facilities:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
50 metre 8 lane heated indoor pool (with spectator seating)
50 metre 6 lane outdoor, heated pool (summer only),
outdoor, sheltered wading pool,
health club/gymnasium (with cardio theatre,free weights area, group fitness
room, fitness assessment room)
outdoor water slide
outdoor picnic/play areas
skateboard ramp
support facilities (change, creche, cafe)
Centre operations are managed directly by Council.
The Centre is open year round. Public access hours are between 5.30am and
9.00pm from Monday to Friday and 6.00am to 6.00pm (in summer) and 6.00am
to 2.30pm (in winter) Saturday and Sunday.
Wet area programs include swim school, squad training, school bookings, school
learn to swim and aquarobics. Dry area programs include group fitness
programs, heartmoves and boot camp.
Single entry fees are $5.10 for adults, $4.20 for unsupervised children, $3.60 for
supervised children and pensioners, and $2.70 for spectators. Casual program
fees are $13.50 (for aquarobics, aerobics and gym). A range of membership and
multiple ticket options are also available.
49
5.3 WET’N’WILD DEVELOPMENT
A Wet’n’Wild theme park is being constructed (by Village Roadshow) on a 25hectare site within the Western Sydney Parklands (adjacent to Resevoir Road,
Prospect) about two kilometers from Council’s western boundary.
The park will comprise an inland surf beach, 42 slides, a 70-metre wave pool with
three-metre swells, the world's tallest looping tube complex and a double
SkyCoaster.
The facility is expected to open in December this year and attract 900,000 visitors
a year, with 180,000 (or 20%) of those coming from interstate and overseas. Up
to 15,000 visits per day are expected in the peak summer periods.
While the facility is within the primary catchment area of an aquatic/wellness
centre located at Merrylands Park, its very different tourism-oriented offerings
and pricing structure will not place it in direct competition with the services likely
to be provided at the aquatic/wellness centre.
The most significant impact will be with respect to the ‘leisure’ components of the
aquatic/wellness centre. That is, water slides and wave pools are unlikely to be
seen as priority components given the duplication of opportunities better provided
at Wet’n’Wild, albeit at a much higher price.
Overall, the impacts of Wet’n’Wild are likely to be positive for an aquatic/wellness
centre at Merrylands Park. There will, in effect, be substantial opportunities for
centre management to tap into the potential ‘spillover’ and ‘synergy’ benefits of
Wet’n’Wild.
That is, with an average of around 4,000 interstate and overseas visitors per
week passing close to Merrylands (once Wet’n’Wild is up and running) and, with
the knowledge that it is very common for out-of-area visitors to make visits to
multiple attractions in an area 23, the aquatic/wellness centre management will
have a significant additional target market to pitch their leisure, fitness and
wellness services to.
5.4 PRIVATE LEARN TO SWIM POOLS
There are two private learn to swim (LTS) schools in Holroyd City. One of these
(ABC Swimming) is based at Council’s Guildford Swim Centre. The other, Tony
Shaw’s Swim Fitness, is located at Toongabbie in the City’s north (on the
boundary with Blacktown City). There are also two small private LTS pool located
just outside the City’s boundaries to the south (Starfish Diamond LTS at Wetherill
Park and Tides Aqua at Smithfield).
23
Deloitte, 2008, The Economic Case for the Visitor Economy, chapter 5
50
Tony Shaw’s Swim School is a private learn to swim centre located at 207 Targo
Road, Toongabbie. The School provides a learn-to-swim program for all ages
and squad training. Management was not prepared to provide any information on
the use of the program and did not want to participate in the study in any way.
Tides Aqua has an outdoor 25 metre heated pool and a specialist 10m LTS
indoor pool. The schools numbers vary between 180 and 500, depending on the
time of the year. The duty manager advised that around 20-25% of the students
travel from suburbs in Holroyd City.
The Starfish Diamond LTS at Wetherill Park also draws swimmers from Holroyd
but the duty manager was unwilling to say how many or how big the swim school
is.
5.5 FITNESS CENTRES/GYMS
There are 11 commercial health/fitness gyms within Holroyd City 24 and dozens
more in surrounding local government areas. Three of these centres have more
than 1,000 members with the others having between 100 and 500 members.
Additionally, various fitness programs (including pilates and martial arts) are
provided in many of the sub-region’s school and community halls.
Many of the facilities are within a few kilometers of Merrylands Park.
Collectively, the existing facilities offer the full range of gym/fitness centre
activities – including casual circuit and weight training (for people who wish to
work out independently), a large variety of group fitness classes, martial arts,
yoga, pilates and tai chi.
The extent of competition is difficult to quantify but it is arguable that there is
substantial untapped potential in the local fitness market. Collectively, the existing
gyms have only around 6-7,000 members. While some locals will be members of
gyms outside Holroyd (near to where they work), there is still substantial market
potential for any new gym/health club in Holroyd City – including one in a new
aquatic/wellness centre.
The proprietor of one local gym has advised that a health club associated with a
new high profile aquatic/wellness centre in Merrylands – by raising awareness of
fitness and wellness across the broader community - would benefit the whole of
the local fitness industry.
The key to success for all players (new and existing) is quality programming and
instruction and marketing.
24
OMG Fitness, Contours, Jetts Fitness, Coolibah Fitness Centre , Body Balance (Merrylands); Revolution X
(Holroyd); Pump Fitness, Plus Fitness (Wentworthville); Curves, Everwilling Fitness Centre (Girraween); Anytime
Fitness (Pemulwuy and Toongabbie)
51
5.6 WELLNESS CENTRES
Wellness centres – focussing on holistic and complementary therapies have
begun to appear in many locations throughout Sydney – including Sydney’s west.
There is currently only one in the Holroyd City and immediately surrounding
areas – the Innate Health Wellness Centre in Parramatta. This Centre provides
chiropractic, naturopathy, massage therapy and nutritional consultations with a
focus on sports injury, back and neck pain, migraine, weight loss, nutritional
imbalances and treatments during pregnancy.
5.7 CONCLUSIONS - POTENTIAL MARKET COMPETITION
This chapter has reviewed the potential market competition from other facilities –
existing and proposed - both within Holroyd City and in surrounding areas.
While competition will exist, it will not be substantial for a well designed and
managed facility – one that maximises co-location synergies – in a central
location (such as Merrylands Park).
This is because most of the ‘competing’ facilities in surrounding council areas are
either too distant (from the bulk of Holroyd City’s populations) or too limited in
their program offerings to be a substantial threat to the viability of a new
aquatic/wellness centre in Holroyd. 25
It is also due to the potential synergies provided by some of these other facilities
– particularly the potential ‘spillover’ use from Wet’nWild patrons and the general
raising of awareness created when facilities of a particular type (e.g. gyms and
health clubs) are located in clusters.
25
Exceptions to this would include club swimmers ‘following’ a particular coach (based at one of the
other centres) or where a family (or individuals) visit the centre in conjunction with a shopping or
business trip (or some other purpose)
52
CHAPTER 6:
WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY WANT?
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Community consultation is a critical element in identifying the nature and level of
community need, priorities and support for major capital improvement projects
such as the proposed modernisation of existing pools or their replacement with a
new aquatic/wellness centre.
However, due to time constraints and the broad-brush comparative nature of the
current study, no new consultations have been undertaken for this report.
Instead, the findings of consultations undertaken in previous studies have been
reviewed to gain some appreciation of recent community views.
(It will be necessary however – following Council’s commitment to a course of
action and in conjunction with concept development - to fully engage the
community to confirm specific service gaps, the appropriate type and scale of
needed facilities and the nature and level of community support for the project).
The key outcomes and findings of the previous consultations are detailed below.
6.2 PREVIOUS CONSULTATIONS
Community consultations undertaken in recent years and of relevance to Council’s
pools have included the following:
•
•
•
•
•
Community Attitude Survey, 2004
Holroyd Open Space Strategy, 2005
Living Holroyd consultations project, 2010
Holroyd Aquatic Leisure Centre – Site Feasibility and Options Analysis Report,
2010
Living Holroyd Survey, 2012
Key relevant findings of these consultations are summarised in the following subsections:
Community Attitude Survey, 2004
One in seven respondents (14%) believed that the improvement of recreation
facilities should be Council’s main expenditure focus over the next ten years.
More than 10% of these respondents (2% overall) believed that Council should
provide ‘new heated swimming pools’.
53
Holroyd Open Space Strategy, 2005
This Study included two surveys – a community (street intercept) survey and an
organisations’ and schools surveys – with findings of relevance to the current
study.
The street intercept survey found that 48% of respondents used at least one of
Council’s pools in the previous 12 months. But levels of dissatisfaction were
relatively high – with nearly 8% of respondents ‘dissatisfied’ with Council’s pools
(with a further 16% neither satisfied nor dissatisfied). This was the third highest
dissatisfaction score for the 18 program areas canvassed - with only ‘netball
courts’ and ‘tennis courts’ having higher dissatisfaction scores.
The organisations’ and schools surveys echoed the above findings in identifying
needs for facility upgrading – particularly in regard to pool suitability (depth,
configuration, temperature) and additional shade and shelter. The specific issues
included the following:
•
Shade/shelter/wet weather cover
•
Physical condition and presentation – particularly upgraded change rooms
toilets and showers
•
Longer opening hours/year round
•
More equitable pricing/subsidised entry
•
Improved access to pool/more lanes
•
Indoor pool at Wenty Pool (for winter training)
•
Better matching of Guildford Pool to user needs ( too shallow for squads; too
deep and too cold for learn to swim)
•
Improved promotion/marketing of pools
The Living Holroyd consultations, 2010
This project involved multiple consultation activities to identify the vision and
priorities for Council’s first Community Strategic Plan. It included a random phone
survey of 400 residents and businesses
One survey outcome was that the top 10 infrastructure priorities in Holroyd City
included ‘improve the swimming centre’ – with 8.1% of survey respondents
nominating this priority.
Holroyd Aquatic Leisure Centre – Site Feasibility and Options Analysis
The consultation for this study comprised the general community (via an online
survey instrument and media release) and workshops with a range of
stakeholders (Councillors, Council staff, swim clubs and swim schools, coaches,
schools and a representative of the NSW Department of Education).
54
The on-line community survey attracted 352 responses but was clearly skewed to
those with a particular interest in pools (as 97% of respondents were users of at
least one Council pool). The responses, as a consequence, are likely to have a
bias towards ‘defending’ existing uses and cannot be considered representative
of the views of the whole community.
Nevertheless, the key findings included the following:
•
The majority (78%) were ‘satisfied’ with Council’s pools
•
80% believed that it was ‘important’ for Council to improve the quality of the
pools
•
The most ‘important’ activities are lap swimming, swim lessons and
club/squad activities (all traditional and currently provided activities)
•
89% said they would use improved facilities ‘all year round’
Key findings of the stakeholder workshops included:
•
A strong expressed need for pool modernisation and/or rationalisation
•
Recognition that any rationalisation should seek to ensure that the needs of
most of the community were addressed
•
Importance of accommodating the (training) lane needs of all 3 swim clubs if
the existing 3 pools are replaced by one new facility
•
Identification of various desired components (e.g. swim clubs’ preference for
50 metre pool, family orientation, warm water therapy pool, water play area
etc)
Living Holroyd Survey, 2012
This survey identified ‘swimming pool upgrades’, ‘heated indoor pool/wave pool ‘
and ‘water parks’ as priorities.
6.3 CONCLUSIONS ON PREVIOUS CONSULTATIONS
The community consultation over the past ten years have consistently identified
strong support for the upgrading of pools in Holroyd City.
Some of the specific issues identified in the earlier consultations (e.g. with respect
to pool heating and shade/shelter provision) have subsequently been addressed in
pool upgrade works.
However, some of the major identified issues and needs have not yet been
addressed - included the following:
•
The need for year-round heated indoor pool facilities suitable for traditional
users (lap swimmers, schools, learn to swim, squad training and swim club
activities)
•
The need for a program/therapy pool suitable for an ageing population
55
•
The need to cater to the broader family/leisure market (with water play
areas, lazy rivers, slides etc)
•
The need to improve viability with the integration of revenue-generating
opportunities (e.g. specialist indoor program pools, gyms, wellness
activities)
The needs expressed in the consultations are generally consistent with the more
general needs identified through the assessment of aquatic recreation trends
(Chapter 2), the review of the City’s population (Chapter 3) and the review of
aquatic/wellness centre target markets (Chapter 4).
56
CHAPTER 7:
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDED OPTION
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Consistent with the requirements of Council’s motion, this study has taken into
account:
• Relevant aquatic and indoor recreation trends,
• The size, structure and forecast growth of Holroyd City’s population,
• The specific aquatic recreation and fitness needs of the population – including
the need for year-round facilities for schools, swim clubs, fitness swimmers,
families, health club members and recreational swimmers,
• The need for more year-round warm water for the area’s growing (older person)
therapy and rehabilitation markets,
• The current lack of modern indoor year-round leisure water in the City,
• The provision of aquatic and wellness facilities in neighbouring LGA’s and the
implications for the proposal (in terms of competitive threats),
• The travel distances to the proposed site (Merrylands Park) from various
locations within the City and surrounding areas, and
• Potential synergies with the broader indoor sports and ‘wellness’ markets.
Based on the findings of the above reviews, this chapter:
• Summarises the strengths and weaknesses of Council’s existing aquatic
facilities
• Proposes a rationale for the development of a new aquatic/leisure/wellness
centre (as a viable alternative to modernising the three existing centres)
• Tests this rationale against the industry recognised and respected CERM PI
National Operational Management Benchmarks for public aquatic centres 26,
and
• Provides a preliminary design brief for a centre (in terms of type and size of
pools and types and sizes of fitness and wellness facilities)
7.2 EXISTING POOLS – STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
The existing facilities have a number of strengths and weaknesses as
summarised in Table 7.1.
26
The Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management (CERM), at Adelaide University, commenced the
performance indicators project for public sports and pool facilities in 1991. The survey has been undertaken every
year since, with the most recent survey using data for the 2011-12 financial year
57
Table 7.1: Strengths and weaknesses of Existing Pools
Element
Location
Strengths
• Good distribution of swimming facilities
across Holroyd City
• Existing facilities are highly valued by
sections of the community
• Merrylands Pool is located within an
attractive, treed site, and has synergy
values with a large sports complex
Weaknesses
• Guildford Pool’s ‘out of the way’ site
increases marketing requirements
and limits marketing options
• Wentworthville Pool lacks synergy
opportunities
• Merrylands and Wentworthville Pools
have high visibility (being adjacent to
major transport routes)
Physical
facilities
• Merrylands and Wentworthville have 50
metre outdoor pool – important assets
for schools, clubs and lap swimmers)
• All centres have a diversity of
pools (main, program and toddlers) for
enhanced programming
• Recent upgrades of change/amenities
and ground furniture well received by
user groups
Capacity to
meet the
needs of
target
markets
• Merrylands Pool site has ample room
for expansion and/or replacement to
cater for new and emerging needs
(warm water therapy, leisure water,
wellness, cross-training etc)
• Older facilities (around 40 years)
nearing end of economic life
• Merrylands and Wentworthville are
outdoor-only facilities (shorter ‘peak’
season, no weather protection)
• Likely substantial water loss from
ageing pipes and/or pool tank
• No ‘leisure’ water (e.g slides, lazy
rivers, beach entry, aqua play)
• Existing facilities can not meet the
needs of the new and emerging
target markets
• Existing outdoor facilities are open
only half the year
• Existing outdoor facilities provide
excellent facilities for some target
markets (lap swimmers, LTS in
summer, swim carnivals)
It is important that the planning for any new centre addresses the weaknesses
and builds on the strengths of the existing facilities.
7.3 RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPING A SINGLE NEW
CENTRE
Holroyd City’s population has an age structure that typically generates average
(or slightly above-average) use of swimming and fitness facilities.
Given that only one of Council’s three aquatic centres has an indoor heated pool
with year-round capacity – and given the small size and outdated design of that
pool - it is not surprising that there is a high level of expressed need for modern,
year-round public swimming facilities in the City.
It is likely that the City’s keener swimmers are using Guildford Pool in the cooler
months but (based on the relatively modest attendance figures) it is likely that
many potential year-round pool users are either not using the pool (due to its
limited capacity and/or presentation) or using it less regularly than desired.
There is a demonstrated demand and need for contemporary year-round aquatic
facilities in Holroyd. This conclusion is supported by the needs and aspirations
58
expressed in the consultations undertaken for previous studies and the difficulty
of accessing facilities (due to travel distances and/or expense) in neighbouring
local government areas (for many of Holroyd City’s residents).
The need is also supported by the review of trends in leisure and recreation
participation and changes within the aquatic, fitness and wellness industries.
National and global participation in aquatic/wellness centre type activities is
surging (as detailed in Chapter 2) and this will continue as the population
becomes more aware of wellness centre-type opportunities.
Industry experience has clearly demonstrated that health clubs and gyms (and,
more recently, ‘wellness centres’), health-oriented cafes and leisure/water play
elements are an essential value-ad to integrated pool/leisure centres and, along
with learn-to-swim programs, rate as the biggest centre revenue earners.
It is therefore desirable that these facilities be included in any new aquatic
development in Holroyd City.
The benefits of doing so are clearly demonstrated by the experience of those
many councils that have already travelled that path.
Fairfield City, for example, also has three aquatic centres but (unlike Holroyd)
they all offer year-round swimming in modern facilities in association with an
array of health club and wellness centre facilities and programs.
The comparative visitor statistics are instructive and are summarised in Table
7.2.
Table 7.2: Visitor statistics – Holroyd City Pools & Fairfield City Leisure Centres
Council
Centre
Holroyd
Guildford
78,876
0.7
(Population –
Merrylands
56,984
0.5
106,000)
Wentworthville
72,740
0.7
Total Holroyd
208,600
2.0
Fairfield
Fairfield
333,460
1.9
(Population –
Prairiewood
630,175
3.5
180,000)
Cabravale
185,909
1.0
1,149,544
6.4
Total Fairfield
Visits 2009-10
Visits per capita
Table 7.2 shows that aquatic/leisure centre visits per capita in Fairfield City are
more than three times higher than in Holroyd City – because the former is
providing the contemporary facilities that people now want.
59
Another way of looking at the finding is that there is an untapped market in
Holroyd City of around 400-500,000 visits per annum if the appropriate standard
and type of aquatic, fitness and wellness facilities and programs were provided.
While gym and fitness facilities are already provided in a dozen stand-alone
facilities in Holroyd City, there is significant potential for a high profile facility
(such as that proposed) in boosting the total size of the market to the benefit of all
existing and new providers (as explained in Section 5.4, above).
According to planning benchmarks, the catchment population (currently around
140,000) is more than sufficient to financially support a heated indoor pool and
associated facilities. The continuing substantial growth in the population, to at
least 2031, further underpins this conclusion
7.4 CERM PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
The industry benchmarks developed by the CERM PI project provide further
support to the option of replacing the existing, dated pools with a single modern
aquatic wellness centre.
The benchmarks have been compiled every year since 1992 and provide the
aquatics industry with unique and valuable trend data for aquatic and fitness
facility planning and management.
The most recent benchmarks – those for 2012 - are based on the participation of
151 aquatic/leisure centres across Australia.
The benchmarks continue to highlight (as detailed in Table 7.3) the challenge that
outdoor-only centres (such as Wentworthville and Merrylands Pools) have in
attracting visitors.
The median benchmarks for all centres in each category indicate that outdooronly centres attract considerably fewer visits per year (60,000) compared to
centres that have indoor pools (over 300,000 visits per year). This large disparity
in annual visits is partly explained by other benchmarks. A major influence is the
relatively limited range of program opportunities that outdoor-only centres
provide.
The generally larger multi-purpose centres tend to provide a range of pools as
well as dry facilities (e.g. fitness gyms and in some cases sports halls and
wellness zones).
Financial benchmarks also vary considerably between Group 5 centres
compared to Group 6 and 7 centres. Outdoor-only centres overall charge lower
entry fees and generate substantially less gross receipts. While they have much
60
lower gross expenditures, outdoor-only centres have a median subsidy per visit
that is similar to the median fee that each visit generates.
Table 7.3: CERM PI 2012 – Centres with outdoor-only pools & those with indoor pools
Benchmark
Services
Total visits
Program opportunities per week
Finance
Expense recovery (%)
Gross receipts($)
Gross expenditure ($)
Fees per visit ($)
Surplus/(subsidy) per visit
Centre Category x Median benchmark
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
(n=118)
(n=92)
(n=134)
60,964
27
312,160
280
401,839
238
58
288,845
540,432
4.24
(-$3.59)
85
1,777,679
2,328,729
5.80
(-$1.05)
94
2,065,238
2,383,288
5.56
(-0.49)
Group 5 centres = outdoor only pools; Group 6 centres = indoor and outdoor pools; Group 7
centres = indoor pools only. Most Group 6 and 7 centres also have ‘dry’ fitness facilities
7.5 W HAT SIZE POOLS ARE REQUIRED IN A NEW CENTRE?
There are two questions to address here: ‘how much heated water (m2) is
needed given the existing and forecast size of the population?’ and ‘how should it
be configured (number x size x shape of pools) in order to best meet the (often
conflicting) current and future needs and demands for indoor pool activities?’
Amount of water
A 1997 report prepared by the SA Department of Recreation and Sport 27
developed a research-based model for identifying the characteristics that make
an aquatic facility viable (in terms of not requiring operational subsidies).
The most important viability factors were found to be facility location, size/type of
pools (and program range) and centre management.
The appropriate pool size was found to be directly related to the population
catchments. In urban areas, these are generally regarded as a five kilometre
radius for the primary catchment (50% of users) and a further 5 kilometres for the
secondary catchment. The catchments are larger in country areas – up to a halfhour travel time for regular users (but this also depends to a large extent on
alternative opportunities).
Based on the analysis of use at 30 indoor pools, the study found that a factor of
0.003m2 pool space per visit can be used to determine both the appropriate size
of a new, future facility or the use capacity of an existing facility 28.
27
The Provision of Public Aquatic Facilities -Strategic Directions, May 1997, Hassell Pty Ltd in association with JA
Nicholas & Associates, KPMG Management Consulting for local councils in South Australia and SA Department
of Recreation and Sport
61
The formula for identifying the appropriate size of a new facility (in terms of
operational viability and avoiding significant under-utilisation) is:
Size of facility = annual user visits x 0.003
The difficulty is in forecasting the likely annual user visits. These will vary from
place to place, according to population structure, local traditions, the
attractiveness of alternative recreation opportunities, the skills of management
and the type of pool(s) actually provided.
However, it is possible to generate reasonable forecasts of annual user visits
through the use of CERM benchmarks 29 - specifically by applying the Australian
average catchment multiple for indoor, heated aquatic centres (5.7) to the
proposed centre’s catchment population.
The formula for identifying the appropriate pool size then becomes:
Size of facility = (5.7 x catchment population) x 0.003
The 5 kilometre (or 15 minute driving) catchment area has a population of around
140,000 - but this has been scaled back to an ‘effective’ catchment population of
105,000, to reflect the likelihood that Parramatta Council will most likely upgrade
one or more of its centres in the relatively near future (as explained in the pool
catchment analysis in Sections 4.3 and 4.6, above).
However, in the early life of the project (i.e. in the next 10 years), the population
is forecast to grow by around 20,000 people – so the appropriate population base
to use is 125,000.
Size of facility = (5.7 x 125,000) x 0.003 = 2,137m2
This implies that if the City population uses the proposed centre at the Australiawide average level, there is a requirement for around 2,140m2 of pool space –
which is equivalent to one 50m x 8 lane pool (1,000m2), a 25m x 8 lane pool
(500m2) and leisure/program/therapy pool water (640m2).
The further implication is that, if significantly more pool space than this is
provided (such as the existing 3,431m2 across the three centres) the centre may
28
The factor (0.003) was the most common at the 30 pools studied. But it should still only be seen as a guideline
design capacity level - as there are other facilities that either exceed or fail to achieve it.
29
The Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management (CERM), at Adelaide University, commenced a
performance indicators project for public sports and pools in 1991. One of the project’s key indicators - catchment
multiple - provides a basis for predicting the use of new centres. ‘Catchment multiple’ is a measure of ‘the number
of visits a year divided by the estimated population size within 5 kilometres of the centre’.
The CERM research has demonstrated that (in 2012) centres with ‘indoor and outdoor pools’ have average
catchment multiples of 5.7.
62
be under-utilised and may face much larger than necessary operational costs and
ratepayer subsidies.
The above scenario may not occur. The City population, for example, may use
the centre at a greater than average rate - or a lower than average rate. Or the
population may grow or decline (rather than remain steady, as forecast).
It is arguable that, given Holroyd City’s population structure, visits to a new
aquatic/wellness centre should be at least average (for the reasons provided in
Sections 4.5 and 4.6, above) or above average, with excellent management.
Table 7.3 summarises the research undertaken in the 1997 South Australian
study. It indicates the required catchment populations, pool sizes and per annum
visits for various levels of facilities (from international to small rural).
Level 6, for example, with a catchment population of 45,000 requires 7751,200m2 of pool space. The upper end (ie 1,200m2) is equivalent to a 50m x 8
lane pool plus a 200m2 program or leisure pool.
Table 7.3: Pool types x required catchment populations and visits/annum
Type of Pool/Description
Population Catchment
Required
Size in
Square
Metres
Visits per Annum
Required
3,000 +
Level 1
International FINA/State
Primary
150,000
Secondary
150,000
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Regional sport/leisure
Large dist metro/country
Medium/large dist/country
100,000
80,000
70,000
100,000
75,000
60,000
1600-2300
1625-2100
1150-1650
700,000 1,000,000+
530,000-770,000
540,000-700,000
380,000-550,000
Level 5
Medium district metro/country
65,000
50,000
750-1250
265,000-370,000
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8
Small district/country
Small country
Neighbourhood/small country
45,000
30,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
10,000
775-1200
675-900
375-500
300,000-330,000
225,000-300,000
125,000-165,000
Level 9
Small rural
10,000-
-
500 and <
up to 125,000
The new aquatic/wellness facility proposal for Holroyd is most consistent with
Level 3 (large district metro) in Table 7.3 – with a range of 1,625 to 2,100m2 pool
space and a requirement for a minimum 540,000 visits to ensure financial
viability.
Pool configuration
As described in Section 4.2, there are multiple market segments for aquatic and
wellness facilities (including recreation, fitness, education and sport).
63
To respond adequately to the differing needs of these segments – in terms of
size, shape, depth and temperature of pool - multiple pools are required. It is not
possible to meet the various needs in just one pool and is difficult in two.
Accordingly, at least three pools are desirable (lap/training pool/ program/warm
water therapy and leisure/water play) in order to cater to all market segments at
the one time and to adequately meet the desired (and differing) pool attributes of
all potential user groups.
7.6 PREFERRED CONCEPT
Specifically, the research conducted during this Study indicated the need to
provide:
•
•
•
•
•
More indoor heated water for year round lap swimming and club/school
programs
More indoor heated water (for warm water therapy, learn to swim)
Contemporary leisure/water play facilities (e.g. aqua play area, beach entry,
lazy river, slides, inflatables etc),
Integration with revenue-generating opportunities (e.g. gyms, health club,
wellness activities and quality food/cafe service)
Improved support services including change/amenities and creche facilities
A leisure pool is desirable in this type of development – to cater to the broader
(rather than just specialist) aquatic needs of the catchment population and to help
underpin financial viability.
However, given the potentially high competition from leisure pools at nearby
locations (Wet’nWild, Blacktown Aquatic Centre and the Fairfield and Prairiewood
Leisure Centres), marketing and promotion of an upgraded facility will be a critical
operational requirement.
Specifically, the preferred concept would entail:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Retain and refurbish or rebuild the outdoor 50m pool
New 25m x 8 lane indoor heated pool
New indoor teaching/program/hydrotherapy pool
Free form leisure pool with play features, beach entry etc (minimum 500m2)
New sauna/spa (associated with indoor pool)
Multi-space gym (i.e. with weights/cardio space and group fitness/functions
space – minimum total 700m2)
Multi-purpose space for child-minding/birthday parties (120m2)
Café/dry lounge
Wellness zone (studio space for massage therapy, physiotherapy for
leasing to providers - 150m2)
Two-court sports hall
Multi-purpose room (for pool parties, meetings, cultural programs etc)
Amenities/support facilities (change, toilets, storage, first aid, wet lounge)
64
This initial notional concept – which requires detailed testing through a detailed
design development and public participation process – is consistent with planning
guidelines and the expressed needs of the Holroyd City community.
The rationale for the proposals is summarised as follows:
Component
Rationale
Retention of
outdoor 50m pool
• 50m outdoor pools are highly valued by lap swimmers in the
warmer months and are preferable for swim carnivals and meets
Indoor heated 8lane 25m pool
• New multi-purpose pool available year round – unconstrained by
weather and maintenance problems and with water teperature
appropriate for lap swimming and programs
Teaching/program/
leisure pool
• Necessary for the LTS markets
Warm water
therapy pool
• Necessary for the warm water therapy markets (particularly for an
ageing population and large sports and industrial injury markets)
Leisure/aqua play
• Attraction of the large non-competitive, non-sporting family
market to the centre
• LTS is the biggest revenue earner in the indoor heated pool
market
• Provision of separate leisure water minimizes user conflicts (with
lap swimmers and LTS classes)
Spa/sauna
• Spa/sauna facilities are relatively inexpensive to build and operate
but increase the attractiveness of the facility and generate
revenues
Multi-space
Gym/Health Club
• Indoor fitness activities are amongst the fastest growing physical
recreation pursuits in Australia
• Gym casual and membership fees are the 2 biggest income
earner (behind only LTS) in integrated leisure centres
nd
Wellness zone
• Strong growth in the demand for preventive, health promoting
services
• Potential high source of centre revenue
Two-court sports hall
• Strong growth in the demand for indoor sports – futsal, basketball,
netball, volleyball and badminton
• Significant shortfall of 9 indoor sports courts identified in Holroyd
Open Space and Recreation Study (May 2013) with
recommendation to ‘construct two indoor sports courts as part of
any new aquatic centre’
Cafe/Kiosk
• Café facilitates secondary spend potential
• Healthy food and drink options consistent with ‘wellness’ theme
Creche
• Supports use of the pool by residents with young children
Multi-purpose/party
room
• Parties provide a useful revenue generating option
• Multi-purpose meeting space contributes to community hub
The key point is that the preferred option will fully meet the facility needs of
Holroyd City’s existing aquatic demands - but for the whole year and at a much
higher quality level. Perhaps even more importantly, it will greatly expand the
range of aquatic, fitness and wellness opportunities available to the community
and these will benefit a much higher proportion of the City’s population. This will
65
improve social access and equity and the cost effectiveness of Council’s
recreation expenditure.
66
CHAPTER 8:
BUSINESS PLAN PRO FORMA
8.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter details the preliminary business case for the proposed Merrylands
Aquatic/Leisure/Wellness centre. It is based on a model business plan for the
‘preferred concept’, as detailed in Section 7.6, above.
The business plan comprises operational revenue and expenditure forecasts for
the preferred concept. The expenditures include both ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ costs
(as required by the NSW Government’s Capital Expenditure Guidelines) but do
not include asset renewal/whole of life costs.
The forecasts are estimates, based on the experience of similar centres around
Australia 30, discussions with venue management organisations, knowledge of
Holroyd City’s existing pool markets, assumptions that the markets will behave
‘typically’ and a series of operational assumptions (on staffing, user fees, opening
times etc).
In the event that the markets do not behave ‘typically’ and/or where, following
centre commissioning, the actual operational practices deviate from the assumed
ones, the realised results may be higher or lower than the forecasts.
Expenditure forecasts are reasonably straightforward and can be made with a
reasonable degree of confidence.
There are, however, inherent difficulties in preparing revenue projections – due to
the diverse and somewhat unpredictable nature of the markets for heated indoor
pools and leisure centres and the presence of factors in the market that cannot
be controlled (such as the provision and marketing of other heated pools and
indoor recreation space in the region by other agencies).
Despite the difficulties, demand and revenue forecasts have been made and are
detailed in the following sections.
8.2 REVENUE FORECAST ASSUMPTIONS
Visitor numbers – and revenues - will be influenced by many variables (most
importantly by the proposed facility’s quality of management and staffing, ease of
access, availability of convenient parking, marketing and customer service
initiatives) and by the breadth and strength of competition.
30
As researched and documented since 1991 in Adelaide University’s Centre for Environmental and
Recreation Management (CERM) annual surveys of leisure and aquatic centre operations and
performance
67
The key revenue assumptions are as follows:
Centre management
It is assumed that management will aim to achieve an annual profit or break even
position while providing a wide range of aquatic, fitness, wellness and
recreational opportunities for residents of the City and surrounding areas.
The Council and centre management must ensure that the new centre has a
strong focus on:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Providing programs relevant to demonstrated community needs
Customer service
Continually improving the quality of programming
Continually improving the range of programming
Revenue generation
Professional marketing
Staff training and development
Best practice risk management approach
Ongoing market research, and
Benchmarking to assess performance and success against similar
services.
Marketing Assumptions
The main focus of centre management will be to identify, understand and meet
the needs of residents and attract sufficient visitation levels to deliver value for
money, quality programs and an accessible and affordable service.
The core markets for the proposed centre will be:
•
Recreation and leisure: providing an attractive and welcoming environment
for social interaction and relaxation,
•
Sport: providing a venue for club and school based competitive swimming
(and other aquatic sport) carnivals and competitions
•
Education: including learn to swim, water safety, swimming competency
training and certificates, life saving, coaching courses,
•
Fitness: provision of programs and activities to improve fitness levels of
participants, and
•
Wellness: complementary and alternative therapies (such as physiotherapy,
massage, nutrition and naturopathy), and
•
Health: provision of rehabilitation programs and opportunities for people
requiring the benefits of water therapy and movement. This includes people
68
of all ages with arthritis, asthma, injuries or any other disability that may be
improved by exercise in a warm water environment.
The success of each ‘market’ will be dependant on offering appropriate and
innovative programs, the pricing structure, marketing and promotion strategies,
and, most importantly, the skills and attitudes of staff.
Entry Fees
The proposed fees are based on the current ‘market rates’ for indoor aquatic and
leisure centres in the western Sydney region (e.g Prairiewood, Fairfield and
Cabravale Leisure Centres, Blacktown Aquatic Centre, Emerton Leisure Centre).
Opening Hours
The forecasts are based on typical operating hours for indoor aquatic/leisure/
wellness centres (of 95 to 100 hours per week – or around 6.00am-9.00pm week
days and 7.00am-6.00pm weekends).
Visitation levels
One of the Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management’s (CERM) key
indicators - catchment multiple - provides a basis for predicting the use of new
centres.
‘Catchment multiple’ is a measure of ‘the number of visits a year divided by the
estimated population size within 5 kilometres of the centre’.
The CERM research has demonstrated that ‘outdoor wet centres’ (such as
Council’s existing pools) and ‘indoor wet/dry centres with outdoor pools’ (such as
the proposed Merrylands facility) have average catchment multiples of 1.7 31 and
5.2, respectively.
CERM’s average ‘catchment multiple’ for ‘indoor wet/dry centres with outdoor
pools’ suggests that the proposed facility can generate around 650,000 or more
visits per annum (catchment population of 120,000 x 5.2) if it performed at the
average level.
However, another CERM indicator, visits per metre2 of building/water space,
suggests that 650,000 visits per annum may be difficult to achieve.
31
The collective catchment multiple of Council’s existing pools (of 1.4) is less than national
average utilisation (of 1.7) for this type of pool – probably reflects the availability of several
alternative facilities both within Holroyd City and in the sub-region.
69
The ‘visits per metre2’ indicator suggests a more modest result – with the
proposed concept generating around 585,000 visits (7,500 m2 x 78 visits per m2),
if it performs at the average level. 32
It is probable, however that the proposed facility will attract visits above the
average ‘visits per metre2’ for ‘indoor wet/dry centres with outdoor pools’. This is
because of the well-above-average catchment population for the proposed facility
– 120,000 compared with the average of 60,000 in the CERM study. It is
reasonable to assume, on this basis, that visits per metre2’ could be much higher
than average.
Additionally, the levels of use of similar facilities in the sub-region (such as
Prairiewood Leisure Centre and the Blacktown Leisure Centre) are well-above
the national average visitation levels, so it is reasonable to assume that this will
be the case for the proposed Merrylands facility (so long as it is marketed
effectively).
Based on the average national performance of the type of facility proposed for
Merrylands (as documented in the CERM benchmarks) and the experience of
other centres in the sub-region, it is concluded that the reasonable baseline
visitation forecasts for the proposed facility is 650,000.
Sensitivity Analysis
The estimated visitation levels of 650,000 represent the ‘baseline’ scenario for
the purposes of the business plan analysis.
However, due to the inherent uncertainties in forecasting visits to new aquatic
and leisure centres, we have also identified ‘best case’ and ‘low case’ scenarios
in terms of projected visitor levels.
Best Case
It may be possible for the proposed centre to perform at above-average levels in
its first year of operation.
It will have an excellent range of fitness, wellness, program and leisure facilities
and it will have the attraction of ‘newness’ compared to other competing facilities
in the region (such as Blacktown Aquatic Centre and Fairfield Leisure Centre).
It is noted that many well designed and managed indoor aquatic centres perform
well above the average levels. The Great Lakes Leisure Centre 33, for example,
32
2
In lieu of architectural concepts, theThe average visits per m multiple for ‘indoor wet/dry
2
centres with outdoor pools’ is 72 but is higher (in the high 70’s) for facilities around 5,000m
or more.
33
The Centre comprises a 25m x 8 lane pool, a leisure/program pool, gym and indoor sports courts
70
has a catchment population of 19,200 and generated 205,000 visits in 2004-05 –
a catchment multiple of nearly 11. Similarly, the Blacktown Leisure Centre has a
catchment of around 100,000 and is currently attracting nearly 1.3 million visits
per annum 34.
For climatic and competing pool reasons, the proposed Merrylands Pool is very
unlikely to emulate the Great Lakes. It is also unlikely to emulate the Blacktown
Leisure Centre due to the very favourable demographics for that Centre (with a
concentration of families with young children in the user catchment).
However the proposed pool could attract visits at above-average levels but this
would require excellent management and a vigorous and very successful
marketing campaign.
The assumed visit levels for the best case scenario are 10% higher than the
baseline forecasts – or around 715,000 visits.
Low Case
The proposed centre may, conversely, attract lower than average visits. There
could be several reasons for this – including a failure to attract visitors who
currently use other facilities (indoor and outdoor pools and/or gyms in Holroyd
City or surrounding LGA’s) and the failure of marketing to sufficiently raise the
profile of the Merrylands Park site.
The assumed catchment multiple for the low case scenario is 10% lower than
the baseline forecasts – 585,000 visits.
Catchment Population Growth
In the life of the project, the catchment population is expected to increase
significantly. Holroyd City comprises the majority of the catchment and this
population is forecast to increase from 106,000 in 2012 to 137,000 by 2031 (or an
average increase of 31,000 or 1.5% per annum over the next 20 years) 35.
This substantial growth would underpin a steady and substantial increase in
annual visitations over the life of the proposed facility.
8.3 EXPENDITURE FORECAST ASSUMPTIONS
The expenditure forecasts are based on recent budgets for similar centres (as
documented in the CERM benchmarks), typical staffing and facility management
policies and relevant assumptions (on opening hours etc).
34
35
The1.3m visists per annum includes visits to the attached Stanhope branch library
Holroyd City Council, Holroyd S94 Development Contributions Plan 2013, page 25
71
Forecast staffing levels are in accordance with current approaches, industry best
practice and public safety guidelines (Department of Local Government Water
Safety Practice Note 15 and Fitness Australia Code of Practice).
Staff wage and salary on-costs have been calculated in accordance with current
market rates and typical Council’s on-cost practices.
8.4 FORECAST SENARIOS
The operating forecasts have been prepared according to the three visitation
scenarios – ‘baseline’, ‘best’ and ‘low’. They are based on the assumptions
detailed above and the market segment breakdowns summarised in Table 8.1.
Table 8.1 – Forecast market segments x size
Market segment
Forecast Visits
(%)
Adult general entry
12
Child general entry
8
Learn to Swim
18
Schools
9
Squad
3
Casual wellness/fitness
1
Centre membership
Sports hall
Total
44
5
100
The market segment break down is based on typical user patterns at the type of
facility proposed for Merrylands.
The forecasts comprise the operating projections for the facility once fully
commissioned. No allowance has been made for:
•
•
•
Capital costs (with these to be covered by government grants,
community funds and/or Council funds),
Post-construction budget for any anomalies which may occur, and
Facility pre-commissioning expenses.
Forecasts have been provided for the first three years of operation. The year 2
and 3 forecasts assume a continuation of current CPI movements of (around
2.5% per annum), expenditure increases in line with CPI movements and
72
revenue improvements resulting from a combination of CPI based fee increases
and modest (3% per annum) business growth 36.
Achieving the projected outcomes – particularly for the ‘best’ and ‘baseline’ case
scenarios - will require skilled management, including:
•
Effective marketing and provision of programs to meet the needs of the
whole community,
Promotion of access for all,
Attracting some of the fitness market from the large number of private
fitness centres in the sub-region,
Attracting some of the wellness and aquatic markets from the existing
centres in surrounding LGA’s,
Appropriately balanced pricing policies (which tap the commercial
potential of the proposed venue whilst also recognising its role in
meeting a wide range of social capital and community development
objectives), and
High quality programs and facilities at a competitive price.
•
•
•
•
•
All operating costs, other than asset renewal and asset depreciation costs
have been included in the estimates.
8.5 OPERATIONAL FORECASTS
The detailed financial calculations for the proposed concept are included at
Attachment B and summarised below.
The market segment breakdowns for the proposed concept are summarised in
Table 8.2.
Table 8.2 – Proposed Concept – Forecast market segments x visits per annum
Market segment
Forecast
Visits
(%)
Baseline
Scenario
(No.)
Best case
Scenario
(No.)
Low case
Scenario
(No.)
Adult general entry
12
78,000
85,800
70,200
Child general entry
10
65,000
71,500
58,500
Learn to Swim
15
97,500
107,250
87,750
Schools
9
58,500
64,350
52,650
Squad
3
19,500
21,450
17,550
Casual
fitness/wellness
2
13,000
14,300
11,700
44
286,000
314,600
257,400
5
32,500
35,750
29,250
100
650,000
715,000
585,000
Centre
memberships
Sports hall
Total
36
With a forecast population growth in the area of around 1.5% per annum for the next 20 years, this
should not be difficult to achieve
73
Baseline Scenario
The following table summarises the projected revenue and expenditure for the
baseline scenario for pre-open commissioning (up to 6 months prior to opening)
and the first three years of operation.
The pre-open establishment costs comprise of non-leased equipment (aquatics
and crèche), office fit out, IT, staff costs and pre-open marketing.
Proposed Concept – Baseline Forecasts
Pre-open
(6 months)
INCOME
Health and Wellness
0
Memberships
0
Casual gym/group fitness
0
Wellness suites lease
0
School holiday program
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
1,700,000
61,000
30,000
21,000
1,785,000
64,050
31,500
22,050
1,874,250
67,253
33,075
23,153
1,812,000
1,902,600
1,997,730
Total health and wellness
0
Aquatics
General entry
LTS
Squad
Aqua fit
Schools
Other
Total aquatics
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
550,000
1,229,150
89,000
14,400
238,000
54,000
2,174,550
577,500
1,290,608
93,450
15,120
249,900
56,700
2,283,278
606,375
1,355,138
98,123
15,876
262,395
59,535
2,397,441
Sports Hall
Hall hire
0
134,000
140,700
147,735
Other
Cafe
Merchandise
Creche
0
0
230,000
160,000
241,500
168,000
253,575
176,400
0
20,000
21,000
22,050
TOTAL INCOME
0
4,530,550
4,757,078
4,994,931
320,000
3,193,375
3,289,176
3,387,852
100,000
210,000
216,300
222,789
0
120,000
240,600
684,000
247,818
704,520
255,253
725,656
20,000
230,000
236,900
244,007
560,000
4,557,975
4,694,714
4,835,556
-560,000
-27,425
62,363
159,376
EXPENDITURE
Staff/salaries
Administration/office
expenses
Trading (cost of sales)
Facilities
Programs
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET RESULT
With the baseline scenario, it is anticipated that the proposal will require an
operational subsidy of around $27,000 in year one, and will produce an
74
operational surplus of around $160,000 by year 3. It should stabilise there with
further improvements in line with the forecast increase in the catchment
population size.
The forecast first year operating result (not including pre-open establishment
costs) entails a subsidy of around $0.04 per centre visit (compared to the subsidy
of $7.04 per visit for existing pools). This is forecast to become a $0.33c/visit
surplus by the third year of operation.
(Note: The operating estimates do not include life cycle – depreciation and asset
renewal – costs. Based on the typical 1% of capital cost, this would entail an
asset renewal provision of around $300,000 per annum).
Best Case Scenario
The following table summarises the projected revenue and expenditure for the
‘best case’ scenario for pre-open commissioning (up to 6 months prior to
opening) and the first three years of operation.
Proposed Concept – Best Case Forecasts
Pre-open
(6
months)
Year 1
INCOME
Health and Wellness
0 1,870,000
Memberships
0
67,100
Casual gym/group fitness
0
33,000
Wellness suites lease
0
23,100
School holiday program
Year 2
Year 3
1,963,500
70,455
34,650
24,255
2,061,675
73,978
36,383
25,468
1,993,200
2,092,860
2,197,503
Total health and wellness
0
Aquatics
General admissions
LTS
Squad
Aqua fit
Schools
Other
Total aquatics
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
605,000
1,352,065
97,900
15,840
261,800
59,400
2,392,005
635,250
1,419,668
102,795
16,632
274,890
62,370
2,511,605
667,013
1,490,652
107,935
17,464
288,635
65,489
2,637,186
Sports Hall
Hall hire
0
147,400
154,770
162,509
Other
Ancillary income
0
451,000
473,550
497,228
0
4,983,605
5,232,785
5,494,425
320,000
3,353,044
3,453,635
3,557,244
100,000
214,200
220,626
227,245
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Staff/salaries
Administration/office
expenses
75
Trading (cost of sales)
Facilities
Programs
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET RESULT
Pre-open
(6
months)
0
120,000
20,000
560,000
Year 1
264,660
697,680
253,000
4,782,584
Year 2
272,600
718,610
260,590
4,926,061
Year 3
280,778
740,169
268,408
5,073,843
-560,000
201,021
306,724
420,581
With the ‘best case’ scenario, it is anticipated that the proposal will generate an
operational surplus of around $201,000 in year one improving to a surplus of
around $420,000 by year 3 (which is a 108% recovery rate which compares with
the most successful centres in Australia).
The forecast first year operating result (not including pre-open establishment
costs) entails a surplus of around $0.41 per centre visit – and this is forecast to
increase to $0.85/visit by year 3.
(Note: The operating estimates do not include life cycle – depreciation and asset
renewal – costs).
Low Case Scenario
The following table summarises the projected revenue and expenditure for the
‘low case’ scenario for pre-open commissioning (up to 6 months prior to opening)
and the first three years of operation.
Proposed Concept – Low Case Forecasts
Pre-open
(6
months)
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
1,530,000
54,900
27,000
18,900
1,606,500
57,645
28,350
19,845
1,686,825
60,527
29,768
20,837
1,630,800
1,712,340
1,797,957
INCOME
Health and Wellness
Memberships
Casual gym/group fitness
Wellness suites lease
School holiday program
0
0
0
0
Total health and wellness
0
Aquatics
General admissions
LTS
Squad
Aqua fit
Schools
Other
Total aquatics
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
495,000
1,106,235
80,100
12,960
214,200
48,600
1,957,095
519,750
1,161,547
84,105
13,608
224,910
51,030
2,054,950
545,738
1,219,624
88,310
14,288
236,156
53,582
2,157,697
Sports Hall
Hall hire
0
120,600
126,630
132,962
76
Pre-open
(6
months)
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Other
Ancillary income
0
369,000
387,450
406,823
TOTAL INCOME
0
4,077,495
4,281,370
4,495,438
320,000
3,049,673
3,141,163
3,235,398
100,000
205,800
211,974
218,333
0
120,000
20,000
560,000
216,540
670,320
207,000
4,349,333
223,036
690,430
213,210
4,479,813
229,727
711,142
219,606
4,614,208
-560,000
-271,838
-198,443
-118,769
EXPENDITURE
Staff/salaries
Administration/office
expenses
Trading (cost of sales)
Facilities
Programs
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET RESULT
With the ‘low case’ scenario, it is anticipated that the proposal will require an
operational subsidy of around $270,000 in year one, reducing to around
$118,000 by year 3. It should stabilise there but improve gradually in line with the
forecast population growth.
The forecast first year operating result (not including pre-open establishment
costs) entails a subsidy of around $0.56 per centre visit (which is still a significant
per capita improvement on the current operation of $7.04 per visit).
(Note: The operating estimates do not include life cycle – depreciation and asset
renewal – costs).
77
CHAPTER 9:
CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS
9.1 INTRODUCTION
This study has used currently available information (on Holroyd City’s population
structure and growth; the condition and use of existing aquatic centres; trends in
recreation participation; trends in the aquatic, fitness and wellness industries;
competition from non-Council facilities; and previous market research) to
compare the costs and benefits of refurbishing the existing pools with the costs
and benefits of building a new single aquatic/wellness centre.
The study has concluded that a new centre is the preferred option because it can
provide an improved and significantly broader service (with a much greater range
of both water and non-water activities) to a higher proportion of Holroyd
residents.
The study has demonstrated that a new centre will have substantial social and
health benefits - including greater diversity of opportunities, increased
participation in aquatic and fitness recreation, improved health and wellbeing,
enhanced access and equity, improved water safety through more people
learning to swim, and more opportunities for family and group outings.
The forecast economic benefits are also substantial – with the proposed centre
having the potential to generate an operational surplus (excluding depreciation
costs) or only a small annual subsidy (and at a much lower per visit cost than the
existing pools are capable of providing).
Additionally, the modernisation expenditure of $20.3M has an expected useful life
of only 10-15 years, compared to the 50+ years for the estimated $30M
expenditure on a new Aquatic/Wellness Centre. The per annum cost of the two
options is therefore as follows:
Option
Total
Cost
Estimated useful
life (years)
Cost per year
Modernise existing pools
$20.3M
10-15
$1.35 to 2.03M
New Aquatic Wellness
Centre
$30.0M
50+
$0.6M or less
The substantially lower (economically useful life) per annum expenditure will also
generate much higher visits, in the order of 400,000+ visits per year (based on
the baseline projection for the Aquatic/Wellness Centre of 650,000 visits per
78
annum and the existing visits to the existing centres of less than 200,000 per
annum).
These evidence-based findings are sufficient for Council to commit to in-principle
support of the recommended direction. That is, to commence the detailed
planning and design of an integrated aquatic/wellness centre on the site of the
Merrylands Aquatic Centre at Merrylands Regional Park.
To progress the project, the next steps include at least the following:
•
•
•
•
•
Community consultation
Concept design development
Preliminary business case
Capital expenditure review
Capital funding strategy
9.2 COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
A program of community consultations will need to be undertaken to confirm
specific service gaps, the appropriate type and scale of needed facilities and the
nature and level of community support for the proposed upgrades. The
consultations should include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Local high and public schools,
Swimming clubs
Physiotherapists
Existing pool users
General community
Wellness and fitness industry
Other relevant stakeholders
9.3 CONCEPT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
The community and stakeholder consultations will underpin the development of
the Design Brief, including a facility component specification and guiding
principles.
Project architects will be commissioned to develop concept designs – in
conjunction with the consultations. Following confirmation of preferred concept
and site, the work will progress to detail design and tender documentation.
This work is critical to the success of the project. It is important that the facility be
well designed and pleasant to look at with optimal visibility from surrounding
roads. It must also include best practice access and environmental sustainability
standards
79
9.4 DETAILED BUSINESS CASE
In conjunction with concept development, a detailed business plan will need to be
developed to confirm the preliminary business case for the proposed facility.
The business plan will need to include a financial analysis model for the preferred
concept – to include operational parameters (marketing, opening hours, program
mix, user fees), staffing, patronage forecasts, revenue and expenditure forecasts
and a multi-year projection of the forecasts)
The forecasts are likely to be estimates, based on the experience of similar
centres around Australia 37, best available knowledge of Holroyd City’s pool
markets, assumptions that the markets will behave ‘typically’ and a series of
operational assumptions (on staffing, user fees, opening times etc).
9.5 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE REVIEW
The NSW Government has prepared guidelines for the assessment of council
proposals to buy, construct, renovate or acquire assets 38. As stated in the
document, the aim of the guidelines is “to ensure that a council’s evaluation of the
proposed capital expenditure is consistent and rigorous, the merits of projects
can be compared and resource allocation can be made on an informed basis.
Consistent with the Guidelines, a capital expenditure review will need to be
completed, prior to project commissioning, which:
•
•
•
•
Reconfirms the initial business case for the project,
Identifies the community needs for the proposed facility,
Confirms the project’s consistency with Council’s Community Strategic
Plan, and
Identifies critical success factors for the project
9.6 CAPITAL FUNDING STRATEGY
While the development of major sport and recreation facilities has traditionally
relied on funding contributions from other levels of government, the economic
environment has been soft for several years, and government funding programs
are limited.
Priority is currently given to essential services and projects that can demonstrate
long term sustainability. This setting places greater emphasis on sound facility
37
As researched and documented since 1991 in Adelaide University’s Centre for Environmental and Recreation
Management (CERM) annual surveys of leisure and aquatic centre operations and performance
NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, Division of Local Government, December 2010, Capital Expenditure
Guidelines
38
80
planning as new or upgraded facilities seeking government funding will need to
effectively demonstrate the economic and social benefits of any proposed project.
The NSW Government has a ‘Facility and Participation Program’ but capital
grants currently have a ceiling of $50,000. The major alternate funding options
include:
• S94 Contributions
• Federal funds – Liberal Party Election Pledge
• NSW Local Infrastructure Renewal Scheme
• Debt Servicing
• Commonwealth Government’s Regional Development Australia Fund
• Public/Private Partnership
• Land sale
The broad outlines of these funding options are detailed below.
(a) S94 Contributions
Council’s new S94 Contribution Plan 2013 was adopted 16 July 2013. It
provides the framework for meeting the need for local infrastructure
generated by the anticipated population increase, to 2031, of around
40,000 people.
The required infrastructure includes several City-wide open space and
recreation facilities. Two of these - Swimming Pool Upgrade (Code
OSFA02) and Hyland Road Sports Complex (Code OSFA04) – are
relevant to the potential funding package for the proposed
Aquatic/Wellness Centre.
The Swimming Pool Upgrade project is directly relevant because the
proposed Aquatic/Wellness Centre comprises an alternative and – as
demonstrated in the attached Aquatic/Wellness Centre Opportunities
Study – more cost-effective option for upgrading and modernising the
City’s aquatic facilities and programs.
The Hyland Road Sports Complex is also relevant with respect to its ‘two
indoor multi-purpose courts’ component. This facility will be far more
effective (due to synergy and cross-marketing benefits) and less costly to
operate (due to the savings in management and supervision costs) if it is
located within a fully integrated centre, such as the proposed Aquatic/
Wellness Centre.
Together, the two projects can contribute $24.46m or around 80% of the
required funds of approximately $30m for the Aquatic/Wellness Centre.
This comprises $19.46m from the Swimming Pool Upgrade project ($5.46
million developer contribution and $14m Council contribution) and $5m
from the indoor multi-purpose courts component of the Hyland Road
Sports Complex project ($1.4m developer contribution and $3.6m Council
contribution).
81
(b) Federal Funds – Liberal Party Election Pledge
On August 16, in the lead up to the 7 September election, the Liberal
Party pledged a $500,000 contribution to the development of a
hydrotherapy pool at Merrylands, if elected.
The pledge was announced by Martin Zaiter, Liberal candidate for
Parramatta, in the presence of then Deputy Leader of the Federal
Opposition Julie Bishop and the then Mayor of Holroyd City, Council Ross
Grove.
A hydrotherapy pool has been included in the proposed concept for the
Merrylands Aquatic/Wellness Centre
(c) NSW Local Infrastructure Renewal Scheme
The LIRS provides an interest subsidy to assist those councils with
legitimate infrastructure backlogs to cover the cost of borrowing. The
subsidy aims to provide an incentive to councils to make greater use of
debt funding to accelerate investment in infrastructure backlogs and to
augment other funding options.
Round three of the Scheme, which opened on 19 September 2013 and
closes 31 December 2013, provides a 3% interest subsidy on loans taken
out for infrastructure backlog works.
If Council avails itself of this option, it will need to demonstrate that the
aquatic/wellness centre is part of a legitimate infrastructure backlog.
With respect to this, it is noted that 6% of the 138 approved projects under
Rounds one and two of the Scheme (i.e. 10 projects) involved aquatic or
indoor leisure facility projects. Most of these involved the refurbishment of
existing facilities but several (Cootamundra Aquatic Centre Stage 2, MultiUse Complex in Goulburn, Manly Aquatic Centre Re-development,
Lithgow Aquatic Centre Re-development Stage 2) included the
construction of major new facilities (including 25m indoor pools and sports
halls).
(Note: Council is not eligible for this Scheme in the current financial year as
it does not meet the State Government’s mandatory and minimum
requirements with respect to borrowing capacity. However, in the event that
its submission for a special rate variation is successful, thereby enhancing
borrowing capacity, the Scheme may be available in subsequent years).
(d) Debt Servicing Model
The projected operating savings from the closure of the existing pools
(ranging between $1.32 and $1.67 million per annum over the past 3
years) could be used to fund a capital debt servicing arrangement.
82
The outcome of an analysis on the repayments, interest/principle
component and potential LIRS funding contribution (assuming a 6.0% per
annum interest rate and a repayment term of ten years) is outlined below,
based on per annum costs:
LOAN
AMOUNT
$10m
$12m
$15m
$20m
$25m
TOTAL
REPAYMENT
$1,332,246
$1,598,695
$1,998,369
$2,664,492
$3,330,615
PRINCIPAL
$1,000,000
$1,200,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$2,500,000
INTEREST
$332,246
$398,695
$498,369
$664,492
$830,615
POTENTIAL
LIRS
FUNDING
$166,123
$199,348
$238,093
$317,458
$396,822
POTENTIAL
NET
REPAYMENT
(AFTER
LIRS)
$1,166,123
$1,399,348
$1,760,276
$2,347,034
$2,933,793
As illustrated in the table, the projected operating savings of closing the
pools would fund a loan over ten years of at least $12 million.
(e) Commonwealth Government’s Regional Development Australia Fund
The Regional Development Australia Fund (RDAF) is a national program
to support Australia’s regions and enhance the economic development
and liveability of their communities. Local government bodies and
incorporated not-for-profit organisations are eligible to apply - either in
their own right or as a member of a consortium.
The value of grants is between $500,000 - $15 million, with preference
given to applications on a 1:2 dollar basis for grant requests of more than
$5 million.
Projects situated in capital cities must demonstrate how the project will
benefit the broader region. Accordingly, the proposed aquatic/wellness
centre would have to demonstrate its broader regional relevance.
With respect to this, 12 aquatic/leisure centre projects attracted
substantial grants (ranging from $0.5m to $15m and totalling $70m) in the
first 4 rounds of the program. However, only three of these were within
major urban centres, demonstrating the difficulty, although not the
impossibility, of securing these grants for urban-located projects.
The funded projects accounted for 6% of the 200 Australia-wide projects
funded to date. The details of the projects are included at Attachment C.
(f) Public Private Partnership/Commercial Operator Model
Under this model council transfers operating responsibilities to an
independent operator. Typically the operator will seek a longer term lease
83
in exchange for capital investment into a facility. This capital investment is
typically an allocation towards the overall development cost and
necessitates a joint capital funding model between operator and council.
In most cases, the capital investment from the operator is focused on
those facility mix elements that will provide the greatest commercial
return. Council would generally retain responsibility for major maintenance
and repairs under this model.
Further analysis of this potential model will be required to assess the
impact of granting a long term lease in terms of community access and
other council social expectations.
The advantages of this model are:
•
•
•
•
Responsibility for human resource matters rests with the lessee;
Risk of fluctuations in net costs are transferred to the lessee;
Annual net council operating costs are defined and stabilized;
There is typically greater degree of flexibility in day-to-day
management to operator.
The disadvantages of this model are:
•
•
•
•
•
Council loses some control over fees and charges, community access
and program outcomes;
Well-qualified venue managers can be scarce;
Council becomes once-removed from the Centre;
There could be potential hidden costs to council operations; and
Council may pay a premium for ‘unknown’ quantity of a new facility mix.
(g) Land sale
Once the aquatic wellness centre is operational, the Guildford swim centre
will be surplus to the City’s aquatic requirements. The land could then be
sold to recover, in part, the costs of Council’s contributions to the project.
A recent preliminary valuation has assessed the property value at $9M
(net of demolition costs).
Based on the above options, Council could move forward through a combination
of models and potential grant funding, as follows:
Funding Source
S94 Plan - Swimming Pool
Upgrade (Code OSFA02)
S94 Plan - part Hyland Road
Sports Complex (Code
OSFA04) *
Federal funds
Balance of required funds
Details
Developer contribution
Council contribution
Developer contribution
Council contribution
As pledged by the Liberal Party in the lead
up to the 2013 Federal Election
Sourced from one or more of land sale,
third-party contribution(s), additional
Amount
($M)
5.46
14.00
1.40
3.60
0.50
5.04
84
Funding Source
Details
Amount
($M)
Council borrowings (funded from the
anticipated $1.3 to $1.6m annual savings
from closure of existing pools) and State
and/or Federal Government grants.
Total
30.00
*This project is only MEDIUM priority in Council’s S94 Contributions Plan and therefore is
not included in the first ten years of Council’s Long Term Financial Plan
Council should seek to minimise the cost of the loan components of the above
through applying for interest rate subsidies under the NSW Local Infrastructure
Renewal Scheme.
9.7 COMMUNITY ASSET TRANSFER
Community asset transfer involves transferring the ownership of land or buildings
from a statutory body (such as Council) to a community organisation at less than
its full market value in order to further local social, economic and/or
environmental objectives.
Community asset transfer can provide a viable operational alternative for existing
facilities – such as the Wentworthville Pool – which have an active community
support base. It entails a different business model based upon enterprise, multipurpose value, volunteer staffing support and social investment.
The model has been well tested in the UK – with multiple older swimming pools
having been successfully transferred into community management. 39
In Australia, the asset transfer model has been used in some program areas –
including social housing and child care – but not yet with respect to swimming
pools. The UK experience does however provide a valuable model for pursuing
this option with respect to Council’s pools.
Use of this model, for one or more of Council’s pools, would need to be subject to
a rigorous business case and feasibility review (including substantial community
engagement).
39
Asset Transfer Unit and Amateur Swimming Association, 2012, Guidance for Community Owned
and Managed Swimming Pools
85
ATTACHMENT A
ATTACHMENT A: POOL CATCHMENT REVIEW
The estimated primary catchment area for the upgraded Holroyd pool – and its
relationship to and overlap with existing indoor pool catchment areas in
surrounding local government areas - is illustrated in the following table:
Suburb
Girraween
Proposed
Centre at
Merrylands
Regional
Park
5,500
Existing year-round Pools in sub-regional catchment
area with indoor facilities
Fairfield
Prairiewood Blacktown
AuburnLeisure
Leisure
Aquatic
Lidcombe
Centre
Centre
Centre
Pool
5,500
Toongabbie
Pendle Hill
Holroyd City (other)
95,000
Constitution Hill
2,000
North Parramatta
6,000
Parramatta (50%)
10,000
Harris Park (100%)
5,000
Granville (100%)
5,000
Merrylands (100%)
7,188
South Granville
1,400
Guildford (100%)
3,200
2,000
3,250
1,400
1,600
1,600
4,000
Prospect
Huntingwood
Arndell Park
Old Guildford (100%)
2,592
Yennora (100%)
1,397
Fairfield (30%)
5,000
Fairfield Heights
Wetherill Park
2,000
1,800
86
ATTACHMENT B
ATTACHMENT B: BUSINESS PLAN FORECASTS IN DETAIL
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ASSUMPTIONS & ANALYSIS
Revenue Forecast
Facility
componen
ts
Program
Class
es
/week
No.
wee
ks
No.
per
clas
s
Unit
sales
Fee
Averag
e
discou
nt
Achiev
ed rate
Income
Assumptions
FITNESS/WELLNESS
600 m2
gym + 250
m2
program
space +
120 m2
wellness
centre
(suites)
1,700,000
Health Club memberships
School holiday
programs
600
40.00
Casual gym
2,600
18.00
Casual aerobics/pump
/circuit/ Pilates etc
1,600
18.00
Average 2,380 members
month x net yield $60 (based
on 3.5 members/m2 x 850 m2
x 80% capacity use)
35.00
21,000
40 days x 15 children per
day x $35
20%
14.40
38,000
Average 50 casuals per
week
20%
14.40
23,000
Average 30 casuals per
week
30,000
Lease income = 120 m2 x
$250 m2
Wellness suites
(physiotherapy,
massage therapy,
beauty treatments)
1,812,000
Sub-Total
AQUATICS
50m
outdoor
pool
General admissions
25m x 8
lane
indoor
pool
Adults
Leisure
Pool
20 X 15m
program
pool
Sauna/spa
63,000
Children
63,000
Pensioners
10,000
Spectator
5.40
4.00
4.00
4,000
3.00
15%
15%
15%
4.60
45% of estimated 140,000
general admissions in year
290,000 one
3.40
45% of estimated 140,000
general admissions in year
214,000 one
3.40
7% of estimated 140,000
general admissions in year
34,000 one
3.00
3% of estimated 140,000
general admissions in year
12,000 one
Learn to Swim
School terms
Tiny tots
60
40
4
9,600
14.00
7%
13
Pre-school
60
40
4
9,600
14.00
7%
13
350
40
5
70,000
14.00
7%
13
School aged
13
School holidays
Pre-school
School aged
Private LTS
124,800 Average fee with 5%
discount based on reduced
124,800 fees for 2nd and 3rd child in
family)
900,000
15
95
10
10
4
5
600
14.00
4,750
14.00
500
20.00
7%
13
7,800
7%
13
61,750
20
10,000
Squad
Squad program (sharks
89,000
Average 125 squad
87
Facility
componen
ts
Program
Class
es
/week
No.
wee
ks
No.
per
clas
s
Unit
sales
Averag
e
discou
nt
Fee
Achiev
ed rate
Income
to seniors)
Assumptions
members month x net yield
$65month x 11 months
Aqua-fitness
Casual Aquarobics
1,000
18.00
20%
14.40
14,400
4.00
112,000
Includes gentle, moderate
aquafit and rehabilitation
classes
School programs
Carnivals
28,000
Intensive LTS (10 days)
14,000
School sport
7.00
7.00
School & Zone
98,000
8 schools/term x 3 terms x
average 60 students x 10
visits x $70/student
Average 8 schools x 3
terms x 8 weeks x average
30 students x $5.50/student
5,000
5.50
5.50
28,000
10,000
5
4
40,000
Lane hire
125
15
15
2,000
3 hours/week x average
$15/hour
Birthday parties
600
20
20
12,000
60 parties x 10 children x
$20 child
Other
Sauna/spa
15% of adult aquatic entries
($5 exclusive of entry fee)
2,174,550
Total Aquatic
SPORTS HALL
2 X Courts
Peak use (weekdays)
48
15.0
55/hr
80%
63,000
15hrs week x $55/hr x 48
weeks x 80% capacity use
x 2 courts
Shoulder - weekdays
48
12.5
50/hr
70%
42,000
12.5hrs week x $50/hr x 48
weeks x 70% capacity use x 2
courts
Shoulder - weekends
48
3.0
50/hr
70%
10,000
3hrs week x $50/hr x 48
weeks x 70% capacity use x 2
courts
Off- Peak - weekdays
48
35.0
40/hr
10%
13,000
35hrs week x $40/hr x 48
weeks x 10% capacity use x 2
courts
Off- Peak - weekends
48
16.0
40/hr
10%
6,000
16hrs week x $40/hr x 48
weeks x 10% capacity use x 2
courts
Total Sports Hall
134,000
ANCILLARY FACILITIES
Café &
Merchandise
Trading Income
Café
230,000
Merchandising
159,000
Telephone/lockers
Total trading income
Creche
TOTAL INCOME
Average $0.60 per visit
secondary spend
1,000
390,000
20,000
4,530,550
21 children day x 5 days x
48 weeks x average $4
$6.97 per visit based on
650,000 visits
Expenditure Analysis
88
Expenditure Item
$
Assumptions
Management/Staffing
Permanent F/T
1,043,700
Detailed in staff schedule (below)
Casuals
1,317,800
Detailed in staff schedule (below)
731,875
Detailed in staff schedule (below)
Program Instructors
Management Fee/Contract
administration
100,000
3,193,375
Administration
Office expenses
105,000
Advertising/promotion
105,000
Telephone, post, printing, stationery, office equipment,
corporate costs, training
210,000
Trading
Café and merchandise COS
240,000
Telephone/locker COS
600
240,600
Facilities
Energy
275,000
Chemicals
32,000
Water rates
42,000
Repairs, maintenance, cleaning
Electricity and gas
240,000
Buildings insurance
42,000
Security
21,000
Minor equipment
32,000
684,000
Programs
Cardio fitness equipment –
lease
170,000
Program materials/equipment
50,000
Maintenance - equipment
10,000
230,000
Total
4,557,975
Staff Schedule
Staff Position
EFT
Salary
Hrs/week
Hr/rate
Weeks/
annum
Expend ($)
Permanent staff
Centre Manager
1
85,000
85,000
89
Staff Position
EFT
Salary
Hrs/week
Weeks/
annum
Hr/rate
Expend ($)
Operations Manager/Aquatic Coordinator
1
65,000
65,000
Health Club Co-ordinator
1
65,000
65,000
Services Co-ordinator
1
65,000
65,000
Business Development Manager
1
65,000
65,000
Customer Service (Memberships)
1
55,000
55,000
LTS Co-ordinator
1
45,000
45,000
42,000
42,000
Events/Promotions Assistant
Cafe Supervisor
1
42,000
42,000
Duty Managers
3
42,000
126,000
Maintenance Assistant
1
40,000
40,000
Admin Assistant
1
40,000
40,000
Staff on-costs (42%)
40
308,700
Total F/T Staff
1,043,700
Casual staff
Reception/Café attendants
280
22
52
320,320
Lifeguards (Year round)
300
22
52
343,200
Lifeguards (summer season)
200
22
26
114,400
Gym supervision
160
26
52
216,320
50
24
50
60,000
Creche assistants
Casual staff on-costs (25%)
41
263,560
Total Casual Staff
1,317,800
Program Staff
Term Learn to swim
300
30
40
360,000
Holiday Learn to swim
95
30
10
28,500
Squad
25
30
50
37,500
Aqua/Aerobics/Group Fitness
58
55
50
159,500
Casual staff on-costs (25%)
146,375
Total program staff
731,875
Total
40
41
3,093,375
Permanent employees – typical allowance for on-costs and administration/payroll levies
Casual employees – typical allowance for on-costs and administration/payroll levies
90
ATTACHMENT C
ATTACHMENT C: REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUSTRALIA FUND
Regional Development Australia Fund (Rounds 1-4) – Aquatic/Leisure
Centre Funded projects
Council
Project
Detail
Project
Cost ($)
Grant
$
Rockhampton
Regional
Council
Rockhampton
Southside
Memorial Pool
Redevelopment
The local pool will be redeveloped to include a
25m pool with disabled access, a learn-to-swim
facility a zero depth / wading pool recreation zone,
New entry building and amenities and a 90 space
car park.
17m
5m
Shire of
Roebourne
Karratha Leisure
Complex
The new Karratha Leisure Complex will be a multipurpose sporting, aquatic and recreation facility
that will also provide critical emergency
evacuation and welfare facilities for the region.
The Complex will provide enhanced community
access to sporting facilities, including an aquatic
centre, sporting fields and courts, welfare facilities
in the event of cyclone events or other disasters,
as well as ancillary commercial and function
space.
63m
15m
District
Council of
Tatiara
Keith & District
Sport and
Recreation Centre
This project is second stage of a larger project to
upgrade the Keith & District Sport and Recreation
Centre. The project will provide a new two-court
stadium for indoor recreational activities and
sports, redevelop club-house facilities
1.7m
0.8m
Frankston
City Council
Frankston
Regional Aquatic
Centre
The Frankston Regional Aquatic Centre project
involves expanding the Frankston Regional
Aquatic Centre, incorporating an Olympic sized
swimming pool, a learn to swim and leisure pool,
café, gymnasium, waterslides, splash deck,
leisure pool with play area, warm water therapy
pool, spa and sauna, additional program space,
crèche, a wellness centre hosting health
professionals and car parking. It will provide a
community asset for Frankston City residents as
well as a large portion of the population of
Southern-Melbourne
46m
13.5m
Baw Baw
Shire
Council
Baw Baw
Recreation,
Aquatic and
Community
Centre
This project will refurbish and expand the current
Warragul Leisure Centre to provide a new premier
aquatic and community venue for the area. The
Baw Baw Recreation, Aquatic and Community
Centre (BBRace) will be a multipurpose, yearround major swimming, sport and leisure facility.
The project will add access compliant ramps to the
existing pool and the warm water (hydro) pool. It
will also overhaul the existing 25 metre pool,
including the installation of new energy efficient
filtration systems.
9.5m
0.5m
Central
Highlands
Blackwater
Aquatic Centre
his project will demolish the existing 25 metre lap
pool and toddlers’ pool, and replace it with an
7.1m
0.5m
91
Regional
Council
Upgrade
energy-efficient, year-round, covered, heated and
fully tiled 25 metre ‘learn to swim’ pool with
rehabilitation hydrotherapy capabilities. A
children’s ‘wet play’ area (splash pad) will also be
constructed, and an up-to-date filtration system
and numerous storage areas will be installed
Flinders
Ranges
Council
Refurbishment of
the Quorn and
Districts War
Memorial
Swimming Pool
This project will refurbish Quorn’s local swimming
pool and restore its 60-year-old infrastructure to
ensure 30 years of future community use.
Renovations will include re-tiling the pool and the
installation of a disability ramp, new canteen and
ablutions building, extra shade and seating, and
solar heating
1.5m
0.5m
Penrith City
Council
Western Sydney
Community &
Sports Centre
(WSCSC)
This project will construct a 9,600 square metre
hall to accommodate visiting exhibitions, trade
shows, school programs, cultural events and
indoor sports, such as netball, soccer and futsal. It
will also develop a two-story 'Sports Central'
building that will function as the main hall's entry
and house the local Scout group and sportscience facilities
30m
12m
Barkly Shire
Council
Tennant Creek
Regional Sporting
Facilities Upgrade
This project will upgrade the regional swimming
pool facilities at Tennant Creek in the Northern
Territory. It will refurbish the current 50-year-old
public lap-swimming and toddlers' pools, and
construct a new water park, office, canteen, toilets
and other amenities. This project will also see the
construction of new modern change rooms
4.6m
3.6m
Barcaldine
Regional
Council
Alpha Aquatic
Centre
This project will deliver a sustainable, heated
eight-lane 25 metre pool with wheelchair access in
the small Queensland community of Alpha. The
upgraded and heated pool, complete with new
facilities, will offer modern contemporary yearround sporting, recreational and therapeutic
opportunities for the region's communities.
4.0m
1.4m
Alexandrina
Council
Fleurieu Regional
Aquatic Centre
This project will construct a multipurpose Aquatic
Centre to fill the longstanding gap in the Fleurieu
Region's health and lifestyle infrastructure. The
Aquatic Centre will include an eight-lane 25 metre
indoor swimming pool, a heated rehabilitation
pool, indoor and outdoor 'splash park', a crèche,
kiosk, change rooms and a car park.
22.6m
7.5m
Maroondah
City Council
Aquanation—a
Regional Aquatic
& Leisure Centre
in Ringwood
incorporating the
Victorian State
Diving Centre
This project will build a regional aquatic and
leisure centre known as Aquanation that will
incorporate the new Victorian State Diving Centre.
The centre will be fully accessible and feature a
10-lane FINA-standard pool, and new diving
facilities with a FINA-standard 10 metre tower and
a dry diving training room. It will also include a
number of other purpose-built pools to cater for
rehabilitation and therapy, learn-to-swim programs
and toddlers. Dry leisure facilities will include a
gym with group fitness rooms, a child care facility,
change rooms and administrative facilities
60m
10m
267m
70.3m
Total
92