Agenda of Ordinary Council

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 9

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE

AGENDA

Ordinary Council Meeting
TO BE HELD IN Council Chambers ON 22 April 2014

COMMENCING AT 4.00pm

1. OFFICIAL OPENING

2. ATTENDANCE

Members

Cr M Heasman President Town Ward

Cr V Brown Deputy President Rural Ward

Cr N Bowman Rural Ward

Cr P Griffiths Town Ward

Cr K Hall Town Ward

Cr L McIntyre Town Ward

Cr R Horan Town Ward

Cr B Stewart, JP Town Ward

Cr B Parker Rural Ward

Shire Officers

Mr W M (Matthew) Scott Chief Executive Officer

Mr S Burge Director Corporate Services

Mr G Harris Director Engineering Services

Mr R Hilton Director Community Services

Mr R Hindley Director Development Services

Mrs H Hall Executive Assistant

Ms S Fitzgerald Administration Officer

Members of the Public & Press

3. APOLOGIES & NOTIFICATION OF GRANTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE

4. APPLICATIONS FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE

5. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE PERSON PRESIDING WITHOUT DISCUSSION

6. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS

6.1 Declarations of Financial Interests – Local Government Act Section 5.60a

6.2 Declarations of Proximity Interests – Local Government Act Section 5.60b

6.3 Declarations of Impartiality Interests – Admin Regulations Section 34c

7. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

8. PUBLIC ADDRESSES / DEPUTATIONS

9. Petitions

Nil

10. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

That the Minutes of the Ordinary Council Meeting of the 25 March 2014 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

Voting Requirement Simple Majority

11. DELEGATES’ REPORTS WITHOUT DISCUSSION

12. MATTERS REQUIRING A DETERMINATION OF COUNCIL

12.1 Development Services

Item: 12.1.1

Development Application - Retaining Walls - Lot 35 (82) Stewart Street, West Beach

Author/s	Peter Wilks	Town Planner
Authorisor/s	Richard Hindley	Director Development Services

File Ref: P8259

Applicant

Wells Building Designers and Consultants on behalf of M & F Mackenzie

Location/Address

Lot 35 (82) Stewart Street, West Beach

Executive Summary

To provide Council with information to consider and determine an application for Retaining Walls on Lot 35 (82) Stewart Street, West Beach.

Recommendation in Brief

That Council refuse Development Application 10.2014.2449.1 for a Retaining Wall on Lot 35 (82) Stewart Street, West Beach due to impact on neighbouring landowners and visual amenity.

Background

Shire Officers were made aware of an unauthorised and potentially dangerous Retaining Wall on Lot 35 (82) Stewart Street in August 2013.

An inspection was carried out by officers from Planning and Building Services where a substantial unauthorised retaining wall was discovered along the boundary of Lot 35 (82) Stewart and Lot 36 (258) Connolly. Inspection revealed bracing placed against the retaining wall and what appeared to be straps attached to the fence on top of the retaining wall. Furthermore a string line had been placed along what was presumably the original line of the retaining wall, showing how far the retaining wall had moved.

Unauthorised works letters were sent to the landowner of Lot 35 (82) Stewart requesting that applications for a valid Planning Approval and Building Permit be made for a new structurally designed and adequate wall on 7 August 2013. An application for Planning Approval was received on 14 January 2014. An objection to the proposed works had previously been received on 16 December 2013 from the owners of Lot 36 (258) Connolly Street (see Attachment A).

A Building Order was served for the demolition of the existing Retaining Walls on 27 March 2014.

From a Planning perspective, the proposed Retaining Wall does not comply with the provisions of Special Control Area 7 – Blue Haven and Second Beach. The provisions in this Special Control Area specifically state:

6.11.4 General Development Requirements:

In addition to the other provisions of the Scheme, the local government in considering applications for rezoning, subdivision or planning approval in SCA7 is to have due regard to -

a) Generally within this area, no development will be permitted which in the opinion of the local government, will be likely to endanger the visual amenity of Twilight Beach Road and the coastal views as seen from any lot or public place, and the ocean.

b) No land shall be cleared, (other than for construction of buildings), filled or excavated without the prior permission of the local government in accordance with Part 9. An application for such permission shall include a statement as to the measures that will be taken to prevent wind and water erosion and a plan showing the proposed landscaping, including the design and location of pathways and driveways.

e) No fencing shall be erected without the prior permission of the local government, in accordance with Part 9. The local government will consider the use of materials, colour and height of the fence in an attempt to ensure that such structures blend into the landscape.

h) Where setbacks under these provisions can be varied, the local government when exercising its discretion, shall give consideration to the following –

i. Existing vegetation and its retention;

ii. views from outlooks and Twilight Beach Road;

iii. Difficult topography;

iv. If the lot has a street frontage and/or the site area is less than is specified in the Codes;

v. If the reduced setbacks will result in an improvement to the visual amenity of the area from Twilight Beach Road or adjoining properties; and

vi. Any other relevant matters.

6.11.8 SCA 7D

In addition to the general development requirements in Clause 6.11.4, the following apply specifically to lots as indicated on the Scheme Map as SCA 7D –

B) Side and Rear Setbacks: Minimum of 10 metres, may be reduced to 5 metres at the local governments discretion.

In this instance the applicant proposes a Retaining Wall that is 2.745 metres high at its highest point and approximately 24.5 metres in length at a 200mm setback to the boundary.

Officer’s Comment

The topography in the Blue Haven precinct presents some difficulties to anyone trying to develop. Undulating sand dunes and limestone makes it very difficulty to obtain level areas for house pads and outdoor living areas which explains the need for retaining walls on most sites in the precinct. However it is noted that the proposed retaining wall causes a significant impact on Lot 36 (258) Connolly Street, particularly from visual amenity and building bulk resulting from the height and length and reduced setback of the proposed retaining wall. This impact is exacerbated by the difference in ground levels between the two properties which is up to five metres in some places.

The retaining wall will not result in significant overshadowing as it is located on the southwestern boundary of Lot 36 (258) Connolly. It will also not interfere with views to and from Twilight Beach Road due to the prevailing topography, though it will be visible to neighbouring landowners.

Options:

Option 1 – (Officer Recommendation)

That Council refuse Development Application 10.2014.2449.1 for a Retaining Wall at Lot 35 (82) Stewart Street, West Beach for non-compliance with the requirements of Local Planning Scheme No. 23 namely failure to comply with the setback requirements of Special Control Area No. 7D.

Option 2 –

That Council resolve to approve Development Application 10.2014.2449.1 for a Retaining Wall at Lot 35 (82) Stewart Street, West Beach, subject to the following conditions:

1) Development shall be carried out and fully implemented in accordance with the details indicated on the stamped approved plan(s) unless otherwise required or agreed in writing by the Shire of Esperance (Planning Services).

2) All stormwater and drainage run off from all roofed and impervious areas is to be retained on-site to the satisfaction of the Shire of Esperance (Building Services).

3) The provision of all services, including augmentation of existing services, necessary as a consequence of any proposed development shall be at the cost of the developer and at no cost to the Shire of Esperance.

4) The works involved in the implementation of the development must not cause sand drift and/or dust nuisance. In the event that the Shire of Esperance is aware of, or is made aware of, the existence of a dust problem, measures such as installation of sprinklers, use of water tanks, mulching, or other land management systems as appropriate may be required to be installed or implemented to prevent or control dust nuisance, and such measures shall be installed or implemented within the time and manner directed by the Shire of Esperance (Environmental Health Services).

5) During construction stage, adjoining lots are not to be disturbed without the prior written consent of the affected owner(s).

6) All fencing shall be in accordance with the Shire of Esperance Local Law Relating to Fencing.

And the following advice notes:

1) THIS IS NOT A BUILDING PERMIT. In accordance with the provisions of the Building Act 2011, an application for a building permit is required to be submitted and approved by the Shire of Esperance (Building Services) prior to any works commencing on-site.

2) The development is to comply with the Building Code of Australia, Building Regulations and the Local Government Act.

3) It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that building setbacks correspond with the legal description of the land. This may necessitate re-surveying and re-pegging the site. The Shire of Esperance will take no responsibility for incorrectly located buildings.

4) It is the responsibility of the developer to search the title of the property to ascertain the presence of any easements and/or restrictive covenants that may apply.

Consultation

Prior to an application being made for the proposal, an objection (see Attachment A) was received from the landowners of Lot 36 (258) Connolly Street. The objection is primarily on the grounds of visual amenity and the impact of the proposed Retaining Wall on Lot 36 (258) Connolly Street. Any retaining wall of the proposed dimensions would have a significant impact on any property facing the retaining wall, the impact from the proposal is exacerbated due to the five metre difference in ground levels between the two properties and the very small setback proposed between the retaining wall and the boundary.

As no other landowners are impacted by the proposal, no neighbour referrals were undertaken.

Financial Implications

Nil

Asset Management Implications

Nil

Statutory Implications

The statutory implications associated with this item are:

Planning and Development Act 2005

Local Planning Scheme No 23

Residential Design Codes

Policy Implications

The policy implications associated with this item are:

Local Planning Strategy

Strategic Implications

Strategic Community Plan 2012-2022

Economic

3.8 Facilitate and guide high quality and efficient building and development across the Shire.

Environmental Considerations

Nil

Attachments

a View.	Objection
b View.	Application

Officer’s Recommendation

That Council refuse Development Application 10.2014.2449.1 for a Retaining Wall at Lot 35 (82) Stewart Street, West Beach for non-compliance with the requirements of Local Planning Scheme No. 23 namely failure to comply with the setback requirements of Special Control Area No. 7D.

Voting Requirement Simple Majority

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 66

12.2 Engineering Services

Item: 12.2.1

Public Open Space Strategy

Author/s	Gavin Harris	Director Engineering Services
Authorisor/s	Matthew Scott	Chief Executive Officer

File Ref: F13/895

Applicant

Internal

Location/Address

Whole of Shire

Executive Summary

This report recommends that council receive the Public Open Space Review and instigate community consultation prior to adopting the review and developing implementation plans.

Recommendation in Brief

That Council

1. Receive the Public Open Space Review Draft Report

2. Direct the Chief Executive Officer to advertise the Public Open Space Review Draft Report for a period of 21 days

Background

The Shire of Esperance currently has 25 parks located in the Esperance town site with further sites located in regional areas including town sites and public halls. The aim of the project was to undertake a review of all Public Open Space and provide the necessary information to guide the strategic direction, where a need is identified, for both existing Public Open Space and any Future Public Open Space. An outcome of the review was to develop a parks hierarchy and thereby a list of prioritised works to spend limited funds on producing high quality Public Open Space (POS) infrastructure.

The Shire of Esperance engaged SGL Consulting Group (SGL) to undertake appropriate research, review current provision of Public Open Space and make recommendations for future provision of Public Open Space. SGL have produced three documents including two background documents titled Community Profile and Gap Analysis which feed into the over arching Public Open Space Review Draft Report.

SGL was also required to facilitate a consultation process with affected parties and the public. A number of initiatives were conducted by SGL including an online survey that attracted 141 responses and four focus groups including older adults, caregivers, young people and people with disabilities. The results of the community consultation form part of the Gap Analysis.

Officer’s Comment

A number of key observations from the report can be summarised as follows -

· Overall, the Shire of Esperance appears to have adequate open space, ranging from local parks to regional open space, in urban and rural and coastal settings.

· Shade is clearly needed in more parks. Given the cost of providing artificial shade structures, it is not practical to cover all activity areas.

· Open space must be environmentally sustainable.

· The coast and foreshore area is Esperance’s major open space and should continue to be developed as the major node of activity for resident and visitors of all ages.

· How open space is developed and maintained varies considerably.

· As a general rule of thumb, it is more beneficial to the Esperance community to have fewer, higher quality open spaces areas with activity spaces and amenities for participants and caregivers. In other words, concentrate community resources on fewer parks.

· A corollary of having fewer high quality open spaces is that the level of maintenance will be directly related to the hierarchical level of each parcel of open space.

· Most local play spaces are uninspiring, and do not encourage a range of play behaviors from children.

To deal with these issues and summarise them into the review a three tiered hierarchy system has been developed consisting of –

· Regional Play Spaces - located in larger parcels of open space, which may have multiple classifications, they will service the immediate and adjacent suburbs.

· Precinct Play Space - located in smaller parcels of open spaces, they will cater for a highly localised catchment, servicing a catchment of, say, less than 800m radius.

· Local Play Spaces - located in very small parcels of open spaces, they will cater for a highly localised catchment, servicing residences in the immediate vicinity.

From this a list of components for each level has been developed to include –

Regional Play Spaces

Visitor and caregiver amenities Car parking to cater for normal demand

Toilets

Natural or manmade shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment

Picnic tables and seats

BBQ

Seating in shade overlooking play equipment

Drinking water

Security lighting

Formal play areas Play equipment for toddlers

Play equipment for junior primary school age children

Play equipment for senior primary school age children

Play equipment for teenage young people

Informal play areas Kick about area (at least 1500 m2)

Sports practice facilities for at least one sport

Cycling areas

Natural landscape features such as creeks and mounds to be retained and enhanced

Miscellaneous Access for people with disabilities

Landscaping

Power outlets (eg food vans)

· Precinct Play Spaces

Visitor and caregiver amenities Natural or manmade shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment

Seating in shade overlooking play equipment

Formal play areas Play equipment for at least one age group

Informal play areas Kick about area (at least 1000 m2)

Natural landscape features such as creeks and mounds to be retained and enhanced

Miscellaneous Access for people with disabilities

Landscaping

· Local Play Spaces

These play spaces will retain existing play equipment and caregiver amenities. As equipment becomes unsafe it will be removed and not replaced. No additional development of these play spaces will occur, except for minor landscaping with drought resistant planting, including shade trees.

The list below shows where existing parks are in regards to the proposed hierarchy –

Regional Play Spaces

· Esperance Foreshore (Headland to Adventureland Park)

· Greater Sports Ground

Precinct Play Spaces

· West Beach Precinct – Walker Park and Eagle Park

· Esperance Central South – serviced by Esperance Foreshore

· Esperance Central North – serviced by Greater Sports Ground

· Sinclair – Treasure Park

· Nulsen – Victoria Park and Olympian Way

· Castletown Coast – Lions Park and Lalor Park (Regional Potential)

· Castletown Central – Chantilly Park

· Castletown North - Dixon Park

· Condingup, Gibson, Scaddan, Cascade, Grass Patch, Salmon Gums and Beaumont – located at either the primary school or local oval/hall

Local Play Spaces

· Collie Street Park

· Ingleton Place Park

· Layton Street Park

· Brockman Street Park

· Grace Darling Park

· Museum Park

· Milner Park

· Investigator Park

· Kalinda Street Park

· Butler Street Park

· Arthur Street Park

· Baleine Drive Reserve

· St Germain Park

· Wildcherry Park

A key point of the Local Play Spaces is that as infrastructure fails in these parks it will not be replaced and a determination on the future use of these parcels will need to be made at a future date.

Any new parks will be ranked in accordance with the above hierarchy to ensure that prior to being constructed to ensure that the Shire of Esperance is able to maintain and renew its POS infrastructure into the future.

The community now needs to be informed of the contents of the review and offered a final chance to comment prior to Council adopting the report. Once adopted, this document will guide the redevelopment of existing POS and future POS within the Shire.

Consultation

The community were involved in the development of the POS review via and online survey and four focus groups. Councilors and senior Staff were also given the opportunity for input into the review during the development.

The next stage of consultation is to inform the community of the outcomes of the report and offer the opportunity for the community to comment on the document before being adopted by Council. It is envisaged that SGL Consultants will deliver the outcomes from the report in a public information session then the document will be advertised for a 21 day period.

The comments and any alterations will be presented to Council for adoption at the next available meeting.

Financial Implications

Council will need to budget additional capital funds in the future financial years to allow the implementation of the POS review. Currently there is an allowance of approximately $175,000 (funded from municipal funds and reserves funds) in the draft long term financial for implementing recommendations form the POS review in 2014/15. Further funding has been identified to be funded from land sales such as the subdivision of the existing Collie Street freehold lot.

Further financial implications will be identified as part of the implementation plan which will be developed following adoption of the POS Review by Council.

Asset Management Implications

By incorporating a hierarchy of parks this will allow Council to concentrate its limited funds in terms of renewing and upgrading existing infrastructure in Public Open Space. The POS review indicates that Council should be concentrating its funding to Regional and Precinct Parks, while allowing infrastructure to reach the end of its useful life in local parks and not to replace that infrastructure.

Once public consultation has been completed and Council adopts a final document the next stage is for the development of a costed and prioritised implementation plan that will include development plans for Regional and Precinct parks.

Statutory Implications

Nil

Policy Implications

The POS Review will be used to develop a Public Open Space Policy that will be utilised for the development of future POS areas.

Strategic Implications

Strategic Community Plan 2012-2022

Social

1.1 Create a social environment that is accessible and inclusive for all ages and abilities

1.6 Develop and promote active and passive sport and recreation opportunities for all ages

Economic

3.1 Deliver a diverse range of affordable services and infrastructure across the Shire

3.2 Ensure essential services and infrastructure are aligned to community needs now and in the future

3.5 Maintain the Shire’s robust asset management practices and maintenance programs

Corporate Business Plan 2013/2014 – 2016/2017

Action 2.3.2 Develop Public Open Space Strategy and coordinate implementation schedule

Environmental Considerations

Nil

Attachments

a View.	Public Open Space Review - Draft Report
b View.	Public Open Space Review - Gap Analysis
c View.	Public Open Space Review - Community Profile
d View.	Esperance Townsite Park Hierarchy Map

Officer’s Recommendation

That Council receive and advertise the Draft Public Open Space Review documents for public comment for a period of 21 days.

Voting Requirement Simple Majority

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 75

1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides an introduction to the Review, including background to the project, the study aims and scope, methodology and structure of reports.

1.1 Background

The Shire of Esperance is located on Western Australia’s southeast coast about 725km from Perth by road covering 42,000 square kilometres. It extends from Munglinup to Israelite Bay and north to Daniels rail siding.

The population of Esperance is approximately 14,500 and stable. Esperance is a coastal town with deep water port facilities. Esperance due to its regional nature supports a number of industries with agriculture, mining and tourism being the most significant.

Esperance is one of the SuperTowns and has a number of significant expansion projects currently under construction or planned for the near future. Of significant interest to the Public Open Space Review is the Esperance Waterfront Development which in itself will provide greater recreational opportunities. Others project to note include the Proposed Port Expansion, Port Access Corridor upgrade, Hospital Expansion along with recent rail upgrades. Planning for the Town Centre Revitalisation is also underway.

These projects indicate an increased level of growth will be experienced in the near to mid future. The Esperance Growth Plan has an aspirational growth forecast of 3% per annum. The Shire of Esperance therefore believes it is timely to undertake a review of the provision of current Public Open Space and plan for the future.

The Shire of Esperance currently provides a variety of recreational opportunities which include playing fields, parks, natural areas, coastal facilities and the town centre.

1.2 Project Aim

The aim of this project is to undertake a review of all Public Open Space and provide the necessary information to guide future strategic direction where a need is identified for both existing Public Open Space and any Future Public Open Space.

The review of the existing Public Open Space ie; active grounds, passive reserves, CBD reserves, natural areas (Under Shire of Esperance control) satellite towns and coastal locations will:

§ Classify all Shire of Esperance reserves using Department of Sport and Recreation Public Open Space classification Framework.

§ Identify any gaps or oversupply in Public Open Space and make appropriate recommendations in relation to funding those gaps or disposal of Public Open Space.

§ Provide comment on what actions are required to existing Public Open Space ie; are existing facilities adequate, safe or additional facilities required subject to reserve classification.

§ Include an implementation plan, with costed and prioritised works, based on criteria such as condition, functionality, water availability and any other appropriate criteria.

§ Incorporate a consultation process with Councillors, Directors, Officers and the Community.

1.3 Methodology

The Review was conducted in three phases, including the following tasks:

Phase 1: Inception Meeting and Community Profiling

1 Project Clarification

2 Review documents

3 Participation Rate Review

4 Demographic Analysis

5 Community Profile

6 Presentation

Phase 2: Gap Analysis

1 Inventory of Open Space

2 Stakeholder Interviews

3 Household Survey

4 Focus Groups

5 Open Space Model

6 Summary Report

7 Presentation

Phase 3: Open Space Strategy

1 Preliminary Draft Open Space Strategy

2 Council Briefing

3 Draft Plan

4 Public Consultation

5 Final Report and Presentation

1.4 Structure of the Report

This Public Open Space Strategy presents the findings and recommendations of the project. It should be read in conjunction with the:

§ Community Profile, which presents the research conducted in Phase 1.

§ Gap Analysis report which presents the findings of the research conducted in Phase 2.

2 Community Profile

This chapter summarises the Community Profile

2.1 Literature Review

1 Council’s Strategic Community Plan has a series of goals which directly impact on open space provisions:

§ A healthy and caring community with access to a broad range of recreational opportunities

§ Recognising the environmental and recreational value of coastal reserves

§ Community infrastructure and services well utilised, effective and meet the expectations of our growing community

2 The Growth Plan for Esperance and the South East Region has a vision to be a desirable regional destination for lifestyle, work, unique experiences and investment. Key actions to achieve this vision are:

§ Redevelopment of the Esperance Waterfront

§ Prepare a Coastal Recreation Management Plan

3 Active Esperance aims to increase physical activity by 5% over 10 years.

4 Esperance Trails Master Plan identifies existing and potential trails throughout the Shire. Seven high priority trails varying in length from 700m to 2.8km were identified. In addition, eight lower priority trails were proposed.

5 Council’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan commits to ensuring that people with disabilities are recognised and acknowledged by ensuring that they, their families and carers, have the same rights as other people to access local government services and utilise public facilities.

6 An audit of playgrounds recommended a 10 year replacement program, and identified eight playgrounds which needed to be either replaced or upgraded in the 2013/4 financial year.

7 Master plans and reports relating to specific open space sites have been prepared for Esperance Foreshore, Adventureland Park, Lake Monjingup Nature Reserve, Museum Park Period Village, Greater Sports Ground and Esperance Waterfront.

2.2 Esperance Profile

1 The Shire of Esperance is located on Western Australia’s southeast coast about 725 kilometres from Perth by road. Covering over 42,000 square kilometres, the Shire of Esperance extends from Munglinup to Israelite Bay and north to the Daniell rail siding. With a population of almost 14,000, the Shire has one of the lowest population densities to be found anywhere.

2 Esperance is the main population centre within the Shire, and is a sub-regional centre, which provides services for both the Shire and surrounding areas. Within the Shire there are several small settlements.

3 While the Shire of Esperance is a vast area, 74% of the total population live within a 30 square kilometre area; the Esperance urban centre. This indicates that open space recreation initiatives within this area are likely to benefit most of the community.

4 There is a higher proportion of people aged 55+ that live in the Shire of Esperance (25%) and Esperance urban centre (27%) than Outback Western Australia (17%). This may indicate a need to cater for aging persons within the community in relation to open space recreation.

5 The relatively high percentage, 14-15%, of people aged 5-14 years across all three statistical areas indicates that open space recreation catering for young families is important.

6 Overall, there is expected to be a population growth of 16% between 2006 and 2026 in the Shire. By 2026 the population of the Shire is projected to reach 16,000. Significantly, the projected growth for people aged 55 and over is 136% or an additional 1,835 people for the Shire of Esperance.

7 The implications of these population growth projections are:

§ The Shire of Esperance is forecast to have a significantly aging population. This indicates that a growing proportion of the Esperance population will be retired. Hence a need to cater for aging persons within the community in relation to open space recreation.

§ Minimal growth is expected for key working aged persons; 20 to 54.

§ Marginal growth is forecast for persons aged zero to 19. However, particular, there is a median forecast growth of 21% for zero to 4 year olds by 2026, indicating an increasing demand for toddlers play areas.

2.3 Geographic Features

The Shire has three significant features:

§ It occupies a large area, much of it devoid of a residential population.

§ The southern border of the Shire is the Great Australian Bight.

§ Esperance township is the main population centre of the Shire, with 74% of the population. It is also the main industrial, commercial and tourist/visitor centre in the Shire.

The consequences is that the township of Esperance will host most local/neighbourhood open spaces. It will also be the main location for higher level sporting facilities. Open space designed to attract visitors will also be primarily located in Esperance.

From a rural perspective, open spaces will primarily cater for local community needs such as playgrounds and community sport. Open space areas will also capitalise on the natural environment from conservation, interpretive and visitor attraction perspectives.

Two significant consideration when developing open space are – access and use. Provision must ensure access into and around open space for all residents and visitors. In other words adequate consideration must be given to people who have physical disabilities.

Local or neighbourhood open space should be accessible within a reasonable walking time/distance. Facilities catering for a wider catchment, such as sporting facilities should be accessible within a reasonable cycling and driving distance.

2.4 Use of Open Space

§ The most frequently used facilities for leisure participation are open space areas, particularly parks and reserves.

§ The participation rate in non-organised activities is much higher than that of organised activities

§ Participation declines with age

§ Three of the five most popular physical activities (walking, cycling and running) are usually undertaken in a casual or informal setting. The most popular team sports have substantially lower participation rates

§ Males/boys showed higher participation rates in organised sport than females/girls

§ A significant proportion of the Western Australians (adults and children) do not undertake adequate physical activity and are overweight or obese

§ The overall participation rate in sport and physical recreation for those with a disability or long term health condition (LTC), is at lower levels when compared to those without a disability or LTC. Walking for exercise ranked as the number one activity for both genders. Activities with high male participation were golf, cycling and fishing. Females were more likely to participate in swimming, aerobics/fitness and tennis

§ English language proficiency is a factor that affects participation by adults and children. Adults with poor proficiency in English as well as children whose parents were born in a non-English speaking country show low levels of participation. This is particularly noticeable for women and girls

§ People who reported their birthplace to be "Other than Main English speaking" had lower participation rates in sport and physical activities than those born in English speaking countries. The lowest participation rates in sport and physical activity were most evident in people reporting their place of birth as North Africa and the Middle East

§ The overall participation rate of the Aboriginal population was less than half, compared with almost two thirds of the non-Aboriginal population. For both populations, participation drops with age, however, there is a much greater difference between the participation levels of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in the older age groups

3 Gap Analysis Report

This chapter summarises the Gap Analysis Report.

3.1 Inventory

3.1.1 Esperance POS Framework

The Department of Sport and Recreation Public Open Space Classification Framework is a generic tool for classifying public open space. Modifications to the Framework are recommended to meet the needs of Esperance:

Open Space Functions

Open Space Functions be expanded to include a visual panoramic element. That is, greater appreciation of the benefits people obtain from visual amenity or scenic beauty of open space, and to appreciate open space for its intrinsic nature of being largely open, without large structures.

Catchment Hierarchy

Esperance is a compact community, which is relatively isolated, and serves a substantial geographic catchment area. It is also a visitor destination, for tourists and business people. Most open space in Esperance fits into three hierarchical classifications – local, precinct or regional.

1 Esperance Local Open Space (ELOS):

§ Small parcels of open space which are not developed as significant play spaces

§ Cater for residences in immediate vicinity

2 Esperance Precinct Open Space (EPOS):

§ Access – preferably within 800 metres or 10 minute walk.

§ Preferable size is at least 1ha

§ A major open space within the precinct, with a local play space which meets Play Australia standards (refer to section 4.2)

3 Esperance Regional Open Space (EROS):

§ Accessible primarily by vehicle for most users. However, residents living in close proximity may access them by cycling or walking.

§ Has a role as ELOS for residents living close by. Consequently, they should be developed to meet the open space needs of these residents.

Other Public Spaces

Esperance has a number of open spaces which are not under the care and control or ownership of Council such as public and private schools and the Port Authority land which are important open spaces.

An open space classification should take account of this land. Wherever possible community access to appropriate facilities on these lands should be negotiated. For example to playgrounds and playing fields on school sites.

3.1.2 Assessment of Open Space Precincts

The Community Profile has identified eight precincts in Esperance, which provide a basis for assessing access to open space.

§ West Beach - this precinct has good access to a range of open spaces, particularly if community access to the Anglican and Catholic schools is available.

§ Esperance Central South – the eastern part of the precinct has good access to local parks and the foreshore. The western part of the precinct is devoid of local parks.

§ Esperance Central North – the precinct has good access to a range of open space areas, including local parks, sporting facilities and foreshore reserves.

§ Sinclair – the precinct has good access to a range of open spaces, including two school sites on the Esperance High School. Esperance Football Club oval is also close to the precinct, on the northern side of Pink Lake Road.

§ Nulsen – the precinct has good access to a range of open spaces, including a school sites and Esperance Football Club oval. Esperance High School is also close to the precinct, on the southern side of Pink Lake Road.

§ Castletown Coast - the precinct is dominated by the foreshore which is reasonably accessible to all residences. It has four local parks which are close to most homes in the precinct. Located at the eastern end of the precinct is the racecourse, a large parcel of open space.

§ Castletown Central - the precinct contains a substantial number of small open spaces. Access to larger open space is not within the precinct, although the foreshore and racecourse is relatively close.

§ Castletown North - Dixon Park is central to this small precinct and accessible to most residences. Surrounding the precinct to the north is a large area of open space and Esperance Golf Course.

3.2 Online Survey

1 A hyperlink to a web based questionnaire was distributed to Council staff for dissemination to their personal and professional email contacts. 141 people completed the questionnaire. The final sample is under represented in older adults, males and residents of the rural areas.

2 The most popular open space areas are costal parks and reserves, nature and conservation parks and reserves and local parks and playgrounds which are used by 97%, 96% and 93% of respondents, respectively.

3 When frequency of use is considered, local parks and playgrounds are the most frequently used with 45% visiting at least once per week. Sporting reserves are also heavily used with 35% visiting at least once per week.

4 The most popular activity in open spaces was being a caregiver with children, with almost half of all respondents reporting this activity. Participating in sport and BBQ or picnic were the next most popular activities.

5 Overall, respondents were relatively satisfied with the provision of open space areas and level of maintenance. However, at the specific level, respondents were less satisfied. Availability and quality of play areas for teenagers was highlighted as the area that the respondents were least satisfied.

6 Highest priorities are for maintaining local parks and coastal reserves, particularly for children. Access to open space, for all residents, is clearly a priority for respondents. Another clear message is that maintaining existing open space has a higher priority than improving open space areas.

7 Three funding priorities are:

ü Improve the quality of playgrounds for children.

ü Improve the amenity of parks, by providing adequate infrastructure, particularly shade.

ü Improve play areas for teenagers.

8 Favourite open spaces tended to be larger areas, particularly coastal sites including the foreshore and beaches. Other favourites were Adventureland Park and footpaths and trails.

3.3 Focus Groups

1 Four workshop sessions were held with groups of people representing older adults, caregivers with young children, young people and people with disabilities to discuss open space in Esperance.

2 A common theme was that whilst Esperance has adequate open space it is not necessarily designed and developed to meet the specific needs of these four groups of people.

3 All four groups recognized and appreciated the foreshore as a major open space area, which provides benefits to all residents and visitors. It must be designed to be fully accessible to all sections of the community.

4 Greater levels of consultation should occur to ensure that open space is designed so that it is functional, accessible and encourages use. In particular, all open space designs should be discussed with people with disabilities, parks designed to cater for young people should include input from young people and all children’s play areas should be planned in consultation with caregivers.

4 OPEN SPACE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

This chapter summarises the main findings from the Community Profile and Gap Analysis and recommends a series of strategies to align development of open space with community expectations.

4.1 Major Findings

The Community Profile and Gap Analysis Report contain substantial information about the existing provision of open space, trends in open space and community demands to enhance use of open spaces in Esperance. These have been synthesised into a suite of salient factors which are important considerations in ensuring open space is relevant to the Esperance community.

4.1.1 Overview

To encapsulate open space provision across the Shire in a few points is problematic. Despite this, a series of observations are possible:

§ Overall, the Shire of Esperance appears to have adequate open space, ranging from local parks to regional open space, in urban and rural and coastal settings.

§ Shade is clearly needed in more parks. Given the cost of providing artificial shade structures, it is not practical to cover all activity areas. Priority should be given to shading high use areas such as play spaces, rest areas and picnic/BBQ facilities. In the first instance, consideration should be given to providing natural shade, by planting trees and relatively tall shrubs. Manmade shade structures are more appropriate for more intensively used play spaces.

§ Open space must be environmentally sustainable. A key aspect of sustainability is use of water. It is imperative that a sustainable water program is implemented fo rall open space areas.

§ The coast and foreshore area is Esperance’s major open space and should continue to be developed as the major node of activity for resident and visitors of all ages.

§ How open space is developed and maintained varies considerably. Whilst some open spaces are developed and maintained to a high quality standard (eg Chantilly Park), other open spaces cannot be considered high quality.

§ As a general rule of thumb, it is more beneficial to the Esperance community to have fewer, higher quality open spaces areas with activity spaces and amenities for participants and caregivers. In other words, concentrate community resources on fewer parks. This may require the disposal or re-use of open space which is surplus to community needs.

§ A corollary of having fewer high quality open spaces is that the level of maintenance will be directly related to the hierarchical level of each parcel of open space. In other words, higher standards of maintenance will be applied to open spaces with a higher hierarchical classification than open spaces with a lower hierarchical classification.

§ Most local play spaces are uninspiring, and do not encourage a range of play behaviours from children.

§ Greater cooperation is required between Council and local schools to establish agreements to allow community access to open space on schools.

4.1.2 Salient Issues

1 Within the urban area of Esperance, the waterfront is a highly valued open space asset. It is a site of high visitation, aesthetic beauty and caters for a wide range of leisure activities. The highly developed waterfront area contrasts with the relatively natural, and highly valued, coastal areas along West Beach, Blue Haven Beach and the bays to the west.

2 Water is not an unlimited commodity, it therefore has to be used judiciously. Whilst large areas of grass is an attractive setting for play areas, it is a heavy user of water. Sustainable open space will require use of drought resistant plants, native ground cover and capture and recycling of water.

3 Australia has a high incidence of skin cancers. Parent and caregivers have a responsibility to ensure that children slip, slop, slap, seek, slide - slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade and slide on wrap around sunglasses to prevent sun damage. Local governments also have a responsibility to provide shade over intensively used open space, including play areas, particularly those targeted to young children. In addition, community expectations have increased in recent years, hence increasing community demand for shade areas.

4 Among the most popular recreation activities are walking and cycling. Both these activities are suitable for people of all ages and abilities. To cater for walkers and cyclists tracks and trails of varying length and difficulty are needed. The Esperance Trails Master Plan provides a network of trails which will enhance the use of open space.

5 The population of Esperance, including growth scenarios, has two major age groups. The population will age, and a substantial increase in toddlers is expected to occur. Consequently open space has to cater for these demographic groups. By catering for the need of people with disabilities it will also cater for older adults who may have mobility or other medical conditions which restrict access to open space. It will also improve access for caregivers with young children in pushers/strollers/prams.

6 Open spaces should be developed with facilities and amenities to meet the needs of target groups. For example walking trails which are used frequently by older adults should have frequent resting points (ie with shade and seats). Play areas for young children need age appropriate equipment, shade and seating for care givers.

7 Esperance contains significant open space which is not owned or under the care and control of Council. It includes land owned by the Esperance Port Authority, public and private schools. Where appropriate, agreements should be negotiated to enable community use of these assets.

8 Teenagers require play areas which offer challenging and exciting activities. Given the size and geography of Esperance, the most appropriate location is the waterfront area. It is readily accessible by walking and bicycle to most suburbs and already includes the skate park. One high quality play area offering a range of facilities for teenagers would increase the appeal of the waterfront for teenagers.

9 The cost of establishing and maintaining a high quality play space for children is high. Consequently, resources must be used judiciously. In simple terms it is unlikely that Council can afford to have high quality play equipment on all local open space areas. A hierarchy of play spaces is therefore needed. It must also be recognised that closing an existing local park will usually be resisted by residents in the adjacent streets. Each community precinct should have a reasonable quality local park with play equipment.

10 Large open spaces have the capacity to offer a wider range of leisure opportunities than small parcels of land. In this context, sporting reserves have the potential to be significant active and passive recreation and sport areas catering for range of activities. Sporting reserves may therefore serve as local parks in some precincts.

11 The rural areas of the Shire has a number of communities or settlements. Open space in these settlements will vary depending upon the size, sporting facilities and existence of a local school. The nature and type of open space will be heavily dependent upon local needs. Assuming the locality has children, the design of play spaces should be based around the major age group.

12 Basic standards of provision can be established for each classification in the open space hierarchy, particularly relating to local parks and play spaces. It should include play equipment, shade, amenities for caregivers and children, car parking, paths, access in and around the park, kick about areas and special features.

13 The Shire of Esperance has a large coastline, which is significant open space. Each parcel of open space should be developed and maintained to satisfy its primary and secondary function eg environmental, conservation, tourism, recreation and access.

14 Local open space is highly valued by local residents. Consequently, it is often politically difficult to sell or dispose of parcels of open space. Land banking of open space or redirecting the proceeds of sale to other public open space assets in a local community can be strategies used to deal with excess open space. Excess open space can refer to parcels of land which are not usable for community purposes, due to size or topography.

15 Adventureland Park is a key parcel of open space primarily due to its location, and range of features. However, it is a disjointed open space area, it has no consistent theme and appears to have been developed in an ad hoc manner. The current lease with the Port Authority will expire in the near future, and should be renewed. Subsequently, a master plan can be prepared detailing facilities and amenities to be developed and landscaping. The master plan should also address governance and management of the site, including the role of Council and the management group.

16 Apart from a small number of play spaces, there is a sameness about most local play areas. In simple terms, they are unlikely to hold the attention of children for more than a few minutes, and, generally are boring.

4.2 Open Space Development

The Shire of Esperance does not have a strategic approach to the provision of play spaces.

The Play Australia, which is recognised for its work in playground planning and design, has proposed three levels of playgrounds within local government areas:

Regional:

Provide experiences not available in local or neighbourhood parks. A range of amenities such as toilers, picnic tables, BBQ’s, parking etc could be required.

Neighbourhood:

Cater for the needs of more than one group of user, and for more than one type of activity.

Local:

Provide for every day play and recreation needs of children, and complement other local parks in a neighbourhood.

Based on this classification and given the size of Esperance three categories of play spaces may be appropriate:

Regional Play Spaces: Located in larger parcels of open space, which may have multiple classifications, they will service the immediate and adjacent suburbs.

Precinct Play Spaces: Located in smaller parcels of open spaces, they will cater for a highly localised catchment, servicing a catchment of, say, less than 800m radius.

Local Play Spaces: Located in very small parcels of open spaces, they will cater for a highly localised catchment, servicing residences in the immediate vicinity.

Essentially, precinct and local play spaces have a basic level of provision and major play spaces have a greater range and number of play items and visitor amenities.

Each play space is unique, due to size, topography, location, catchment population, existing conditions and community expectation. Therefore it is not possible to establish strict rules or standards for the development and maintenance of every play space. Instead, it is more appropriate to adopt guidelines which can be used to assist in the design of each play space.

In establishing basic design guidelines for each category of playground in Esperance, the following factors have been taken into account.

ü Current distribution of open space and play equipment

ü High cost of developing, maintaining and monitoring play spaces

The following components are appropriate to be included in each category of play space:

Regional Play Spaces

Visitor and caregiver amenities Car parking to cater for normal demand

Toilets

Natural or manmade shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment

Picnic tables and seats

BBQ

Seating in shade overlooking play equipment

Drinking water

Security lighting

Formal play areas Play equipment for toddlers

Play equipment for junior primary school age children

Play equipment for senior primary school age children

Play equipment for teenage young people

Informal play areas Kick about area (at least 1500 m2)

Sports practice facilities for at least one sport

Cycling areas

Natural landscape features such as creeks and mounds to be retained and enhanced

Miscellaneous Access for people with disabilities

Landscaping

Power outlets (eg food vans)

Precinct Play Spaces

Visitor and caregiver amenities Natural or manmade shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment

Seating in shade overlooking play equipment

Formal play areas Play equipment for at least one age group

Informal play areas Kick about area (at least 1000 m2)

Natural landscape features such as creeks and mounds to be retained and enhanced

Miscellaneous Access for people with disabilities

Landscaping

Local Play Spaces

In addition to the individual components to be included in each category of play space, other design principles which should be incorporated are:

ü Involve users (children, young teenagers and care givers) in the design process.

ü Appropriately designed fencing (which forces young children to stop at the fence) or buffer zones (at least 10 metres) should be used to prevent young children inadvertently running on to roads, particularly high traffic roads, directly from play equipment.

ü Wherever possible natural shade trees should be planted around play equipment and caregiver amenities.

ü Design play spaces to encourage adult supervision. Caregiver seating should be located close to, and with unimpeded views over, play areas. Locate play areas in clear sightlines to allow informal surveillance by passing traffic, pedestrians and local residences.

ü Establish physically separate play areas for different age groups on the one park.

ü Locate kick about areas and sports practice areas so as to minimise conflict with users of play equipment.

ü Install play equipment which meets appropriate Australian Standards, including soft fall material.

ü Incorporate play areas to cater for cognitive play, creative play, social/dramatic play and physically active play.

ü Design play spaces to complement, rather than replicate, experiences in other parks in Esperance.

ü Site play equipment to prevent users overlooking private yards and gardens adjoining the park. Locate ball games areas away from neighbours fences, to minimise balls being kicked, hit or thrown into neighbouring properties.

In implementing a play space strategy three factors need to be considered:

1 Whilst all the public primary schools have excellent playgrounds they may not be available for community use out of school hours. Negotiations should be commenced to increase community access to existing playgrounds.

2 Given the quality of existing play spaces in Esperance, very few meet the standard outlined above. To upgrade all parks will be a costly exercise. Priority should be given to upgrading play spaces in Precinct Open Space. Redevelopment of existing play spaces in Local Open Space should be a lower priority.

3 In rural communities, the best location for a play space should be decided by the local community. Rather than having multiple play areas such as at the primary school, oval and public hall, more effective use of resources will occur if one play space is established. However, it must be appreciated this may not be possible in all communities.

Possible locations for regional play spaces which meet provision standards are:

§ Esperance Foreshore (Headland to Adventureland Park)

§ Greater Sports Ground

§ Lalor Park (potentially long term)

Possible locations for precinct play spaces, in Precinct Open Space areas, which meet provision standards, are:

§ West Beach Precinct – Walker Park and Eagle Park

§ Esperance Central South - serviced by Adventureland Park

§ Esperance Central North – serviced by Greater Sports Ground

§ Sinclair – Treasure Park

§ Nulsen – Victoria Park and Olympian Way

§ Castletown Coast – Lions Park and Lalor Park

§ Castletown Central – Chantilly Park

§ Castletown North - Dixon Park

§ Condingup, Gibson, Scaddan, Cascade, Grass Patch, Salmon Gums and Beaumont – located at either the primary school or local oval/hall

4.3 Open Space Design Principles

A framework for prioritising the funding and development of new facilities and services, in particular reserves and linkages between reserves is provided by ‘Healthy by Design’.

[Healthy by Design is a resource of the Heart Foundation supported by the WA State Government. It includes design considerations, evidence, tools and case studies to support those professionals who have responsibility for the design, development and maintenance of the public realm. The resource provides practical guidance for designing walkable, and ultimately more liveable, communities. Optimal design approaches that encourage active living in a range of areas are included such as walking and cycling routes, streets, local destinations, open space and public transport. A useful list of healthy planning and design resources are also included in the guide, providing options for further reading on a range of issues].

To help develop activity communities and a sense of community spirit, Healthy by Design recommends two principal design considerations when developing any policies, facilities and services.

1 Involve the community in planning activities, and

2 Create spaces for community activity

Healthy by Design was developed to assist local government with practical guidance in designing walkable and ultimately liveable communities. The general principals it has shown will assist in developing a happier, more active and cohesive community:

ü Well planned networks of walking and cycling routes.

ü Streets with direct safe and convenient access.

ü Local destinations within walking distance from homes.

ü Accessible open space for recreation and leisure.

ü Conveniently located near transport stops.

ü Local neighbourhoods fostering community spirit.

Implications of adopting these principles in relation to open spaces, are:

§ Provide open spaces within safe, comfortable walking distance

§ Connect to the broader walking and cycling network

§ Encourage active recreation

ü This can be as simple as ground markings to encourage hop scotch through to installation of skate facilities and basketball rings.

ü Develop a community garden within some reserves to provide a sense of community spirit and local ownership.

§ Create pleasing places to be

ü Facilities that assist include seats and shade, that provide pleasant places for people to sit, meet and interact.

§ Promote safety and amenity

§ Provide for comfort and convenience

To ensure that Esperance remains an attractive place to live and easier place to move around “Healthy by Design“ principles can be used in the planning and development of open space.

4.4 Recommendations

Based on the preceding discussion a suite of recommendations are proposed:

1 Adopt three hierarchical levels of open space – local, precinct and regional.

2 Concentrate Council resources on developing and maintaining regional and precinct open space areas.

3 Continue to develop and maintain coastal and foreshore areas as major nodes of activity for residents and visitors of all ages.

4 Ensure that all open space is designed to be environmentally sustainable, particularly relating to use of water.

5 Establish at least one precinct play space, which meets Play Australia design standards, in each open space precinct.

6 Establish regional play spaces at Adventureland Park, Greater Sports Ground and Lalor Park.

7 Consult with the precinct community to confirm the location of local or regional play spaces at Walker Park, Eagle Park, Adventureland Park, Greater Sports Ground, Treasure Park, Victoria Park, Olympian Way, Lions Park, Lalor Park, Chantilly Park and Dixon Park.

8 Ensue each rural community or settlement has a play space which meets Play Australia design standards and is designed and located after consultation with the local community.

9 Upgrade existing play equipment as detailed in the Playground Compliance Audit and Safety Inspection.

10 Expand the Esperance Trails Master Plan to include equestrian, aquatic and other non- traditional trails.

11 Negotiate community access to playgrounds and open spaces on schools.

12 Negotiate renewal of the lease from the Port Authority for Adventureland Park.

13 Prepare a Master Plan for Adventureland Park.

14 Upgrade and redevelop the teenage play area at Adventureland Park.

15 Land bank surplus open space, and direct proceeds of sale to expanding or upgrading existing open space assets.

16 Adopt the Healthy by Design framework for designing open space.

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5 OPEN SPACE ACTION PLAN

This chapter presents a prioritised implementation plan for the Open Space Strategy.

5.1 Strategic Actions

Recommendation	Action
Adopt three hierarchical levels of open space – local, precinct and regional.	ü Council to adopt as an open space policy ü Council to provide adequate resources to implement the policy
Concentrate Council resources on developing and maintaining regional and precinct open space areas.	ü Council to adopt as an open space policy ü Council to provide adequate resources to implement the policy
Continue to develop and maintain coastal and foreshore areas as major nodes of activity for residents and visitors of all ages.	ü Council to adopt as an open space policy ü Council to provide adequate resources to implement the policy
Ensure that all open space is designed to be environmentally sustainable, particularly relating to use of water.	ü Prepare strategies and actions to capture and recycle water within open spaces ü Identify drought resistant plants for landscaping open spaces ü Include water minimization outcome sin all master plans and concept plans for open space
Establish at least one local play space, which meets Play Australia design standards, in each open space precinct.	ü Council to adopt as an open space policy ü Council to provide adequate resources to implement the policy
Establish regional play spaces at Adventureland Park, Greater Sports Ground and Lalor Park.	ü Prepare and/or update master plans incorporating regional play spaces at each reserve
Consult with the precinct community to confirm the location of local or regional play spaces at Walker Park, Adventureland Park, Greater Sports Ground, Treasure Park or Milner Park, Victoria Park, Olympian Way, Lions Park, Chantilly Park and Dixon Park.	ü Council to adopt as an open space policy ü Council to provide adequate resources to implement the policy
Ensue each rural community or settlement has a play space which meets Play Australia design standards and is designed and located after consultation with the local community.	ü Council to adopt as an open space policy ü Council to provide adequate resources to implement the policy
Upgrade existing play equipment as detailed in the Playground Compliance Audit and Safety Inspection.	ü Council to provide adequate resources to implement the policy
Expand the Esperance Trails Master Plan to include equestrian, aquatic and other non- traditional trails.	ü Obtain external grant funding to expand Trails Master Plan ü Commission Master Plan update
Negotiate community access to playgrounds and open spaces on schools.	ü Discuss concept with regional Education office and independent schools ü Negotiate roles and responsibilities of Council and schools regarding cost sharing and risk management
Negotiate renewal of the lease from the Port Authority for Adventureland Park.	ü Commence negotiations
Prepare a Master Plan for Adventureland Park.	ü Obtain lease extension ü Commission Master Plan
Upgrade and redevelop the teenage play area at Adventureland Park.	ü Include design of teenage play area in Master Plan brief
Land bank surplus open space, and direct proceeds of sale to expanding or upgrading existing open space assets.	ü Identify surplus land ü Determine short and long term disposal/land banking strategy
Adopt the Healthy by Design framework for designing open space.	ü Council to adopt as an open space policy ü Council to provide adequate resources to implement the policy

5.2 Specific Actions

Reserve	Open Space Classification	Play Space	Comment	Actions
Greater Sports Park	Regional	Regional	Greater Sports Ground has the potential to be a more valuable parcel of open space by enhancing its passive recreation features Review Master Plan to include a regional play space	ü Prepare concept plan for regional play space including: Shelter/shade for caregivers Shelter/shade over play equipment Picnic tables and seats BBQ Drinking water Security lighting Multi age play equipment Access for people with disabilities Landscaping

Esperance Foreshore including Adventureland Park	Regional	Regional	Adventureland Park has the potential to be the major node of activity on the foreshore and can be developed as an integrated, multifunctional open space area Obtain community use of the Park through lease renewal with Port Authority and prepare a Master Plan	ü Negotiate renewal of a long term lease ü Prepare a Master Plan including a review of governance, development and maintenance of the Park ü Within the Master Plan incorporate a regional play space including: Car parking Toilets Shelter/shade for caregivers Shelter/shade over play equipment Picnic tables and seats BBQ Drinking water Security lighting Multi age play equipment Kick about area (at least 1500 m2) Sports practice facilities for at least one sport Cycling tracks Access for people with disabilities Landscaping
Walker Park	Precinct	Precinct	Upgrade to meet precinct play space standards	ü Upgrade to include: Shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment Seating in shade overlooking play equipment
Eagle Park	Precinct	Precinct	Upgrade to meet precinct play space standards	ü Upgrade to include: Shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment ü Seating in shade overlooking play equipment
Collie Street Reserve	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Ingleton Place Reserve	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe

Layton Street Reserve	Local	Local	Layton Street Reserve and Brockman Park are both small open spaces in close proximity. Potential exists to dispose of either reserve. No additional upgrade to the park	ü Consult with the local community to determine whether Layton Street Reserve and/or Brockman Park should be land banked. ü If retained, maintain existing facilities
Brockman Park	Local	Local	Layton Street Reserve and Brockman Park are both small open spaces in close proximity. Potential exists to dispose of either reserve. No additional upgrade to the park	ü Consult with the local community to determine whether Layton Street Reserve and/or Brockman Park should be land banked. ü If retained, maintain existing facilities
Grace Darling Playground	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Museum Park	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Milner Park	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Treasure Park	Precinct	Precinct	Upgrade to meet precinct play space standards	ü Upgrade to include: Shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment ü Seating in shade overlooking play equipment
Victoria Park	Precinct	Precinct	Upgrade to meet precinct play space standards	ü Upgrade to include: Shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment Seating in shade overlooking play equipment Kick about area (at least 1000 m2) Access for people with disabilities Landscaping
Olympian Way	Precinct	Precinct	Upgrade to meet precinct play space standards	ü Upgrade to include: Shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment Seating in shade overlooking play equipment Kick about area (at least 1000 m2) Access for people with disabilities Landscaping
Lions Park	Precinct	Precinct	Upgrade to meet precinct play space standards	ü Upgrade to include: Shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment Seating in shade overlooking play equipment Kick about area (at least 1000 m2) Access for people with disabilities Landscaping
Investigator Park	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Kalinda Park	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Butler Park	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Arthur Park,	Local	Local	Arthur Park is very close to Lalor Park which has been identified as a precinct open space with a regional play space.	ü Investigate options for alternative uses of the park including land banking
Chantilly Park	Precinct	Precinct	A large open space which has potential to be a significantly more important community asset	ü Upgrade to include: Shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment Seating in shade overlooking play equipment Kick about area (at least 1000 m2) Access for people with disabilities Landscaping Natural landscape features
Lalor Park	Precinct	Precinct	A Master Plan for the park is needed to ensure its optimum development	ü Prepare a Master Plan incorporating a regional play space including: Car parking Toilets Shelter/shade for caregivers Shelter/shade over play equipment Picnic tables and seats BBQ Drinking water Security lighting Multi age play equipment Kick about area (at least 1500 m2) Sports practice facilities for at least one sport Cycling tracks Access for people with disabilities Landscaping
Baleine Drive Reserve	Local	Local	Baleine Drive Reserve is close to Chantilly Park which has been identified as a precinct play space.	ü Investigate options for alternative uses of the park including land banking
St Germain Park	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Wildcherry Park	Local	Local	No additional upgrade to the park	ü Maintain existing facilities, do not replace play equipment when it becomes unsafe
Dixon Park	Precinct	Precinct	This precinct has a small number of residences and is separated from adjacent residential areas by Fisheries Road.	ü Upgrade to include: Shelter/shade for caregivers and over play equipment Seating in shade overlooking play equipment Kick about area (at least 1000 m2) Access for people with disabilities Landscaping Natural landscape features

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1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides an introduction to the Review, including background to the project, the study aims and scope, methodology and structure of reports.

1.1 Background

The Shire of Esperance currently provides a variety of recreational opportunities which include playing fields, parks, natural areas, coastal facilities and the town centre.

1.2 Project Aim

The review of the existing Public Open Space ie; active grounds, passive reserves, CBD reserves, natural areas (Under Shire of Esperance control) satellite towns and coastal locations will:

§ Classify all Shire of Esperance reserves using Department of Sport and Recreation Public Open Space classification Framework.

§ Identify any gaps or oversupply in Public Open Space and make appropriate recommendations in relation to funding those gaps or disposal of Public Open Space.

§ Provide comment on what actions are required to existing Public Open Space ie; are existing facilities adequate, safe or additional facilities required subject to reserve classification.

§ Include an implementation plan, with costed and prioritised works, based on criteria such as condition, functionality, water availability and any other appropriate criteria.

§ Incorporate a consultation process with Councillors, Directors, Officers and the Community.

1.3 Methodology

The Review was conducted in three phases, including the following tasks:

Phase 1: Inception Meeting and Community Profiling

1 Project Clarification

2 Review documents

3 Participation Rate Review

4 Demographic Analysis

5 Community Profile

6 Presentation

Phase 2: Gap Analysis

1 Inventory of Open Space

2 Stakeholder Interviews

3 Household Survey

4 Focus Groups

5 Open Space Model

6 Summary Report

7 Presentation

Phase 3: Open Space Strategy

1 Preliminary Draft Open Space Strategy

2 Council Briefing

3 Draft Plan

4 Public Consultation

5 Final Report and Presentation

1.4 Structure of the Report

This Gap Analysis report presents the findings of the research conducted in Phase 2.

It should be read in conjunction with the Community Profile, which presents the research conducted in Phase 1.

2 Inventory

This chapter summarises the Classification Framework for Public Open Space and public open space under the ownership or control of the Shire of Esperance.

2.1 Classification Framework for Public Open Space

The Esperance Public Open Space Review specifies that the Department of Sport and Recreation Public Open Space Classification Framework is used to classify all Shire of Esperance reserves.

The Framework refers to Public Open Space (POS) as urban green spaces: parklands, play areas, playing fields, bushland, greenways and other similar spaces people use for recreation, sport and social interaction. The Framework:

1 Classifies open spaces where community access is encouraged and explicitly managed.

2 Is not intended to apply to areas where the primary purpose or function is identified as:

§ Preservation and restoration of natural features and values such as Bush Forever estate, conservation reserve, nature reserve, state forest or similar.

§ Residual land or land set aside as urban deferred or for road reserve or similar purpose.

§ River and coastal foreshore reserves and buffer zones.

§ Where statutory responsibility lies with the Western Australian Planning Commission, Department of Environment and Conservation or other State Government body.

The Framework contains two central categories – function and catchment hierarchy.

Open Space Functions

Recreation spaces

§ Recreation spaces provide a setting for informal play and physical activity, relaxation and social interaction.

§ Recreation spaces enhance physical and mental health through activity that provides relaxation, amusement or stimulation.

§ Recreation spaces can be accessed by all to play, socialise, exercise, celebrate or participate in other activities that provide personal satisfaction or intrinsic reward.

§ Recreation spaces include gardens and open parklands, community gardens, corridor links, amenity spaces, community use facilities, civic commons or squares.

Sport spaces

§ Sport spaces provide a setting for formal structured sporting activities.

§ Sport spaces provide a venue for formal structured sporting activities such as team competitions, physical skill development and training.

§ Sport spaces are designed to accommodate playing surface, buffer zones and infrastructure requirements of specific or general sporting activity.

§ Players and spectators attend with the express purpose of engaging in organised sporting activity, training or competition or watching the game.

§ Most sport spaces can also be accessed by community members for informal sport and recreation.

Nature spaces

§ Nature spaces provide a setting where people can enjoy nearby nature and protect local biodiversity and natural area values.

§ Nature spaces provide opportunity for low-impact recreational activities, such as walking, cycling, picnicking, playing, watching or exploring natural features.

§ Nature spaces may include bushland, coastal areas, wetlands and riparian habitats, and geological and natural features. Sites are managed to enable recreational access while protecting local ecological and biodiversity values.

Catchment Hierarchy

Local Open Space

§ Local Open Space (LOS) is usually small parklands that service the recreation needs of the immediate residential population.

§ LOS is primarily used for recreation and may include small areas of nature space.

§ LOS is unlikely to be used for any formal or informal sport.

§ Access - within 400 metres or 5 minute walk.

§ Typical size is 0.4ha to 1ha.

Neighbourhood Open Space

§ Neighbourhood open space (NOS) serves as the recreational and social focus of a community. Residents are attracted by the variety of features and facilities and opportunities to socialise.

§ NOS can assist to engender sense of place and protect specific conservation values through retention of nature spaces.

§ NOS may be used for junior sport or sports training if appropriate space is available.

§ Access - within 800 metres or 10 minute walk.

§ Typical size is 1ha to 5ha

District Open Space

§ District open space (DOS) is principally designed to provide for organised formal sport.

§ DOS will very likely include substantial recreation space and some nature space.

§ DOS design and function should consider biodiversity principles and environmental management goals.

§ DOS serves several neighbourhoods with players and visitors travelling from surrounding districts.

§ Access - within 2 kilometre or 5 minute drive.

§ In regional WA, DOS may provide sporting facilities for the wider district and surrounding communities.

§ Typical size is 5ha to 15+ha

Regional Open Space

§ Regional open space (ROS) may accommodate important recreation and organised sport spaces as well as significant conservation and/or environmental features.

§ ROS may provide substantial facilities for organised sport, play, social interaction, relaxation and enjoyment of nature.

§ ROS can assist to protect biodiversity conservation and environmental values through retention of bushland, wetlands and other natural features.

§ Access - ROS serves one or more geographical or social regions and is likely to attract visitors from outside any one local government area.

§ Users not living within close proximity will use either private vehicles or public transport systems.

§ Typical size is variable and dependant on function.

§ When sporting space is identified as a necessary regional function, allocations for playing fields and sports facilities should be 20+ha in area.

2.2 Esperance POS Framework

The Department of Sport and Recreation Public Open Space Classification Framework is a generic tool for classifying public open space. It contains two central categories – function and catchment hierarchy.

Having reviewed existing reports and documents and compiled an inventory of open space in the Shire, modifications to the Framework are suggested:

Open Space Functions

Open Space Functions be expanded to include a visual panoramic element. In other words greater appreciation of the benefits people obtain from visual amenity or scenic beauty of open space. In other words, appreciate open space for its intrinsic nature of being largely open, without large structures.

Visual amenity will apply to all open spaces – recreation, sport and nature spaces.

Catchment Hierarchy

Esperance is a compact community, which is relatively isolated, and serves a substantial geographic catchment area. It is also a visitor destination, for tourists and business people. Most open space in Esperance fits into two hierarchical classifications – local or regional.

1 Esperance Local Open Space (ELOS) is a combination of Local and Neighbourhood Open Space in the POS Classification Framework. Given that much of the urban area of Esperance is fully developed, the issues of access and size will only relate to new subdivisions.

It is recommended that ELOS include:

§ Access – preferably within 800 metres or 10 minute walk.

§ Size is at least 1ha

2 Esperance Regional Open Space (EROS) is a combination of District and Regional Open Space in the POS Classification Framework. To a large extent this will include the foreshore, sporting reserves, the racecourse, golf courses, coastal reserves and other nature reserves.

Key aspects of these open spaces are:

§ They are accessible primarily by vehicle for most users. However, residents living in close proximity may access them by cycling or walking.

§ They also act as ELOS for residents living close by. Consequently, they should be developed to meet the open space needs of these residents.

Other Public Spaces

Esperance has a number of open spaces which are not under the care and control or ownership of Council. However, they serve a valuable open space function within the Esperance community. Specifically, public and private schools and the Port Authority land are important open spaces.

2.3 Open Space Inventory

Appendix A Tables A.1 to A.7 provide a summary of public open space in the Shire of Esperance. Data has been derived from a series of sources provided by Council. It should be noted this inventory does not include:

§ Open space areas which are owned or under the care and control of other agencies, such as Adventureland.

§ Some playgrounds which are detailed in the Playground Compliance Audit and Safety Inspection Report.

In addition some reserves could not be located, due to lack of information available, such as the reserve ID.

The purpose of the open space has been derived from data provided by Hester Property Solutions.

Each open space has been classified by function and hierarchy using the Department of Sport and Recreation Public Open Space Classification Framework.

2.4 Assessment of Open Space Precincts

The Community Profile has identified eight precincts in Esperance, which provide a basis for assessing access to open space.

2.4.1 West Beach

West Beach incorporates to area south of the railway line and Harbour Road to Twilight Beach Road. Open space in the precinct includes:

§ Significant coastal reserves south of Twilight Road to the coast

§ Four local parks - Eagle Park, Collie Street Reserve, Ingleton Place Reserve and Walker Park

§ Esperance Anglican Community School

§ Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School

Assessment – this precinct has good access to a range of open spaces, particularly if community access to the Anglican and Catholic schools is available.

2.4.2 Esperance Central South

Esperance Central South incorporates the area between the railway line/Harbour Road and Pink Lake Road. Open space in the precinct includes:

§ Foreshore reserves including Adventureland Park, Skate Park and Port Authority Park

§ Two local parks - Layton Street Reserve and Brockman Park

§ Esperance Primary School

§ Land adjacent to the railway line and Harbour Road

Assessment – the eastern part of the precinct has good access to local parks and the foreshore. The western part of the precinct is devoid of local parks.

2.4.3 Esperance Central North

Esperance Central North incorporates the area between the railway line/Harbour Road, Pink Lake Road and Brazier Street/Gladstone Street. Open space in the precinct includes:

§ Foreshore reserves including Bow Park

§ Two local parks – Grace Darling Playground and Museum Park

§ Greater Sports Ground

§ Land around the Council offices and adjacent public buildings

Assessment – the precinct has good access to a range of open space areas, including local parks, sporting facilities and foreshore reserves.

2.4.4 Sinclair

Sinclair incorporates the area south and west of the railway line/Harbour Road and Pink Lake Road. Open space in the precinct includes:

§ Two local parks – Milner Park and Treasure Park

§ Esperance Residential College, Esperance Senior High School and Esperance Christian Primary School

§ Skroyls Park Land

Assessment – the precinct has good access to a range of open spaces, including two school sites on the Esperance Community Education Campus. Esperance Football Club oval is also close to the precinct, on the northern side of Pink Lake Road.

2.4.5 Nulsen

Nulsen incorporates the area north and west of the railway line/Harbour Road and Pink Lake Road. Open space in the precinct includes:

§ Two local parks – Victoria Park and Olympian Way

§ Nulsen Primary School

§ Esperance Football Club oval Land

§ Undeveloped open space surrounding large parts of the precinct

Assessment – the precinct has good access to a range of open spaces, including a school sites and Esperance Football Club oval. Esperance Community Education Campus is also close to the precinct, on the southern side of Pink Lake Road.

2.4.6 Castletown Coast

Castletown Coast incorporates the area south of Goldfields Road. Open space in the precinct includes

§ Foreshore reserves

§ Four local parks – Lions Park, Investigator Park, Kalinda Park and Butler Park

§ Esperance racecourse

Assessment – the precinct is dominated by the foreshore which is reasonably accessible to all residences. It has four local parks which are close to most homes in the precinct. Located at the eastern end of the precinct is the racecourse, a large parcel of open space.

2.4.7 Castletown Central

Castletown Central incorporates the area between Goldfields Road, Fisheries Road and Norseman Road. Open space in the precinct includes:

§ Six local parks – Arthur Park, Chantilly Park, Lalor Park, Baleine Drive Reserve, St Germain Park, Wildcherry Park

§ Castletown Primary School

§ A number of smaller undeveloped open space areas

Assessment – the precinct contains a substantial number of small open spaces. Access to larger open space is not within the precinct, although the foreshore and racecourse is relatively close.

2.4.8 Castletown North

Castletown North incorporates the area north of Fisheries Road and west of Claire Road. Open space in the precinct includes:

§ One local park – Dixon Park

Assessment – Dixon Park is central to this small precinct and accessible to most residences. Surrounding the precinct to the north is a large area of open space and Esperance Golf Course.

3 Online Survey

A web based questionnaire was prepared and made available to the Esperance community for self completion.

3.1 Respondent Sample

A hyperlink to a web based questionnaire (refer Appendix A) was distributed to Council staff for dissemination to their personal and professional email contacts. Complementing this distribution method, the hyper link was promoted via the local newspaper and Council’s community news.

141 people completed the questionnaire. The demographic profile of respondents is summarised below and compared with the population of the Shire of Esperance.

Characteristic	Respondents	Esperance
Age 20 – 54 years	64%	84%
Age 55+ years	36%	15%
Males	17%	50%
Females	83%	50%
Live in Esperance urban area	92%	74%
Care for child or teenager	70%	N/A

This comparative data shows that the sample of respondents is under represented in older adults, males and residents of the rural areas.

3.2 Visiting Open Space Areas

Respondents were asked within the last 12 months, “how often have you visited: -

Local parks with playgrounds

Sporting Reserves

Coastal parks and reserves

Conservation parks and reserves

Trails

Other open space areas?”

The results are summarised in Table 2.1. Key points to note are:

§ All the identified categories of open space were used by at least 88% of respondents.

§ The most popular open space areas are costal parks and reserves, nature and conservation parks and reserves and local parks and playgrounds which are used by 97%, 96% and 93% of respondents, respectively.

§ When frequency of use is considered, local parks and playgrounds are the most frequently used with 45% visiting at least once per week. Sporting reserves are also heavily used with 35% visiting at least once per week.

Table 2.1: Frequency of Use of Open Space

	At least once per week	Between once per week and once per month	More than once and less that once per month	Once only	None
Local parks with playgrounds	45%	17%	24%	6%	7%
Sporting reserves	35%	28%	21%	6%	11%
Coastal parks and reserves	28%	39%	26%	4%	3%
Nature and conservation parks and reserves	9%	27%	46%	14%	4%
Trails eg walking, cycling equestrian	28%	25%	26%	10%	12%
Other open space areas	29%	23%	20%	4%	23%

“Other” open space areas visited by respondents were primarily beach and foreshore areas, which are already reported under “coastal parks and reserves”.

3.3 Activities in Open Space Areas

Respondents were asked “What are the three main activities you undertake when you visit open space areas?” 11 activities were identified:

Activity	Respondents
Caregiver supervising children	49%
Take part in sport	15%
BBQ or picnic	11%
Participate in physical activity	7%
Participate in relaxation activity	5%
Participate in social activity	4%
Spectator at sporting activity	4%
Enjoy nature and the environment	2%
Enjoy the scenery	1%
Official at sporting activity	1%
Other	1%

“Other” activities undertaken by respondents were horse riding, walking a dog and dirt bike trail riding.

Clearly the most popular activity was being a caregiver with children, with almost half of all respondents reporting this activity. Participating in sport and BBQ or picnic were the next most popular activities.

3.4 Satisfaction with Open Space Areas

Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of open space areas. Ratings were based on a score of 5 for Very Satisfied and 1 for Very Dissatisfied. The average score for each aspect was:

Open Space Attribute	Average Score
Quality of walking/cycling trails	3.6
The overall provision of open space in the Shire	3.5
Access to all types of open space	3.3
Maintenance of open space areas	3.2
Interpretation of natural and conservation areas	3.1
Availability of playgrounds for primary school children	2.9
Availability of playgrounds for preschool children	2.7
Quality of playing surfaces at sporting reserves	2.6
Open space areas in the town sites outside Esperance	2.5
Quality of playgrounds for primary school children	2.5
Quality of playgrounds for preschool children	2.4
Amenities at open space areas (eg toilets, seating shade)	2.4
Availability of play areas for teenagers	1.7
Quality of play areas for teenagers	1.6

Responses indicate that overall, respondents were relatively satisfied with the provision of open space areas and level of maintenance. However, at the specific level, respondents were less satisfied. Availability and quality of play areas for teenagers was highlighted as the area that the respondents were least satisfied with. Comments include: -

§ The skate park is all teens have and it is in bad repair

§ There are very little amenities for teenagers outside organised sports

§ There is not enough provision for teenagers and children to have fun.

§ Teenagers only have the skate park and there is limited toilets around

Other comments provided by respondents were:

§ Lack of shade for our kids

§ Public toilets in the town are atrocious and often unusable.

§ Toilets also need to be very close to playground. Toddlers can't wait very long.

§ There are insufficient trails available for Horse riding.

§ Teenager and preschool children have very few options available.

§ There needs to be at least one playground that is shaded.

3.5 Council Budget

3.5.1 Importance of Budget Items

Respondents were asked “If you were preparing Council's budget, how important would you rate the following strategies and actions?” Ratings were based on a score of 5 for Very Important and 1 for Very unimportant. The average score for each aspect was:

Budget Item	Score
Maintaining local parks and playgrounds	4.3
Maintaining coastal parks and reserves	4.2
Ensuring open space meets the needs of children	4.2
Ensuring open space is accessible to people with disabilities	4.1
Maintaining sports reserves	4.0
Maintaining natural and conservation areas	4.0
Ensuring all residents have easy access to a children's playground	4.0
Maintaining trails	3.9
Ensuring open space is suitable for older adults	3.9
Ensuring open space meets the needs of teenagers	3.9
Improving the quality of teenage play areas	3.9
Improving the quality of coastal parks and reserves	3.9
Improving the quality of natural and conservation areas	3.8
Improving the quality of preschool children's play areas	3.7
Improving the quality of primary school children's play areas	3.6
Improving the quality of sporting reserves	3.5
Increasing community use of open space in schools	3.3

The relative budgetary importance reflects the use and frequency of use of open space. Thus the highest priorities are for maintaining local parks and coastal reserves, particularly for children. Access to open space, for all residents, is clearly a priority for respondents.

Another clear message is that maintaining existing open space has a higher priority than improving open space areas.

3.5.2 Specific Projects

Respondents were asked “If you had $100,000 to spend on any open space area, how would you use it?”. The full responses are included in Appendix B (with grammar and spelling corrected).

Three key themes emerged from the responses:

1 Improve the quality of playgrounds for children.

2 Improve the amenity of parks, by providing adequate infrastructure, particularly shade.

3 Improve play areas for teenagers.

Other specific issues raised were:

§ Increase access for people with disabilities

§ Improve the sound shell area

§ Improve walking, cycling and horse trails and tracks

§ Develop a water park on the foreshore

It should be noted that upgrading sporting facilities was noted by a small minority of respondents. Indicating this is not a high priority area for this sample of residents.

3.6 Favourite Open Space Area

Respondents were asked “What is your favourite Open Space Area?” The top areas identified were:

The foreshore, waterfront, and beaches (including 11 Mile, Castletown, Twilight, West Beach & Wharton Beach) - 45 (32%) respondents

Adventure Land Park - 15 (11%) respondents

Footpaths/walking trails – 10 (7%) respondents

Other nominated areas were:

Lions Park

Greater Sports Ground

Lake Monjimuo

Respondents highlighted these areas as their favourite for the following reasons:

1 The Foreshore/Waterfront – views and close proximity to the town centre

2 Beaches (incl 11 Mile, Castletown, Twilight, West Beach & Wharton Beach)- space, beauty and good for exercise

3 Adventureland Park - good facilities and play equipment, space, something for everyone

4 Footpaths/Trails - scenery and good accessibility

3.7 Comments

Respondents were provided with the opportunity to make comment on any aspect of open space. All responses are included in Appendix C (with grammar and spelling corrected). Major points raised were:

§ Good job done developing and maintaining parks

§ Local parks and playgrounds need shade and amenities (eg seats and drink fountains)

§ Community access to schools to be negotiated

§ Improve facilities for teenagers

§ Improve trails for cycling and horse riding

3.8 Summary

7 Three funding priorities are:

ü Improve the quality of playgrounds for children.

ü Improve the amenity of parks, by providing adequate infrastructure, particularly shade.

ü Improve play areas for teenagers.

8 Favourite open spaces tended to be larger areas, particularly coastal sites including the foreshore and beaches. Other favourites were Adventureland Park and footpaths and trails.

4 FOCUS GROUPS

This chapter summarises comments made at the four community engagement forums, each targeted to specific demographic groups – older adults, caregivers with young children, young people and people with disabilities.

4.1 Older Adults

10 older adults attended the forum held at and organised by the Esperance Senior Citizens Club. Key issues raised were:

§ Motorised scooters are a valuable means of transport for older adults. They make use of walkways and cycle paths for access to open space. These paths and normal footpaths need to be maintained in adequate condition to allow easy travel.

§ Open space is important for its intrinsic value as open, undeveloped land providing visual relief from the urban form.

§ Public land should be retained and not sold.

§ More shade and seating is required at parks and reserves.

§ Larger, better developed parks are preferred to small, limited developed parks.

§ Parks can also contain quiet areas for activities such as reading and contemplation.

§ The skate park is run down. Greater supervision is required, such as through CCTV system, possibly linked to web cams.

§ Esperance does not have a BMX track. An informal BMX trail existing in the West Beach area, but has now been used for the Anglican school.

§ Adventureland Park is more protected from the wind than other areas of the foreshore, hence is an attractive place for activity.

4.2 Caregivers

6 female caregivers attended the forum held at and organised by the Esperance Community Kindergarten. Key issues raised were:

§ Residential housing is tending to be built on smaller blocks, with small backyards. Consequently, parks are considered an extension of, or adjunct to the home backyard.

§ Open space is valuable to families who live out of town, and visit Esperance for school. Shopping etc.

§ Young children need a fenced park to stop them running onto roads.

§ Lions Park and Chantilly Park were considered to be good parks. They are reasonable size, and have a variety of areas for activity. The bush area at Chantilly was highly regarded as it allows children to run through the trees and shrubs.

§ More shade is required at most parks. Other items which should be considered are toilets, BBQ, paths (for cycling by very young children).

§ Parks need a largish grass area for kicking and throwing balls and other robust activities.

§ Universal access to parks and playgrounds is a desirable objective.

§ Sand is not considered as an ideal soft fall, although it was recognised that most soft fall material had problems, including cost.

4.3 Young People

Six young people aged 13 to 17 years attended the forum held at and organised by the Esperance Youth Services. Key issues raised were:

§ The most popular open space areas were on the foreshore area near the James Street Jetty and Adventureland Park, which was referred to as Whale Park.

§ The foreshore area is mainly visited in family groups, rather than with friends.

§ Ideas proposed to increase the attraction of open space areas included:

ü Water based playground

ü Increase play equipment on the pontoon in the bay eg slide

ü Install a pontoon in shallow water for younger children

ü Redirect the miniature railway along the foreshore

ü Half court basketball

ü Drinking fountains

ü Exercise equipment

ü Graffiti art

ü Improve the sound shell

§ To improve the relevance, sense of ownership and reduce vandalism on open space in the Nulsen area, it was suggested that the community (elders and young people) be heavily involved in the planning, design and installation of facilities and equipment.

4.4 People with Disabilities

Five people attended the forum held at and organised by the WA Disability Commission, including two people in wheelchairs, a parent of an intellectually disabled young person, and a partner of a wheelchair bound person. Key issues raised were:

§ Whilst standards for access existed, it is important to ensure that adoption of the standards are practical and workable. For example an access ramp for people with disabilities must be located so it can be used. In some instances they are located in the middle of a disabled car parking space, which does not provide sufficient space to manoeuvre a wheelchair around a car to the start of the ramp.

§ People with disabilities (PWD) need access to open space to be able to use any equipment.

§ Esperance has a beach wheelchair which is designed to enable access to and along beaches. It needs to be housed in a secure shed near the beach, to enable it to be used. All materials (ie the base and the shed) will be provided, Note the area however, Council has not been able to provide a suitable parcel of land to locate it. [of land required is relatively small]

§ Accessing a boat from a wheelchair is difficult. A floating ramp should be installed to enable access from the jetty to a boat.

§ Fenced playgrounds in Esperance have gates with locking devices which are very difficult to open from a wheelchair. Different and wheelchair friendly closing/opening latches should be installed.

§ To increase access along sealed paths, they should have minimum camber. Excessive camber makes using the paths very difficult for people in wheelchairs.

§ No beaches in Esperance are wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair access to the sand should be provided.

§ None of the sports grounds have public toilets which are accessible for people in wheelchairs.

§ Greater Sports Ground does not have any paths which allow wheelchair access from the car park to the little athletics oval.

§ A submission was tabled which has previously been emailed to Council regarding the Esperance Waterfront Redevelopment Project. Major points raised in the submission are highlighted:

ü Firstly the upgrade of the existing public toilets near the James Street jetty. Most doors in disabled toilets have round doorknobs and people who have limited hand function find it difficult to open the door. A lever action handle would be easier to use. Usually the doors are hinged so that the door swings into the toilet which is easy to get into but trying to get out when you are in a wheelchair is very hard because you have to use one hand to hold the door open and try and wheel backwards with one hand. This makes it very difficult to get out. A double hinged door or a sliding door could be a better option. Privacy is a big concern while in the toilet and sometimes toilets have locks that are to small to operate with limited hand function. A sliding bolt lock could be easier to use.

ü I enjoy wheeling along the foreshore path in between town and the long jetty for exercise but in some areas of the path the gradient from left to right is steep and its hard to wheel on. Many people who use strollers also have the same problem. Is this path going to be resurfaced? If so, can the path be levelled out? Are all the new paths being constructed wide enough to accommodate people in wheelchairs and people who use strollers? Will the new paths be level?

ü All new car parks should have at least one disabled parking bay per car park with suitable ramps and paths to access the foreshore development. Even now there are no disabled parking bays at the long jetty car park and only one at James Street and one at the boat ramp car park.

ü Do access points from James Street, Kemp Street, Brazier Street and Balfour Street have suitable ramps and paths? Is there going to be paths, ramps and handrails at all beach access point and at both beach promenade terraces? How deep is the sunken playground area near the long jetty and will that be accessible to everyone? Are all the seating and look out notes accessible to everyone?

ü Another matter is parking and with a growing population we need more parking. With the new barbecue facilities, playground facilities, James Street jetty, water pontoon and helipad would it be a good idea to keep the James Street jetty as a car park so people can access these facilities easily. A suggestion would be to relocate the James Street promenade with picnics space, events space, seating and interpretation to the area where the big shade sail and seats are now, where there would be more space for these facilities.

4.5 Summary

1 Four workshop sessions were held with groups of people representing older adults, caregivers with young children, young people and people with disabilities to discuss open space in Esperance.

2 A common theme was that whilst Esperance has adequate open space it is not necessarily designed and developed ot meet the specific need sof these four groups of people.

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 118

APPENDIX A: INVENTORY

Table A.1: Town Centre

Res ID#	Res#	Address	Name	Purpose	Function	Hierarchy
255	35292	Brockman Street, Esperance	Brockman Park	Recreation Playground	Recreation	Neighbourhood
286		Layton Street, Esperance	Layton Street Reserve	Recreation Playground	Recreation	Neighbourhood
372, 375	2815	The Esplanade, Esperance	Museum Park	Museum, Community Purposes & Parklands	Recreation	Neighbourhood
49, 50	2611	The Esplanade, Esperance	Grace Darling Park	Grace Darling Park	Recreation	Neighbourhood
388, 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394 395 396, 397	27318	The Esplanade, Esperance	The Esplanade and Bow Park	Crown Land - Bow Park	Recreation	Regional
28	32048	The Esplanade, Esperance	Unable to locate	Scouts Hall	Recreation	Neighbourhood
124	32135	The Esplanade, Esperance	Esperance Bay Yacht Club	Esperance Bay Yacht Club	Sport	Regional
404	33694	The Esplanade, Esperance	Unable to locate	Crown Land - Slipway	Sport	Regional
Freehold		Ingleton Place, West Beach	Ingelton Place Reserve	Recreation Playground	Recreation	Neighbourhood
Freehold		Collie Street, West Beach	Collie Street Reserve	Recreation Playground	Recreation	Neighbourhood
225, 226	44013	Eagle Court, West Beach	Eagle Park	Public Open Space	Recreation	Neighbourhood

33	39453	Hughes Road, West Beach	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Park	Undeveloped	Regional
38	43727	Hughes Road, West Beach	Undeveloped	Public Recreation- Vested-Shire Of Esperance	Undeveloped	Regional
	28207	Panorama Place, West Beach	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Recreation	Undeveloped	Regional
214, 215	41141	Panorama Place, West Beach	Coastal Reserve	Crown Land - Recreation	Undeveloped	Regional
123	31540	Twilight Beach Road, West Beach	Coastal Reserve	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Regional
216, 217, 218, 219, 220	41141	Twilight Beach Road, West Beach	Coastal Reserve	Park And Recreation	Undeveloped	Regional
233	7742	Walker Street, West Beach	Walker Park	Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
221	41141	Walker Street, West Beach	Coastal Reserve	Park & Recreation	Undeveloped	Regional
335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340	27626	Stewart Street and Thompson Street, West Beach	Skroyls Park , Esperance Army Cadet Hq, Esperance Pistol Club	Recreation and Sport	Largely undeveloped with velodrome and other facilities	Regional

Map A.1: Town Centre

Table A.2: Nulsen

Res ID#	Res#	Address	Name	Purpose	Function	Hierarchy
276	3287	Black Street, Esperance	Greater Sports Ground	Recreation & Agriculture Showground, Indoor Sport Pavilion, Ports Football Club , Tennis Club	Sport	Regional
67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72	29727	Black Street, Esperance	Bay of Isles Leisure Centre	Bay Of Isles Leisure Centre	Sport	Regional
22	30201	Black Street, Esperance	Greater Sports Ground	Crown Land - Recreation - Bowling	Sport	Regional
287	30202	Black Street, Esperance	Greater Sports Ground	Bowling And Beach Volleyball Club	Sport	Regional
246	32632	Black Street, Esperance	Unknown building	Crown Land - Recreation & Hall site	Recreation	District
136	38187	Dalyup Drive, Nulsen	Undeveloped	Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
345	31300	Iona Street, Nulsen	Undeveloped adjacent to cemetery	Crown Land - Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
		Munro Lane, Nulsen		Crown Land - Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
186	30841	Olympian Way, Nulsen	Olympian Way	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
75	30975	Olympian Way, Nulsen	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Drain	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
4	3161	Pink Lake Road, Nulsen	Undeveloped	Recreation - Land Id R244/3161	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
344	30451	Rowse Street, Nulsen	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Recreation Vested In Shire Of Esperance	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
376	9677	Sims Street, Nulsen	Esperance Football Club Oval	Esperance Football Club	Sport	District
206	39303	Victoria Street, Nulsen	Victoria Park	Crown Land - Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
202	36886	Pink Lake Road, Pink Lake	Undeveloped	Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood

130	36887	Pink Lake Road, Pink Lake	Undeveloped	Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
402, 403	33681	Johns Street, Sinclair	Undeveloped	Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
77	35993	Treasure Road, Sinclair	Treasure Park	Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
Freehold		Milner Street, Sinclair	Milner Street Reserve	Playground	Recreation	Neighbourhood
201	36875	Valley Road, PINK LAKE	Undeveloped	Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
311	3437	Garden Road, PINK LAKE	Undeveloped	Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
297	34829	Eleven Mile Beach Road, PINK LAKE	Pink Lake Golf Course	Golf course	Sport	Regional

Map A.2: Nulsen

Table A.3: Castletown

Res ID#	Res#	Address	Name	Purpose	Function	Hierarchy
189, 190	32712	North Road, Castletown	Lalor Park	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
76	30976	Arthur Street, Castletown	Arthur Park	Playground & Recreation Reserve	Recreation	Neighbourhood
422	48910	Chantilly Circuit, Castletown	Chantilly Park	Reserve For Recreation and Drainage	Recreation	Neighbourhood
47	50340	Baleine Drive, Castletown	Baleine Drive Reserve	Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
358	39470	Butler Street, Castletown	Butler Street Reserve	Playground	Recreation	Neighbourhood
203	37215	Beech Street, Castletown	Undeveloped	Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
78	37273	Catherine Street, Castletown	Dixon Park	Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
39	43728	Dance Street, Castletown	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
368	48923	Dauphin Crescent, Castletown	Undeveloped	Reserved For Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
107	48893	Gunton Circle, Castletown	Undeveloped	Reserve For Recreation And Drainage	Undeveloped	Local
254	35228	Mitchell Street, Castletown	Kalinda Park	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
273	46730	Remark Drive, Castletown	Undeveloped	Vest In Crown- Reserve For Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
231	47919	St Germain Avenue, Castletown	St Germain Park	Reserve For Recreation -Vest In Crown	Recreation	Neighbourhood
137	41745	Walmsley Street, Castletown	Lions Park	Lions Park	Recreation	Neighbourhood
128	36278	Westmacott Street, Castletown	Closed Road	Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
400, 401	33339	Wildcherry Avenue, Castletown	Wildcherry Park	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Recreation	Neighbourhood
48	50611	Petrie Street, Bandy Creek	Investigator Park	Reserve for Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
271	43726	Daw Drive, Bandy Creek	Undeveloped	Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
82, 83, 84, 85	37467	Fisheries Road, Windabout	Edge Of Road Reserve	Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
95	38227	Norseman Road, Windabout	Esperance Golf Course	Esperance Golf Course	Sport	Regional
79, 80, 81	37467	Fisheries Road, Castletown	Edge of road reserve	Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
352, 353, 354	35201	Bandy Creek Road And Frank Freeman Drive, BANDY CREEK	Undeveloped along creek	Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
378	15238	Wylie Bay Road, Bandy Creek	Coastal reserve	Recreation and Parkland	Undeveloped	Local

Map: A.3: Castletown

Table A.4: Esperance West

Res ID#	Res#	Address	Name	Purpose	Function	Hierarchy
176	25891	Twilight Beach Road, West Beach	Coastal reserve	Recreation	Nature	Regional
267, 268, 269, 270	42630	Helms Drive, Pink Lake	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
361, 362	44627	Helms Drive, Pink Lake	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
266	41860	Twilight Beach Road, West Beach	Surf Life Saving Club	Surf Lifesaving Club	Sport	Regional
277, 278, 279	4180	Twilight Beach Road, West Beach	Coastal reserve	Common	Nature	Rgeional
365, 366	46443	Dunkley Circuit, Pink Lake	Undeveloped	Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Neighbourhood
308	34777	Plum Pudding Road, Pink Lake	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Recreation Dune Buggies & Trail Bikes	Undeveloped	Regional

Map A.4: Esperance West

Table A.5: Esperance Surrounds

Res ID#	Res#	Address	Name	Purpose	Function	Hierarchy
283, 284	26257	Merivale Road, Merivale	Undeveloped	Recreation & Parkland	Undeveloped	Local
34	39685	Fisheries Road, Myrup	Cannot Be Located	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
	2779	Myrup Road, Myrup		Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
387	26319	Backman Road, Neridup	Tennis Courts	Neridup Tennis Club & Recreation Reserve	Sport	District
178, 179	28099	Fisheries Road, Myrup	Newtown Football Oval	Newtown Football Clubrooms And Esperance Bay Gun Club	Sport	Regional
5	15239	Myrup Road, Myrup	Undeveloped Along Creek	Parkland	Nature	District

282	23872	Myrup Road, Myrup	Cannot Be Located	Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
	31708	Myrup Road, Myrup	Cannot Be Located	Crown Land - Horse & Pony Club	Sport	District
304	43200	Myrup Road, Myrup	Undeveloped	Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
131, 132, 133	38140	Orana Drive, Myrup	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
97, 98, 99, 100	40216	Yallambee Road, Myrup	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Recreation	Undeveloped	Local
6	15239	Quarry Road, Myrup	Cannot Be Located	Parkland	Undeveloped	Local
248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253	35037	Myrup Road, Myrup	Esperance Speedway	Crown Land - Hot Rod Track And Esperance Motor Raceway	Sport	Regional
377	14545	Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, Monjingup	Public Toilet	Public Conveniences - Parkland	Recreation	Local
134, 135	38163	Davis Road, Monjingup	Undeveloped Along Creek	Crown Land - Recreation	Nature	District
321, 322	23043	South Coast Highway, Monjingup	Monjingup Reserve	Crown Land - Preservation, Rec. & Parkland	Nature	District

323, 324	23043	Telegraph Road, Monjingup	Monjingup Reserve	Crown Land - Preservation & Recreation	Nature	District
152, 153, 154	4181	Stearne Road, Monjingup	Undeveloped	Common	Undeveloped	District
193	33660	Stearne Road, Monjingup	Wetland	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Nature	Regional
89, 90, 91, 92	38201	Stearne Road, Monjingup	Lake Front Reserve	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Nature	Regional

Map A.5: Esperance Surrounds

Table A.6: West of the Shire

Res ID#	Res#	Address	Name	Purpose	Function	Hierarchy
285	26761	Baker Street, Dalyup	Undeveloped	Vacant land - Community Purposes	Undeveloped	Local
327, 328, 329, 330	26310	South Coast Highway, Dalyup	Dalyup Hall	Dalyup Tennis Club & Hall	Recreation	District
24, 25, 26, 27	31759	South Coast Highway, East Munglinup	Undeveloped reserve along Munglinup River	Crown - Munglinup River Park	Nature	Regional
291, 292, 293, 294, 295	32337	Recherche Archipelago , Southern Ocean	Undeveloped coastal reserve	Camping & recreation	Nature	Regional
20	26912	Rollond Road, Lort River	Undeveloped	Recreation & parkland	Nature	Regional

Map A.6: West of the Shire

Table A.7: Centre of the Shire

Res ID#	Res#	Address	Name	Purpose	Function	Hierarchy
73, 74	30395	Shepherd Street, Grass Patch	Grass Patch Hall	Community Hall	Recreation	District
158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163	19624	Grass Patch Road, Grass Patch	Undeveloped	Recreation & Racecourse	Undeveloped	District
234	19773	Truslove Road, Grass Patch	Undeveloped	Recreation	Undeveloped	District
342	27786	Salmon Gums East Road, Salmon Gums	Undeveloped	Bush Fire Brigade Site, Gun Club	Undeveloped	District
172, 173, 174	24007	Circle Valley Road, Salmon Gums	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Parkland	Undeveloped	District
23	31467	Cable Street, Scaddan	Sporting club - uncertain	Sporting Club - Recreation	Sport	District
351	34491	Cable Street, Scaddan	Scaddan Country Club	Scaddan Country Club	Sport	District
195	34514	Kendall Road, Scaddan	Scaddan Country Club - bowls	Recreation	Sport	District
19	25639	Starr Street, Gibson	Gibson Football Club Oval	Gibson Football Club Rooms	Sport	District
184	30792	Walker Street, Gibson	Undeveloped	Crown Land - Golf Course	Undeveloped	District

Table A.7: Centre of the Shire

Table A.8: East of the Shire

Res ID#	Res#	Address	Name	Purpose	Function	Hierarchy
243	27225	Sutcliffe Street, Condingup	Condingup Hall and Oval	Community Hall	Recreation & Sport	District
177	27363	Fisheries Road, Condingup	Condingup Country Club	Crown Land - Public Recreation	Sport	District
208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213	41097	Orleans Bay Road, Condingup	Coastal reserve including small settlement	Crown Land - Parkland & Recreation	Nature	Regional
232	3805	Fisheries Road, Israelite Bay	Undeveloped coastal reserve	Recreation	Nature	Regional

Map A.8: East of the Shire

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 139

APPENDIX C: HOW TO SPEND $100,000

If you had $100,000 to spend on any open space area, how would you use it?

Playgrounds

A massive playground within Castletown area including a skate park.

Upgrade children’s parks and definitely provide shade.

Put it towards a kid’s coastal water play area like most other areas in Qld have.

New playground at Adventureland Park. Similar to playground on Geraldton’s foreshore. It had a playground suitable for small children and another for older children with more challenging activities.

Nature play.

I would spend it on the Tanker Jetty Headland to provide an all inclusive nature play area for children to discover.

More toilets and something for teenagers and preschool kids.

Upgrade children's park to make sure that it is safe for younger toddlers to play in by providing more suitable play equipment for age appropriate, as well as adequate shading over play equipment for sun safety. Good examples like Kings Park and Mueller Park in Perth.

Make a really amazing playground for kids which encourages open ended play, utilising predominantly natural features (ie logs, rocks) to encourage climbing, building and imaginative play. There is a really great one in Kings Park Perth which could be used as a template.

I would add more equipment to the adventure land park!!

Children’s playground suitable for a range of ages with safe matting, fencing, shade and seating somewhere along the Foreshore/Esplanade.

Upgrading playgrounds that are central and frequently used (Adventureland/Tractor Playgrounds). Shade sails, sealed turf under play equipment and newer pieces.

Improving play spaces for children including more equipment (e.g. Kadidjiny Park in Melville, Perth) BBQ/seating, shade & trees. Permanent fencing at amphitheatre. Foreshore - BBQs, seating/tables, shade, water park/playground.

Provide a complete venue offering play equipment, nature play activities and shade along with amenities.

I would look at adding something fun for everyone at Adventureland park.

Create a playground with shaded play area, would make it more usable or warmer weather.

A major upgrade to Port / mini train /Taylor St park. Better shade at playground and drainage or more sand, new equipment. This is the one playground all visitors to Esperance use and it suits all age classes.

Upgrade Adventureland Park with exciting children's play equipment

Maintenance of playground equipment & fencing. Shade sails and new playground equipment.

Upgrade the James St park. It is the ONLY fenced park for small children in the middle of town, there is insufficient shade, and the play equipment is very poorly designed for young children i.e. a drop off to a fireman’s pole that is dangerous for young children. I would also like to see more natural materials used in upgrading existing parks. For example, the children's garden at the Geelong Botanic Gardens is a great example of the use of water, sand, musical bridges etc, and it appears to be made out of primarily natural materials, rather than synthetic. Please no soft fall.

Build new updated playgrounds.

I would spend it on a playground and protective shelters near the James St jetty.

I would upgrade the play area down at the Adventureland Park! It is a local favourite and it is beautiful. Add a few more walking paths, some more bbq’s and tables, refurbish the maze and consider another playground in there too.

New flooring, get rid of the sand and mat it using the recycled tyre material. The positives of this outweigh the fact it gets warm in summer. Upgrading park equipment, more equipment, incorporate adventure play equipment.

Park Amenities

Upgrade toilet facilities at beaches further from town centre.

More toilets and something for teenagers and preschool kids.

Amenities like toilets and bbq's

Shade sails in parks, more public toilets, bbq’s.

More shade sails at playgrounds, more seating for parents at these parks re grass play area at Kings Park, sand is no good.

On shades for kids parks, improved kids play/park equipment, ***** refurbishment of Adventureland Park****this desperately needs doing.

Provide shade at children's parks and also fencing so they can't get out.

I would put more shade sails over the play equipment, put up more gazebos, put down rubber mats under play equipment and put fencing all around our playgrounds so you have less to worry about when children are running around.

Upgrading toilets, and shade over equipment for safety of children.

BBQ shade and park back at the original Port Authority place.

Shaded children's playground catering for all ages on the foreshore.

Shaded areas along the foreshore.

Put shade sails up on a Castletown Lions Park and Steam Roller Park part of playground.

Updating aging facilities eg toilets at Lions Park.

More bbq and shelters along the coast.

Anywhere along the foreshore (more near the headland) a massive sunshade. Otherwise a massive sun shade at the Museum Village, that way that open space will be utilised more. Also seating - there is no seating there.

Plant trees for shade, proper toilets, paths, tables and seats, lots of bins and huge fines for people that litter.

More parks on the foreshore & shade in all parks.

Shade and wind protected areas. Protected from observation and wind showers and toilets easily accessed with hooks for bags, basins that you can actually wash your hands in ie: roomy and taps that are easy for everyone (including arthritic/weak grips) to use. And good lighting in the building. Garbage bins where people will use them and not just where it's easy for the contractor to empty them. Dog watering spots. Foot washing spots - so if you've just been paddling you don't have to juggle under the shower or try and put your feet in the basin.

Toilets, bins, walk trails, seats, BBQ/picnic area, weed control and maintenance.

By putting a roof over the Taylor St play area (obviously not the whole park) so that it can be used in rainy and hot weather (those slides get very hot in summer).

I’d put shade and bbq’s at all parks and make riding trails for horses.

Shade shelters along the Foreshore.

Additional seating/shade shelters along the Waterfront.

Split it between 2 areas. 1) Improve shade area on a pre-school play area. 2) Formalise tracks and undertake conservation on Dempster Head.

Shade, shade, shade.

More shade shelters.

Provide lots of shade, natural and manmade.

More trees, shade sails, gardens and seating.

More barbeques, gazebos & seating along the Foreshore and entertainment areas for teenagers.

Shade sails.

I would put a shade sail on Lions Park and upgrade the fencing and picnic area.

To plant more trees to provide shade at local parks and provide more seating at the parks and along the Quays.

Engage qualified landscape architect, lay out area with plentiful planting of trees, shrubs endemic to the region, plan to provide lots of seating, well shaded children’s play ground entirely covered in shade, toilets, walking trails, skate park, shaded comfortable bbq areas. Lots of public artworks.

Shade for local parks.

Providing shade at existing playgrounds.

I would put it towards improving the amenity of one or two existing parks in town inc preparation of a well designed plan. There isn't much point spending money on play equipment for spaces that aren't inviting to start with.

Put shade sales over all play areas.

Provide water fountains along walk/jog routes, more shelter/shaded seating areas, do something about the huge amount of dog fouling along the pathways- it’s disgusting, provide more lighting along the pathway at the Esplanade for the safety of night-time walkers/joggers.

Shade sales.

Shade.

Upgrade a park to be beautiful, soft grass, shade trees, bbq area, quality play equipment, interesting and interactive garden beds.

I would use it to upgrade toilets and access areas to out of town nature reserves and the roads leading into those places.

Teenagers

Fix the skate park.

More toilets and something for teenagers and preschool kids.

Create a BMX track and put in a half pipe on Southern Rd. Across the road create a more exposed park with better play equipment. Or, put Lions Parks undercover.

Something for teenagers.

Firstly, a form of scheme whereby teenagers could apply for membership fees to sporting clubs or pool passes be subsidised or paid in full on their behalf and some form of equipment assistance. Sport is the best way to keep them out of trouble. Secondly, I would improve existing riding trails and create some new ones in other areas of town giving people with horses and motorbikes somewhere safe to ride, with pamphlets for all users stipulating correct etiquette for overtaking, right of way etc.

A new skate park for teens, shaded benches for picnics and barbeques, playground fenced from road, football posts.

Fixing the skate park - although I don't think that would be enough. Toilet facilities are also very shabby.

Skate park.

Provide shade/shade sails and invest in quality play equipment to replace some of the older equipment.

Upgrade the facilities at the Park or go towards a water park near the mini train line to make more interesting things for older children

Water park for the kids and teenagers or a bowling alley for the teenagers. There is NOTHING for the teens here that is half the cause of the drugs and alcohol abuse here.

More barbeques, gazebos & seating along the foreshore and entertainment areas for teenagers.

Fencing around sound shell, shade sails at playgrounds. Activities for teens.

Would like to see more activities for older kids, 10 and up especially along the foreshore away from town, as there is only the 'tractor' park near museum and then nothing after that. Climbing walls and spider webs would be great, lockable bike racks, volleyball nets in summer on the foreshore, sensory style activities like the ones in Perth.

I would fix up the skate park for the teens and the maze near there for the school aged children. I would like to see the benches and whale updated as well, and the giant drain hole or pot hole as you turn in fixed up.

Improve/rebuild a decent skate park for the kids like the one in Ellenbrook in Perth.

Improve the skate park to the specifications of the users, like one in Albany.

Foreshore Water Park

Build a water park for all ages on the foreshore.

Create ocean swimming pool.

Ocean pool.

Water park for all the kids; or a big covered play area age specific e.g. Kings Park.

Water park on the Foreshore.

Would put a mini water themed park down by the waterfront for the children. Move the bbq areas (that are in odd spots that hardly get used) and stick them closer to the waterfront. They will get used there.

I would build a water playground with the big bucket of water on top of the playground that tips water over the playground; also I would probably put a little shop there (even if it's in a caravan (eg- caravan like coffee cat).

Foreshore kids water park feature. Something that all ages can play in for a bit of water fun without having to swim In the ocean

A playground/ water park on the foreshore for children and teens, with bbq facilities nearby. Shade cloths to provide shading to existing playgrounds would also be good.

Put it towards a water park on the Foreshore.

I would perhaps consider a splash pool consisting of one inch deep water within a sea scape of the aerial view of the Esperance coastland for interactional and educational purposes.

Sound Shell

I wouldn't need $100K but I would fence the sound shell to protect it from damage - but to ensure that more community organisations or corporates can use it and assist in its maintenance. If you wish to police, cost an event at the site then you as a group have to factor the cost of hiring fencing into your event which can prohibit events and costs.

Develop the Museum Village and Sound Shell - specifically a fence around the Sound Shell.

Improvements to the area at the Sound Shell.

I would spend at the Sound Shell to improve the infrastructure so that it can be used more widely at less cost to groups that utilise it. If it had erect fencing, sound, lighting, staging and more toilets, groups could possibly pay more to use it but would not have the heavy cost of the infrastructure. This saving could be passed on to audience by way of reduced if not free entry as overheads are less. Also, having the infrastructure would reduce the volunteer time in setting up and taking down equipment.

Fencing around Sound Shell shade sails at playgrounds. Activities for teens.

Improve the Sound Shell to make it be able to be used more than once per year.

PWD Facilities

Doesn't go far. Disabled access to Twilight.

Safe easy access for disabled and elderly (ramps & level non slippery surfaces) plenty of good, friendly, comfortable seating (not cold metal ones). Close disabled friendly toilets.

Build a disabled ramp down onto Twilight and revamp the carpark as it is our premiere beach and it looks pretty nasty.

Wheelchair, frail, and disabled access to all parks and nature reserves, toilets.

Trails

Increase cycle/walking tracks along the coastline.

Walk trails.

Maintaining of some trails.

I would use it to establish signed trails for horses and motorbikes; these are two big participants in open spaces and too at odds. Bikes need room and so do horses.

Provide sufficient trails dedicated to the use of horse riding, separate to motorbike users and others. And erect shades at ALL open space areas.

Build a pathway through to Newtown oval.

Maintain Dempster Head boardwalk and arrows, name plants, seats, shade.

Sports

Build and maintain Astroturf for the sports ground for sports like hockey.

Use it towards stadium upgrade.

Place turf cricket pitch in middle of multi Sports Oval and cricket nets adjacent and upgrade pavilion there to include change rooms etc for hockey, cricket etc. Result in premium facility for virtually all sports except football.

Put towards sporting reserves.

Miscellaneous

Dempster Head, an unrecognised jewel for Esperance

Establish a family friendly area along the foreshore for locals and visitors to play, relax, BBQ and meet up. Amphitheatre type seating to cater for large groups.

All weather recreation facilities.

Develop more camping grounds around the outlying Esperance areas.

For the development of a community, food producing garden based on permaculture principles and a native food forest with medicine plants.

Further development of Lake Monjingup area for public use.

Native/non native trees and shrubs planting for shade and biodiversity. walk trails.

Better education for motorists about public littering and bigger fines. Educating individuals to take care of their road verges as far as overhanging and overgrown trees, shrubs and weed species are concerned.

Installing stairs at some of the older access points in poor condition eg 10 mile

Improve the area.

Repairs/upkeep of the Tanker Jetty.

Improve the stadium.

Buy CSBP site and turn it into a Kings Park.

Restore Tanker Jetty as it is an important historical icon of this town and it brings great memories to many people that walk it and fish off it.

A good portion would be spent on environment and conservation.

For the protection of the water in our lake, as it has gone green around the edges because of a decision to remove the reeds from the South East end of the park, some 18 months ago, which acted as a filter, and the Gilgie population have all died! This has made this beautiful lake an eyesore, and I have a bag of gilgie shells to prove this. Also a tree on the North side has been lopped down.... I would enjoy seeing this lake again as a pristine attraction as it was 18months ago.

I would use it within the town limits because myself and the people I go bush with like the freedom of non-build up open spaces!

I would have a very similar design of the area to be used like Cairns Esplanade, which is outstanding for the whole community.

Town Foreshore. Increasing the beauty of the area and making it much more inviting to use. It's a beautiful asset we don't make enough of.

Fix the jetty.

Clean up all the dumped cars and rubbish in the sand dune area.

Improve the Bower Park playground facilities; add a water park.

Landscaping and replanting lawn areas around town centre with gardens of local native plant species.

Access for jetty fishing.

Clean up the CSBP area and develop into a Esperance version of Kings Park.

Enhance appreciation of natural areas with well maintained, interesting, evolving spaces. This would require less money than trying to create something that doesn’t suit the Esperance environment.

Keep all of the small parks open & spread the money between each of them.

I would use is to enhance the Foreshore town central with improving the cycle path near the Scout Hall and a parkland nature scape at the James Street location where the car park is including picnic tables and native fauna similar to the tea rooms native garden trail. I would perhaps consider a splash pool consisting of one inch deep water within a sea scape of the aerial view of the Esperance coastland for interactional and educational purposes.

Community meeting place - garden, art, UV rating display.

Fix the road.

I would put it towards the Cannery, improving the Wind Garden area planting out natives and improving the picnic facilities.

Create an incredible park that catered for all ages and challenged the children to develop

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 144

APPENDIX D: COMMENTS

Playgrounds

Shade should be the top priority.

We use many different parks every week; the children enjoy meeting their friends at different places and utilising all places. We could have toilets at the larger playgrounds in the district e.g. Pirate Park.

Where do you take your kids when it’s raining? None of the parks are UV protected either!

Recently the trees were cut down at our only half decent park for kids. As a parent, we are constantly reminding and educating our children about the dangers of being in the sun too long and then the shire cuts down all the trees and leave the children totally exposed.

Get rid of the small scruffy parks in town; build one good park in each suburb.

Replacing or upgrading play equipment for young children and addressing the needs of teenagers, should be a priority. There is talk in the community regarding a water playground and whether it is viable.

My idea of a successful outcome for open space in a town is so most if the residents can do an easy walk (or push a pram) to a park or playground from their home. We have some amazing natural assets in our landscape out of town, but the daily lives of families can be greatly value added by the ability to easily access open fun open spaces with small children.

Our playgrounds & parks require a huge improvement though as do public facilities e.g. toilets.

Factoring in that a lot of natural shade has been removed from children's play areas, shade sails are very important as there is now no Esperance parks with natural shade. Also, an upgrade to existing play equipment is required.

Additional/upgraded play equipment at Easton Rd Park would be welcomed.

I think it is ridiculous that the school's open spaces (esp. Esperance PS and Nulsen PS) are not available for community use.

Rationalize so that you can afford to make quality rather than quantity - not every street needs a playground - seek more partnerships to develop open spaces - town centre areas need more seats and shade.

Parks

There is a lack of bbq’s, lighting and shade for visitors and lack of information/signs.

I think we have great parks in town. I would love to just see more shade and upgrading to make the areas more modern. The Lions Park is a great space. A little bike track through it would be great, upgrade from the sand to soft matting and upgrade of the toilet block. I really love all the parks in Esperance but I think the Lions Park has the more potential and it is well used by people from all suburbs. I have a friend come from Myrup just to go to the Lions Park with her kids.

Shade important, not over all equipment, just where we can sit for morning tea.

They need to do more with it, more shade sails over play equipment, maintenance on the skate park. Clean up the public toilets that are all disgusting.

Facilities are required like man-made shade structures or BBQs but only at key sites like waterfront and popular coastal or nature conservation spots.

Please provide adequate shade and plenty of seating for older folks.

The parks and garden staff do an amazing job keeps all the areas around town green, lush and safe.

Small local parks are worth maintaining for good community living. Address the coastal plan for maintaining the dunes on Castletown Quays.

I think keeping the small parks is very important as it makes for greener communities and provides for an open area for the local children to play, especially with the backyard becoming a thing of the past. It allows the local children to socialise together.

I wish Esperance had a Volcano Park like Belmont. Seems nature play is the way of the future like the Rio Tinto nature scape at Kings Park. Our communal areas are invaluable to creating community unification.

The Shire do a great job maintaining all parks but we must provide more shade for the children.

I feel envious when I visit parks in other towns (e.g. Hammond Park Kalgoorlie, park on Clydesdale Rd Como).

Please could some shade be prioritised for parks. It's really difficult to have long park plays when there is poor shade.

Although I understand the need for animals at parks, I feel that some of the parks should be dog free. Not only are some kids intimidated by them, they leave poop everywhere and it is unsanitary! PLUS, I feel the need for more public toilets that are closer to parks. Any mother knows the importance of finding a park close to toilets because little bladders don’t hold on and having to drag all your kids across the car park 5 or 6 times for the toilet is really frustrating!

Teenagers

Greater Sports Ground needs priority and a decent investment if you don't want to add to a youth problem.

Need more open spaces for teenagers.

The Shire need to do something for the teenagers of this town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ask the future users, the teenager's. As a young mum in Esperance, I was disappointed with the playgrounds and the lack and quality of equipment.

Not enough quality useable space for teenagers.

More could be done with regard to activities for teenagers in my opinion.

Foreshore / Beaches

Something unique and fun is needed in this town whether it be a water park or something different on the Foreshore would be good.

A foreshore spray park would be better than an outdoor theatre as we already have a sound stage that is under-utilised. Let's put something fun in for kids of all ages that gets them being active!!

Castletown beach needs huts along the beach for shade. Just like Broome has on Cable beach and a water tap at the entrance of Castle Quays end of street. Make the Esplanade like the esplanade facilities like Cairns Esplanade. It would add to the town and more tourist and people would settle in Esperance.

Fantastic bike paths and beach access steps from West Beach to Eleven Mile - very impressive!

Don't close the beaches or sand dunes.

The water front has a lot of potential

It really just needs an update. Looking forward to the new foreshore development and have something to do for our own young kids and tourists with kids in our town.

Castletown Quays foreshore vegetation is a disgrace. Great opportunity there for rehabilitation and action is required against a known resident who is actively and openly degrading the natural vegetation at the end of LaPage St.

Provide interesting art/sculptures on the Foreshore. More shade areas with toilets and water available.

PWD

Yes. When designing and constructing seating and tables in the picnic areas look at the disability and frail people factor.

If they are made elderly and disabled friendly they really are for everyone.

Trails/Walks

More natural shade required along walk routes, will also help create wildlife and green corridors from coast to coast.

The riding trials are non-existent. Riding on the road is not feasible. There are more people that ride out at pink lake than use that cycle track (which I've only seen 1! set of cycle tracks on in the last year). What a waste of money. Open it up to riders and it will actually get used. No one uses it for cycling because there's no place to park the car at the start of the path. Residents in this area don't cycle that much - motorbikes, quads or horses are the regular recreational mode of transport.

If support would be given by the Shire to help maintain trails, I would be very interested in volunteering my time to assist and co ordinate.

More safe riding trails for horse riders.

Sport

Believe the football and cricket clubs should rationalise major clubroom facilities and a premium cricket ground needs to be created that allows a turf pitch to be created to provide incentive and experience to younger players to improve their games.

Not everyone plays sport and people have other interests.

Requests for comments on sporting facilities would perhaps also best be done via direct correspondence with sporting clubs.

Miscellaneous

Awesome job on the constant upkeep of the town, it is always looking neat and luscious!

If Esperance is to embrace being a super town and endeavour to increase tourism we have to be able to offer events to attract people. The ease and increased likelihood of groups/organisations being able to do this is increased if less money is spent on the infrastructure. This money could then be utilised towards advertising to the market outside of Esperance.

The CSBP site should be used as a picnic area. Beautiful trees!

Needs updating. For now things are just ok but now other towns are moving forward and we seem to be just standing still.

Please do not allow any more commercial buildings to be built in the town centre. i.e. - where the old fire station was recently demolished, keep the park near the CWA hall.

Desirable - landscaped in town, car parking, steps, toilets, covered seating, out of town - beach camping, beach access, walking and cycling trails.

Create family-friendly atmospheres that invite people and want them to go to that place. i.e.: Put a sun shade and seating, also some art work to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

The Shire of Esperance does a fantastic job maintaining the range of open space in the district. The range of open space in the Shire is great and I think that through the correct management of the open space, its full potential will be realised.

I think there is a good variety and generally well maintained. Be good to have a toilet at Woody Lake Reserve area.

Consider letting Lake Monjingup go, it’s doubling up with Dept Environment managed lakes. It has dubious environmental value. Spend that money on coastal reserves.

Need more useable open space in centre so there’s somewhere sheltered to meet and rest when in town - most of the open spaces are just empty grassed areas and unshaded so not nice to sit out in them. Should introduce useable open space for different types of uses like coastal gardens, growing food etc.

Would like to see a map of the open spaces available and what it looks like.

Make them more user friendly please.

Love them, they are a great asset!

Need more parking/lookouts along the tourist loop.

Think they are generally well kept and maintained, though lack of shade sometimes an issue.

We need family friendly, tourist inviting facilities around town

Open space areas need to cater for a wide range of ages and be flexible with what they offer for all of the community to enjoy.

Currently well managed.

It’s magic we are so lucky >>>!

Feedback is important, but we would like you to act on it.

We have a beautiful town & I compliment the Shire on the maintenance & upkeep they are always putting in to keep it pristine. We are very blessed & proud to live here.

I strongly believe that they are well worth protecting!!!!!

Thanks for asking!

Beautiful location, we live in paradise, focus on enhancing a few open spaces that many people will benefit from. Better than spreading it out across too many, that few benefit from.

Love living in Esperance & we are very lucky to have such beautiful natural spaces.

The roads are hideous, I moved here in April and have already had to change 2 tyres and get a wheel alignment. Potholes and ridiculous cover ups everywhere.

Give Scouts a long lease at their current location.

I would like to engage in community development public meetings regarding this topic. Thank you kerryblackmore@gmail.com

The Shire needs to get a better view of what residents want regarding open space, as this survey has not been well publicised nor is it readily accessible to many people. Perhaps school surveys or playgroup surveys would be beneficial in regards to parks for children and teenagers.

I can only hope that this survey will see some results and totally revamp open spaces. The town does not have adequate open space for the community, if it were not for the Ralph Bower park and the Esperance Port Authority open spaces, this town really would not have adequate open spaces; what there is available are all lacking shade, adequate seating plantings of trees etc and most of all an open space that the town can recommend to visitors. Will give credit to Woody Lake and Monjimup Lake Reserves, they are open spaces that have been well thought out and best of all 4X4 wheel drives cannot access them as they do all the coastal reserves and most beaches, destroying the beauty of this towns beaches, sand dunes and coastline.

Stop watering the median strips during the day, everyone else waters wisely, why don't you?

I hope that the quantity of open space in Esperance will never diminish!

Weeds in natural areas need to be managed better instead of relying on community groups e.g. EWAG/ South Coast NRM to do. There needs to be more public toilets to the west side of town, similar to East side of town.

The number of weeds along the Esperance Bay foreshore depresses me (particularly along Castletown Quays). We have indigenous flora to be proud of and should promote. Why are people allowed to dispose of their grass clippings in the dune area??? Why is there no weed management occurring in this area?

It would be lovely to see current open spaces be nurtured and revamped to excite children and their families.

Over all I love this town, I moved to the city before I had my son and moved back because I wanted him to grow up somewhere reasonably safe. Maybe some more yellow bins and some signs pointing to them might help the younger generation learn how to use a bin.

Major modern tourist interpretive centre re history plants adj. areas.

More / improved roadside gardens - see Norseman :)

Please increase plantings if native species. Please include water fountains in all open space planning/works. Please include dog hitching rails and poo bag stands in all open space planning/works. Thanks for all of the work that you already do.

More toilets needed that aren't dark and dingy.

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 153

1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides an introduction to the Review, including background to the project, the study aims and scope, methodology and structure of reports.

1.1 Background

The Shire of Esperance currently provides a variety of recreational opportunities which include playing fields, parks, natural areas, coastal facilities and the town centre.

1.2 Project Aim

The review of the existing Public Open Space ie; active grounds, passive reserves, CBD reserves, natural areas (Under Shire of Esperance control) satellite towns and coastal locations will:

§ Classify all Shire of Esperance reserves using Department of Sport and Recreation Public Open Space classification Framework.

§ Identify any gaps or oversupply in Public Open Space and make appropriate recommendations in relation to funding those gaps or disposal of Public Open Space.

§ Provide comment on what actions are required to existing Public Open Space ie; are existing facilities adequate, safe or additional facilities required subject to reserve classification.

§ Include an implementation plan, with costed and prioritised works, based on criteria such as condition, functionality, water availability and any other appropriate criteria.

§ Incorporate a consultation process with Councillors, Directors, Officers and the Community.

1.3 Methodology

The Review was conducted in three phases, including the following tasks:

Phase 1: Inception Meeting and Community Profiling

1 Project Clarification

2 Review documents

3 Participation Rate Review

4 Demographic Analysis

5 Community Profile

6 Presentation

Phase 2: Gap Analysis

1 Inventory of Open Space

2 Stakeholder Interviews

3 Household Survey

4 Focus Groups

5 Open Space Model

6 Summary Report

7 Presentation

Phase 3: Open Space Strategy

1 Preliminary Draft Open Space Strategy

2 Council Briefing

3 Draft Plan

4 Public Consultation

5 Final Report and Presentation

1.4 Structure of the Report

This Community Profile presents the findings of the research conducted in Phase 1.

2 Literature Review

This chapter provides a summary of reports and documents relevant to the Public Open Space Review.

2.1 Council Strategic Planning Documents

2.1.1 Strategic Community Plan 2012 to 2022

This plan is provides the primary strategic direction for the Council and is positioned as an overarching document to guide the future direction, goals and aspirations of the Esperance community. Specifically, to guide the Council’s future policies, plans, projects and decision making over the next ten years.

1 Vision

Esperance is spectacular.

We have a vibrant, welcoming community that encourages new people to our region and gives a sense of belonging to those who live here.

We value our natural resources and accept the responsibility to manage them for future generations to enjoy.

We aim to strengthen and diversify the region’s economic base in a way that complements our social and environmental values.

We are strategically located as a diverse and dynamic region that is committed to a sustainable change and growth.

Above all, we are a community that makes it happen.

2 Values

There are five key values that form the word “PRIDE”:

ü Professionalism – in the standards and ethics of our actions

ü Respect – through courtesy and honesty in our dealings with all people

ü Integrity – that builds community trust

ü Dedication – of a committed team that works together to provide leadership for the community

ü Excellence – in the service that we provide for the community

3 Themes and Goals

Four key themes and associated goals describe what the community wants to achieve.

Theme 1: Social

§ A healthy and caring community which has strong support for all ages and abilities, and is accommodating and tolerant of a wide range of views.

§ A safe community where residents feel secure and comfortable at home, work and play.

§ A healthy community engaging in positive and rewarding lifestyles with access to a broad range of recreational opportunities.

§ A vibrant community, enjoying access to a wide range of quality arts and cultural activities.

Theme 2: Environment

§ Valuing our pristine environment and ensuring the natural resources within the Shire are recognised as an important asset and managed in a sustainable manner.

§ Recognising the environmental and recreational value of coastal reserves, and managing them in a way that will preserve them for future generations to enjoy.

§ Aiming for the equitable and sustainable development of land within the Shire that provides a genuinely desirable lifestyle.

§ Managing waste and recycling in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and meets the expectations of the community.

Theme 3: Economic

§ Community infrastructure and services delivered in a timely manner, are well utilised, effective and meet the expectations of our growing community.

§ Transport systems that are functional, efficient, economical and safe, couples with continuous improvement to meet the safety and amenity needs of the community.

§ Managing community assets in a whole of life and economically sustainable manner.

§ Promoting sustainable and diverse economic development opportunities that make the Shire of Esperance an attractive place to live, work and play.

Theme 4: Civic Leadership

§ A leading Council that is supported by an excellent organisation.

§ Governance structures that ensure accountable, transparent and ethical decision making.

§ Building the organisation and managing its structure, finances and assets in a sustainable manner.

§ A Council that proactively engages with all elements of its community in order to make decisions that reflect positively on the future of Esperance.

2.1.2 Shire of Esperance Local Planning Scheme No. 23

4 Preamble

The Shire of Esperance Local Planning Scheme No. 23 consists of this Scheme Text

and the Scheme Maps. The Scheme Text should be read with the Local Planning

Strategy for the Shire of Esperance.

Part 2 of the Scheme Text sets out the Local Planning Framework. At the core of this

Framework is the Local Planning Strategy which sets out the long-term planning

directions for the local government, applies State and regional planning policies and

provides the rationale for the zones and other provisions of the Scheme. In addition

to the Local Planning Strategy, the Framework provides for Local Planning Policies

which set out the general policies of the local government on matters within the

Scheme.

The Scheme divides the local government district into zones to identify areas for

particular uses and identifies land reserved for public purposes. Most importantly, the

Scheme controls the types of uses and development allowed in different zones.

There are particular controls included for heritage and special control areas. The

Scheme Text also sets out the requirements for planning approval, enforcement of

the Scheme provisions and non-conforming uses.

2.1.3 Planning our Future: A Growth Plan for Esperance and the South-East Region

5 Overview

This Growth Plan includes actions, projects and initiatives to promote and share the benefits of growth across the region and accommodate a population of up to 25,000 in Esperance by 2036. It is one of four which comprise the suite of ‘Growth Plan’ documents; the others are: “Planning our Future: Growth Plan Implementation Schedule”; “Planning our Future: Growth Plan Community Engagement Report”; and, “Esperance SuperTown Interim Growth and Implementation Plan (March 2012)”.

The key actions, initiatives or projects identified in this plan are given timeframes defined as short-term (2012-2016), medium-term (2016-2026) and long-term (2026-2036).

6 Vision

7 The South-East is Western Australia’s most desirable regional destination for lifestyle, work, unique experiences and investment. It is recognised for its vibrant, welcoming communities, pristine environment and diverse economy.

8 Guiding Principles

The plan identifies six guiding principles to achieve the stated vision:

Grow our Economy;

Strengthen our Communities;

Create a Sustainable Built Environment;

Protect and Enhance our Natural Environment;

Deliver Timely and Efficient Enabling Infrastructure; and,

Innovative and Proactive Governance.

9 Priority Actions, Projects and Initiatives

Local Governments of the South-East region have identified the following 8 actions, projects and initiatives to implement the Growth Plan vision:

1 Esperance Waterfront Redevelopment including the iconic Tanker Jetty;

2 Esperance Town Centre Revitalisation;

3 Esperance Economic Development Program including the Esperance Enterprise Unit;

4 Esperance Accommodation Options;

5 Esperance Greater Sports Ground and Indoor Stadium Redevelopment;

6 Esperance Waste Facility;

7 Norseman Visitor Gateway Centre; and

8 Ravensthorpe Heavy Haulage Bypass. .

Key elements relevant to public open space are:

Guiding Principle 2: Strengthen our Communities:

Recreation, Culture and Arts: At a State level, the Department of Sport and Recreation is undertaking sports and recreation audits which are vital to the planning and provision of new facilities. New facilities will be co-located wherever possible, for optimum community benefit. Creating active urban places is important to the health and wellbeing of our communities and incorporating active space into spatial planning and design projects will be crucial. We will acknowledge the importance of and support the development of our Indigenous communities. We will also ensure that our heritage is adequately protected and will continue to celebrate and develop our diverse culture.

Strategy Area	Key Actions, Projects or Initiatives	Lead Agency	Timeframe
Sports and Recreation	Greater Sports Ground and Indoor Stadium Redevelopment in Esperance	Esperance SuperTown Project Team – Shire of Esperance	Short Term

Guiding Principle 3: Create a Sustainable Built Environment:

Revitalisation: In Esperance, the Town Centre Revitalisation and Waterfront projects have been initiated, and there are emerging plans to revitalise the main streets in Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun. Revitalisation planning in Norseman has already commenced. These projects will make the region a more attractive place to live, work and visit.

Strategy Area	Key Actions, Projects or Initiatives	Lead Agency	Timeframe
Revitalisation	Esperance Waterfront Redevelopment	Shire of Esperance	Short Term
	Esperance Town Centre Revitalisation Project including Precinct Planning for Museum Park and linkages to the Waterfront	Esperance SuperTown Project Team – Shire of Esperance	Short Term
	Redevelop the iconic Esperance Tanker Jetty	Shire of Esperance	Short to Medium Term

Guiding Principle 4: Protect and Enhance our Natural Environment:

Our communities recognise that the environmental aspects of the region are a significant part of its heritage, values and identity. There are a number of National Parks, protected wetlands woodlands and hundreds of kilometres of dramatic coastline, that provide a number of conservation, recreation and tourism opportunities. Undertaking environmental studies and implementing biodiversity management plans will protect our natural assets.

Strategy Area	Key Actions, Projects or Initiatives	Lead Agency	Timeframe
Sustainability	Monitor growth aspirations and pressures to protect environmental assets in line with community values	Esperance SuperTown Project Team	Short to Long Term
Coastal Management	Prepare and implement a Coastal Recreation Management Plan for Esperance	Shire of Esperance	Short Term
Open Space	Develop and implement public open space strategy	Shire of Esperance	Medium Term

2.1.4 Regional Centres Development Plan (SuperTowns) Framework – 2011-2012

10 Overview

SuperTowns is a program for the selection of towns that meet set criteria, chosen to develop a SuperTown Growth Plan within the Regional Centres Development Plan Framework. It is an initiative of the State Government aimed at promoting the growth of regional centres in the southern half of Western Australia. Select regional communities are encouraged to plan an prepare for what is predicted to be a doubling of the State’s population over the next 40 years, to almost 4.5 million people.

SuperTowns are funded by Royalties for Regions; $85.5 million was to be made available in 2011/12. SuperTowns identified in 2011 were: Boddington, Collie, Esperance, Jurien Bay, Katanning, Manjimup, Margaret River, Morawa, and Northam.

A SuperTown Growth Plan will build on existing statutory requirements for Local Governments.

Specifically, it must incorporate:

§ Population growth opportunities;

§ Social, economic, man-made and natural environment, and spatial growth strategies; and,

§ Feasibility Implementation Programs

11 Vision

To have balanced, well-connected regional communities, with lifestyle options and access to services – SuperTowns will have affordable, quality housing and a growing and diverse range of job opportunities. They will offer more choices for people living in regional areas and an attractive alternative to living in the metropolitan area.

12 Principles

§ Strategic alignment, coordination and collaboration;

§ Sustainable development;

§ Place-making – strong community engagement;

§ Those communities, including surrounding communities, affected by decisions should be a key part of decision-making processes;

§ Shared and owned processes and outcomes; and,

§ Proactive, implementation focus.

13 Strategic Objectives

§ To target sustainable regional economic development and stimulate diverse employment and investment opportunities;

§ To assist in managing the State’s projected population expansion in key regional towns; and,

§ To plan and invest in town development and growth within an integrated strategic planning and implementation framework.

14 Key Focus Areas

The Super Towns initiative has 9 key focus areas:

§ Governance, strategic planning and community engagement;

§ Development of healthy, attractive and well-planned communities;

§ Sustainable communities;

§ Economic activity and employment opportunities;

§ Community engagement and more specifically Aboriginal involvement;

§ Maximisation of the benefits of technology and innovation;

§ Asset and infrastructure management;

§ Integrated transport and key infrastructure linkages; and,

§ Marketing and strengthening of identity.

2.1.5 Plan for the Future 2010/11 to 2012/13

The Shire of Esperance Plan for the Future spans two years, and was developed in consultation with the residents and ratepayers of the district.

15 Primary objectives:

§ Establish a series of targets for the Shire’s major projects in line with the Strategic Plan.

§ Offer the community the opportunity to lodge submissions in relation to these proposals for consideration by Council.

Nominated projects within this plan are classified under the follow 3 key strategic areas:

16 People Lifestyle and Community

1 Esperance Foreshore Protection and Enhancement Project:

ü This project is envisaged to be a shared arrangement between the Shire, the Western Australian Government, and Esperance Ports Sea and Land (EPSL), and comprise three stages dependent on the availability and sourcing of external funding:

ü The construction of a seawall along the Esperance townsite foreshore to protect new and existing infrastructure from coastal erosion;

ü The establishment of new community infrastructure between the seawall and the Esplanade; and

ü The development of a headland around the base of the Tanker Jetty, used to accommodate interpretive and cultural elements from the region, as well as further facilitate the littoral drift of sand in the Esperance Bay.

2 Greater Sports Ground Redevelopment:

ü The Council is seeking to re-develop the greater sports ground recreation area to incorporate the need to refurbish current facilities and to provide for the future needs of the Esperance District.

ü As part of its Essence of Esperance Strategic Plan the Shire of Esperance made a commitment to prepare a master plan for the development of the Greater Sports Ground to ensure a more rational use of space and facilities. The planning phase of this project is now complete, and additional community consultation is continuing to ascertain the relativity of the master plan. The first major infrastructure project under the plan is the new indoor sports stadium.

ü This project is now delayed until funding is sourced.

3 Tanker Jetty:

ü The Tanker Jetty is the most iconic and recognisable tourist attraction in Esperance.

ü A report was expected to be completed by June 2010; comprising of a comprehensive structural engineering assessment and facility maintenance program to identify requisite works and costings to maintain the structural integrity of the Jetty.

17 Sustainable Development and Employment

1 Flinders Residential Subdivision

2 Shark Lake Industrial Park

18 Transport

1 Port Transport Corridor:

ü The Esperance Port Transport Corridor (EPTC) is seen as a critical strategic project, and is of significant interest to the Esperance community, the broader Goldfields-Esperance region, the Western Australian Government, and the Australian Government.

ü Improvements to the EPTC are necessary to improve safety, local amenity and efficiency of port related heavy transport traffic.

ü The Australian Government has committed a maximum of $60 million (one third contribution) towards the EPTC project. This funding has been committed on the basis of a tripartite funding arrangement between the WA and Australian Governments and the private sector.

2.2 Strategic Plans

2.2.1 Active Esperance – Physical Activity Plan 2009-2014

The Physical Activity Plan was developed using funding from the Premier’s Physical Activity Taskforce, WALGA and Lotterywest to promote the community’s participation in sport, recreation and physical activity.

A community profile was developed from extensive community consultations throughout the Shire and other research material.

The plan consists of six strategic focus areas and key objectives are also outlined.

19 Purpose & Primary Objectives

The Plan provides a framework to increase levels of physical activity in the community by 5% over 10 years and develop a culture of healthy living within the community. Primary objectives include:

§ Increase participation in sport, recreation and physical activity particularly among less active people;

§ Develop quality infrastructure, opportunities, programs and services to support participation; and,

§ Recognise and promote health, environmental, social and economic benefits of an active community.

20 Intended Outcomes

Implementation of this Plan is expected to deliver positive outcomes beyond fitness and health:

§ A more physically active community;

§ A greater range of programs and services targeting physical activity and healthy lifestyles;

§ Improved health of the population;

§ Improved social cohesion;

§ Improved community safety;

§ Well designed and managed spaces and places for recreation;

§ Increased volunteerism in supporting active community initiatives;

§ Reduced health costs;

§ Increased employment in sport and leisure sectors;

§ Reduced automobile dependency; and,

§ Decreased greenhouse gas emissions.

21 Strategic Framework Key Focus Areas

§ Industry development

§ Participation

§ Organisational development

§ People development

§ Built environment

§ High performance

2.2.2 Esperance Trails Master Plan 2007 – 2017

This document was created to serve as a review of the previous Trails Master Plan and recommend a framework/concept plan for future trail proposals and annual trail development activities over the next ten years (refer to Map 2.1).The initial Esperance Trails Master Plan was released in February 1999. The document was to be implemented over the 5 year period from 1999 to 2004.

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 164

Existing trails identified in the initial Esperance Trails Master Plan (February 1999) were:

§ Goldfields Road Dual Use Path;

§ Esplanade Dual Use Path;

§ Blue Haven Dual Use Path;

§ Twilight Cove Dual Use Path;

§ Pink Lake Road Dual Use Path;

§ Rotary Lookout Walk Trail;

§ Lake Monjingup Walk Trail;

§ Cape Le Grand National Park;

§ Frenchman Peak Walk;

§ Coastal Track;

§ Cape Arid National Park;

§ Len Otte Nature Trail;

§ Tagon Coastal Walk;

§ Boolenup Walk;

§ Mt Ragged Walk;

§ Stokes National Park;

§ Heritage Trail;

§ Esperance Lakes Nature Reserves;

§ Kepwari Wetlands Walk Trail;

§ Peak Charles National Park;

§ Peak Charles Lookout;

§ Woody Island Nature Reserve;

§ Twiggy’s Landing Trail;

§ Skinny Dip Bay Trail; and,

§ Island Top Walk Trail.

Potential new trails and/or completion if existing trails and costs are:

	Priority	Length	Cost	Asphalt
Castletown Quays	1	698m	$56,000	Y
Goldfields Road DUP	1	768m	$62,000	Y
Twilight Cove DUP	1	1,741m	$140,000	Y
Bandy Creek Multi Use	1	2,810m	$197,000	N
Pink Lake Road DUP	1	1,980m	$160,000	Y
Duke of Orleans	1	-	-	N
Port Beach Swimming Trail	1	1,000m	$10,000	N/A
Pink Lake Road Trail	2	5,300m	$370,000	Y
The Observatory DUP	2	3,130m	$251,000	Y
Quarry Road Multi Use	2	13,335m	$935,000	N
Ten Mile Lagoon DUP	3	4,673m	$375,000	Y
Harbour Road/Sheldon Road DUP	3	2,400m	$180,000	Y
Lake Monjinup Multi Use	3	3,500m	$245,000	N
The Commons Dual Use Trail	3	5,420m	$380,000	N
Eleven Mile Road Multi Use	3	7,499m	$525,000	N

2.2.3 Disability Access and Inclusion Plan 2010-2012

The Western Australian Disability Services Act 1993 was amended in 2004 and requires that public authorities develop and implement Disability Access and Inclusion Plans (DAIP’s). Key aspects of the amended legislation are six desired outcomes of Disability Access and Inclusion Plans.

1 People with disabilities have the same opportunities as other people to access the services of and any events organised by a public authority.

2 People with disabilities have the same opportunity as other people to access the buildings and other facilities of a public authority.

3 People with disabilities receive information from a public authority in a format that will enable them to access the information as readily as other people are able to access it.

4 People with disabilities receive the same level and quality of service from the staff of a public authority as other people receive from the staff of that public authority.

5 People with disabilities have the same opportunities as other people to make complaints to a public authority.

6 People with disabilities have the same opportunities as other people to participate in any public consultations by a public authority.

22 Council’s commitment:

To ensure that people with disabilities are recognised and acknowledged within our community by ensuring that they, their families and carers, have the same rights as other people to access local government services and utilise public facilities.

2.2.4 Report – Playground Compliance Audit and Safety Inspection

23 Overview

§ This report was commissioned by the Shire of Esperance, and completed in October 2012.

§ The purpose of this report was to investigate the current status of playgrounds within the Shire of Esperance in respect to their physical condition and to determine their compliance with the Australian Standards and recognition of industry “best practice”.

§ A total of 34 playground locations containing 137 play elements and their safety surface were selected and audited to ascertain whether or not they complied with the Australian Standards.

24 Scope

§ Playground inventory - equipment register, manufacturer, installation date, age and safety surface;

§ Compliance audit – an audit in accordance with the relevant Australian Standards to ascertain the compliance of the equipment and safety surface;

§ Operational inspection - an operational inspection identifying the operational use of the equipment and any repair and/or maintenance requirements;

§ Phased replacement plan including budget projection.

25 Objective

§ Protect the user.

§ Minimise the risk of injury.

§ Identify non-conformance, hazards, and condition and maintenance issues and make recommendations.

§ Develop a comprehensive management program.

§ Document and forward planning.

26 Recommendations

§ Endorse the findings of the report and action the required response in accordance with AS 4486.1 - 1997, Clause 9.8 where it should be noted that any equipment not meeting the current requirements as listed should then apply the following test:

ü Identify in what way the playground equipment does not meet the current Standards;

ü Make an assessment of the safety implications of any non-complying item and list into a priority for upgrade;

ü If the non-complying item has serious safety implications or the equipment is not worth upgrading because of the cost of rectifying it or it lacks play value, the owner/operator should remove it.

§ Adopt the 10 year replacement programme and allocate sufficient funds per annum for playground replacement and renewal;

§ Allocate sufficient funds per annum to undertake routine and operational inspections;

§ Allocate sufficient funds per annum to enable safety and compliance audits including safety surface testing to be undertaken on a basis to be determined as the most cost effective use of available resources;

§ Allocate sufficient funds per annum specifically for minor repairs and replacement of playground equipment and safety surfaces;

§ Consider the development of a safety surface improvement programme which acknowledges that the safety surface is the major factor in reducing the severity of an injury from a fall from the play equipment where there is a direct impact with the surface.

§ The playgrounds recommended for replacement or upgrading in the 2013/14 budget are as follows:

Greater Sports Ground

Brockman Park

Layton Park

Bow Park - exercise equipment

Grace Darling Park

Dalyup Hall Park

Beaumont Hall Park

Gibson Football Club

2.3 Site Specific Plans

2.3.1 Esperance Townsite Foreshore Redevelopment Master Plan Report Volume 1

The Master Plan guides the enhancement and future development of the Esperance Townsite Foreshore, and was commissioned by the Shire of Esperance in May 2004.

27 Description

The underlying concept for the master plan and coastal planning, is the identification of nodes for development and areas for conservation, providing a clear expression of inherent site suitability. An holistic approach has been taken in which landscape and built form are totally integrated. A nodal system is proposed where activity nodes are spaced along the foreshore each having a different emphasis with appropriate activities and areas for conservation between these nodes.

28 Objectives

§ To meet community values and aspirations

§ To maximise opportunities to develop the relationship between the CBD and the Foreshore Area

§ The integration of traffic management and parking with appropriate development opportunities within a coherent framework.

§ Through Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD), preserve and protect the Esperance Townsite Foreshore, particularly the Esperance Tanker Jetty for the future by adding value to the utilisation of the precinct.

§ To identify appropriate development and investment opportunities integrated with tourism, recreation, commercial and community activities.

29 Major Elements

§ Promenade – A safe pedestrian/bicycle path is proposed extending from the proposed water park in the south to the Tanker Jetty in the north linking up all the activities at the various nodes along the route and giving easy but controlled access.

§ A Node System – Activity nodes are spaced along the foreshore each having a different emphasis with appropriate activities:

ü Tourism node with tidal pool and kiosks

ü Retail node with marina, retail pier and a range of commercial and recreation facilities

ü Heritage node with a focus on the Museum Village

ü Cultural node with Kepa Kurl Interpretives Centre and recreational facilities. Relocation of the tank farm would preferably be away from this precinct.

ü Beach nodes with seal/whale watching platforms, heritage trail, resort and kiosks.

§ A Parking System takes care of the varying requirements of individual cars, taxis and buses.

Key elements relating to this Open Space review are:

§ Recreational land use - specifically a potential ‘Water Park at Taylor Street Jetty and quality of recreational opportunities along beach front.

§ Recreation Lagoon – designed to provide a safe swimming, boating and water sports area on the foreshore and is associated with the major Play Park. The lagoon contains a saltwater Olympic sized swimming pool, a shallow family beach and safe moorings for small boats and other recreational craft. The Lagoon has been designed to cater for community events and as a tourist attraction, enabling a greater interaction with the water than is currently enjoyed. To minimise infrastructure costs the Park and the Lagoon share change and shower facilities and both are designed to make use of the existing Kiosk/Café.

§ Themed Major Play Park – This area incorporates major play elements themed to tell the ‘Esperance Story’ from ‘Aboriginal’ play structures through to ‘sail ship’ and finishing with ‘port’. There is also provision for a skate park and ‘teen play’ area and the retention of the existing recreation area to cater for families and individuals of all ages. This space also includes barbeques and shade structures, making this an ideal family and community recreation spot.

§ Miniature Railway – The existing miniature railway has been integrated into the major play park creating an additional play element for visitors.

2.3.2 Adventureland Park Management Plan 2012 – 2017

30 Vision

The Ralph Bower Adventureland Park will provide a free, safe, clean, challenging environment for the enjoyment, recreation and relaxation of residents of and visitors to the Esperance District.

31 Goals

§ Maintain the park in a clean, safe, attractive and environmentally friendly condition.

§ Develop park facilities for the enjoyment and recreation of users.

§ Provide a variety of free activities and equipment in the park suitable for a range of ages.

§ Encourage self-confidence, self-reliance and self-esteem in young people.

§ Develop a sense of ownership and community spirit by encouraging individual and group involvement in the development and maintenance of the park.

§ Increase the range of physical activities available to children and youth in our community.

§ Significant recreation activity themes and issues identified in the plan are:

§ The Adventureland Management Committee was formed in 1993 and became an incorporated association on 13^th October 2008.

§ Ticket sales at the miniature railway show approximately 15,000 people use this facility annually.

§ Over the past five years there has been a gradual decline in the number and condition of the facilities in the park; they include, weathering and ageing, OH&S issues, lack of manpower and reduced funding.

§ Adventureland Park is on an area of land owned by the Port of Esperance and leased to the Shire of Esperance. The lease expires in 2016 so work needs to begin soon to gain an extension of the lease and security of tenure.

§ Operating, maintenance and development responsibilities are shared between Esperance Port, Shire of Esperance, Adventureland Management Committee Inc. and Esperance Miniature Steam Railway Inc.

§ The Plan provides broadly outlines 17 separate ‘Proposed Improvements’/projects, some with estimated costing. These projects include grounds maintenance, upgrades and repair; fencing; upgrade amenities; install/upgrade play equipment/attractions.

§ The AMC does not have its own source of income and relies on grants, donations, Shire allowances and corporate sponsorship to fund projects in the Park.

2.3.3 Briefing Note – Lake Monjingup Nature Reserve – March 2013

The objective of this document is to provide a comprehensive background of the current status of the Reserve.

32 Background

§ Council formed the Lake Monjingup Community Development Committee in 1994.

§ The Committee has the role to clean up, protect, develop and manage the Lake Monjingup Reserve.

§ The volunteer base is diminishing and therefore the future direction and maintenance of the reserve needs to be reviewed.

§ The total Council allocated maintenance and operating budget each year is $50,500.

§ The Lake Monjingup Landscape Mater Plan was finalised in January 2009. A review of the projects and priorities derived from this Master Plan was undertaken in May 2011.

§ The Reserve is 102 hectares in size and divided into two sections – stage one is a protected wetland, while stage tow is complimentary to stage one, and holds a considerable recreational value.

33 Considerations

§ Lack of resources

§ Vandalism increasing

§ Diverse eco-systems

§ Ancient vegetation

§ Prolific bird species

§ Fauna habitat

§ Tourism

§ Volunteers rapidly declining

§ Environmental education

§ Recreation venue

§ Therapeutic values

2.3.4 Museum Park Period Village Enhancement Plan – 1^st Draft, 31/03/2008

§ The purpose of this plan is to propose possible enhancement to the Museum Park Period Village. The rationale is “To develop the museum village precinct as the tourism focal point of Esperance”.

§ The plan is a proposal in draft mode.

§ No estimates of costs associated with infrastructural enhancements or time frame indicated.

§ The scope of proposed works include:

ü General and ongoing maintenance and beautification of buildings, gardens and the lake

ü Signage

ü Amenities, shelters and BBQ areas

ü ‘Skylab’ playground

2.3.5 Greater Sports Ground (GSG) Redevelopment – Fact Sheet

The GSG is the hub of sporting activity in the Shire of Esperance. The Shire of Esperance has committed to the redevelopment of the Esperance Greater Sports Ground with the following improvement projects to be implemented in the next decade:

§ New indoor sports stadium;

§ Increase in grass playing field area;

§ Improved lighting on playing fields;

§ Consolidation and co-location of building infrastructure;

§ Improved parking areas;

§ Improved power supply for key events; and,

§ Designated overflow camping area.

The estimated cost of the GSG redevelopment project is approximately $10m. Funding will be sought from the State and Federal Governments.

2.3.6 Esperance Waterfront Project – Fact Sheet

This Project includes upgrades along the foreshore in addition to the protection of infrastructure from coastal erosion; specifically, there are four key stages:

1 Construction of a seawall, headland around the base of the tanker jetty, community infrastructure and landscaping;

2 Upgrade of southern foreshore area (James St Precinct) including environmental infrastructure, landscaping and picnic related infrastructure;

3 Replacement of the Tanker Jetty; and,

4 Cultural and commercial property development.

The total capital cost of this project is $59m.

2.4 Summary

1 Council’s Strategic Community Plan has a series of goals which directly impact on open space provisions:

§ A healthy and caring community with access to a broad range of recreational opportunities

§ Recognising the environmental and recreational value of coastal reserves

§ Community infrastructure and services well utilised, effective and meet the expectations of our growing community

§ Redevelopment of the Esperance Waterfront

§ Prepare a Coastal Recreation Management Plan

3 Active Esperance aims to increase physical activity by 5% over 10 years.

6 An audit of playgrounds recommended a 10 year replacement program, and identified eight playgrounds which needed to be either replaced or upgraded in the 2013/4 financial year.

3 ESPERANCE PROFILE

This chapter presents an overview of the Shire of Esperance including an analysis of the population and data on participation in recreation and sport activities.

3.1 Community of Esperance

The Shire of Esperance is located on Western Australia’s southeast coast about 725 kilometres from Perth by road. Covering over 42,000 square kilometres, the Shire of Esperance extends from Munglinup to Israelite Bay and north to the Daniell rail siding. With a population of almost 14,000, the Shire has one of the lowest population densities to be found anywhere.

The Shire of Esperance includes over 400km of coastline. The environment and agricultural aspects of the Shire of Esperance are a significant part of its heritage, values and identity. The National Parks, Ramsar wetlands and dramatic coastline provide a number of recreational and tourism opportunities. The network of small towns (refer to Map 3.1), such as Condingup, Salmon Gums, Grass Patch, Gibson and Cascade support the agriculture industry.

Map 3.1: Main Town Sites in the Shire of Esperance

Esperance is the main population centre within the Shire, and is a sub-regional centre, which provides services for both the Shire and surrounding areas. Within the Shire there are several small settlements.

§ The communities of Condingup, Gibson, Scaddan, Cascade, Grass Patch and Salmon Gums support the surrounding agricultural areas by providing services such as primary schools, volunteer fire and emergency services, postal pickups and community halls.

§ Services in the townsites of Scaddan, Cascade, and Coomalbidgup are
limited with scarcely any homes within the townsites. A community focus for the outlying farmers is centred on the primary school, community hall, recreation and sporting facilities in Scaddan and Cascade. Coomalbidgup does not have a hall.

§ Agricultural properties are predominately located in the southern half of the Shire, with such properties also located adjacent to the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway in the north of the Shire. The northwestern and northeastern sections of the Shire are largely unallocated Crown land with limited road access and no services provided to this area.

§ A number of Special Residential and Rural Residential precincts currently exist within close proximity to the town of Esperance and at Gibson and Condingup.

3.2 Demographic Profile

Following is a summary of overall population, gender, age, ethnic and income characteristics of the Shire of Esperance. This is compared to data for the Esperance urban area and Outback Western Australia. This information has been sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 Census information and the Shire of Esperance website.

The Shire of Esperance is located on Western Australia’s southeast coast, approximately 700km from Perth (refer to Map 3.2). The total population was just under 14,000 people at the time of the 2011 Census; this equates to just over 6% of the ‘Outback’ population of Western Australia.

Map 3.2: Shire of Esperance

74% of the Shire of Esperance’s population reside within the urban centre (see Map 3.3). According to 2011 Census figures, of the 13,477 total persons within the Shire of Esperance, 9,919 persons live in the Esperance urban centre. This urban centre is only just over 30 square kilometres compared to the Shire which is over 42,000 square kilometres, as mentioned above.

There was a 50-50 split in gender for the Shire of Esperance in the 2011 Census; the broader Western Australia Outback shows a higher percentage of males with 55%.

Map 3.3: Esperance Urban Centre

The median age for both the Shire of Esperance and the urban centre of Esperance is 38 years; this is 5 years older than that of the Outback Western Australia with a median of 33 years. Figure 3.1 highlights this with a graph showing the percentage of persons within different age brackets, comparing the urban centre of Esperance, the Shire of Esperance and Outback Western Australia.

Figure 3.1: Age Distribution

Of particular note are the following differences in the comparative age distribution:

§ The age distribution for the urban centre of Esperance does not differ more than 1% to that of the Shire of Esperance across all age brackets.

§ Shire of Esperance and Esperance urban centre has 30% and 29% of persons respectively aged between 0-19; Outback Western Australia is similar with 27%.

§ 56% of the total Outback West Australian population is aged between 20-54 years old; this is 11% higher than in the Shire of Esperance and 12% higher than in Esperance urban centre.

§ Conversely, 25% of the Shire of Esperance population is aged 55+; this is 7% higher than Outback Western Australia. Esperance urban centre has 27% of the population aged 55+.

§ There is a relatively high percentage, 14% - 15%, of people aged 5-14 years across all 3 statistical areas.

The weekly income profile for the Esperance urban centre, relative to the Shire of Esperance and Outback Western Australia, based on 2011 Census data is detailed in Table 3.1 below. This shows:

§ There is very little difference between the Esperance urban centre and the Shire of Esperance for both personal and household income medians.

§ The Shire of Esperance median total weekly personal income was $578.00 in the 2011 Census. This is 32% lower than Outback Western Australia which recorded a median of $849.00.

§ Similarly, when comparing median total weekly household income; the Shire of Esperance was $1,138.00; 29% lower than Outback Western Australia with $1,611.00.

Table 3.1: Weekly Income Figures 2011

	Median weekly personal income	Median weekly household income
Esperance urban centre	$575.00	$1,105.00
Shire of Esperance	$578.00	$1,138.00
Outback Western Australia	$849.00	$1,611.00

Only 4% of the Shire of Esperance population was identified as indigenous in the 2011 Census; 5% was recorded within Esperance urban centre. Both figures are significantly lower than Outback Western Australia which recorded 15%. Further, 91% of the Shire of Esperance population indicated that English was the only language spoken; Outback Western Australia was less with 77%.

In summary, the outcomes relevant to this Open Space Review are:

§ While the Shire of Esperance is a vast area, 74% of the total population live within a 30 square kilometre area; the Esperance urban centre. This indicates that open space recreation initiatives within this area are likely to benefit most of the community.

§ The 25-34 year old age bracket has the single biggest difference when compared to Outback Western Australia. Specifically, the Shire of Esperance has 11% of the population within this age bracket; Outback Western Australia has 17%.

§ There is a higher proportion of people aged 55+ that live in the Shire of Esperance (25%) and Esperance urban centre (27%) than Outback Western Australia (17%). This may indicate a need to cater for aging persons within the community in relation to open space recreation.

§ The relatively high percentage, 14-15%, of people aged 5-14 years across all three statistical areas indicates that open space recreation catering for young families is important.

3.3 Projected Population Growth

Projected population growth figures have been sourced from Government of Western Australia Department of Planning website. Specifically, data is from the Western Australia Tomorrow, Population Report No.7, 2006 to 2026, February 2012.

As stated for this report, Western Australia Tomorrow initiative is a set of forecasts based on trends since the 1980’s. The forecasts represent the best estimate of future population size if trends in fertility, mortality and migration continue. Through various simulations, five bands have been published with median values; essentially giving a spectrum of median forecasts across a spectrum ranging from lowest simulations to highest. Below is a graph of the median forecast across all five bands showing the projections across all age ranges for the Shire of Esperance.

Figure 3.2: Projected Population Growth by Age

This projection shows:

§ Overall, there is expected to be a median population growth of 16% between 2006 and 2026 for the Shire of Esperance. By 2026 the population of the Shire was projected to reach 16,000. Comparatively, the Goldfields-Esperance Region and whole of Western Australia are projected for 12% and 48% growth respectively.

§ Significantly, the average projected growth for people aged 55 and over is 136% or an additional 1,835 people for the Shire of Esperance. Western Australia as a whole is projected to have an average projected growth of 112% within this age range.

§ Whilst the average projected growth for people aged 5 to 54 years is 2%, a 21% increase is projected for the under 5 year age group. Western Australia is projected for average growth of 44% and 32%, respectively for these two age brackets.

The implications of these projections are:

§ The Shire of Esperance is forecast to have a significantly aging population comparative to the rest of the State. This indicates that a growing proportion of the Esperance population will be retired. As stated above, this may indicate a need to cater for aging persons within the community in relation to open space recreation.

§ Minimal growth is expected for key working aged persons; 20 to 54.

4 Geographic Features

This chapter reviews the main geographical features of Esperance which may impact on the provision of open space.

4.1 The Shire of Esperance

The Shire has three significant geographic features:

1 It occupies a large area, much of it devoid of a residential population. With the exception of the township of Esperance, the main settlements are relatively small. Given the distance from Esperance township, these smaller settlements are generally self contained from a public open space perspective. Major settlements are located at Condingup, Gibson, Scaddan, Cascade, Grass Patch and Salmon Gums.

2 The southern border of the Shire is the Great Australian Bight. Consequently, the Shire has an extensive coastline. Much of the coast is bordered by public open space, although not necessarily under the care and control of Council. The coast is a natural attraction for many Australians. Visitor amenities are often required at the more popular activity sites. Given the relative isolation of much of the coast line, bush camping is the only practical option (ie visitors to only leave their footprints).

3 Esperance township is the main population centre of the Shire, with 74% of the population. It is also the main industrial, commercial and tourist/visitor centre in the Shire.

The impact of these three geographic features is that the township of Esperance will host most local/neighbourhood open spaces. It will also be the main location of higher level sporting facilities. Open space designed to attract visitors will also be primarily located in Esperance.

4.2 Esperance Urban Area

The urban area of Esperance has a number of significant geographic features which potentially impact on open space provision.

1 The dominant open space area is the foreshore, beaches and waters of the Great Australian Bight. The foreshore is easily accessible both physically and visually.

2 Major outdoor sporting facilities include the racecourse, two golf courses (Esperance and Pink Lake) and three sporting reserves (Greater Sports Ground, Esperance Football Club Oval and Newtown Football Oval).

3 Esperance is also “hemmed in” by a series of lakes (Warden, Windabout, Woody, Wheatfield, Mullet and Leda Nature Reserve/Pink Lake).

4 Physical access barriers include:

ü Railway line through Esperance to the Port

ü Pink Lake Road

ü Fisheries Road

ü Goldfields Road

ü Industrial land between Brazier Street and Norseman Road

5 These barriers create a series of residential precincts which require locally accessible open space to meet the community aspirations of their residents including:

ü West Beach - south of the railway line and Harbour Road to Twilight Beach Road

ü Esperance Central South – between the railway line/Harbour Road and Pink Lake Road

ü Esperance Central North – between the railway line/Harbour Road, Pink Lake Road and Brazier Street/Gladstone Street

ü Sinclair – south and west of the railway line/Harbour Road and Pink Lake Road

ü Nulsen – north and west of the railway line/Harbour Road and Pink Lake Road

ü Castletown Coast – south of Goldfields Road

ü Castletown Central – Between Goldfields Road, Fisheries Road and Norseman Road

ü Castletown North – north of Fisheries Road and west of Claire Road

6 Surrounding the residential precincts listed above are semi rural areas (eg Pink Lake, Windabout and Bandy Creek) which have larger housing allotments. Consequently, the open space needs of these areas tend to be different to higher density residential precincts.

Two significant consideration when developing open space are – access and use. Access, particularly within urban areas, is important on a number of dimensions.

Provision must ensure access into and around open space for all residents and visitors. In other words adequate consideration must be given to people who have physical disabilities. In practical terms not all open space will be fully accessible to all, rather as many barriers to access must be eliminated or minimised. However, adequate opportunity should be provided to enable all residents and visitors to have a wide range of open space experiences.

Complementing, access in and around, is access to open space. Local or neighbourhood open space should be accessible within a reasonable walking time/distance. Facilities catering for a wider catchment, such as sporting facilities should be accessible within a reasonable cycling and driving distance. In practical terms, the location of these larger facilities will be determined by available land, historical siting, and viability based on population catchment.

5 USE OF OPEN SPACE

This chapter review National and State data relating to use of, and participation in open space activities.

5.1 Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) national Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation Survey was conducted from July 2011 to June 2012 using the ABS Multipurpose Household Survey. It collected data about the characteristics of people aged 15 years and over who participated in sport and physical recreation activities as players, competitors and in other physically active roles. Involvements in non-playing roles such as coaches, umpires and club officials were excluded from the data. The survey also collected data about the type of activities participated in, the frequency of participation, whether it was organised by a club, association or some other organisation and the facilities used.

Sport and physical recreation activities excluded gardening, housework, manual labouring and other forms of occupational physical activity. Participation refers to having participated in an activity at least once during the year.

The survey found a 66.5% participation rates in WA. Other major results were:

§ Participation in organised activities is much lower than non organised activities (53% compared with 28%).

§ Participation declines with age, primarily due to a decrease in participation in organised activities.

§ Participation in non organised activities is much lower in the 15 – 17 age group than older age groups.

Table 5.1 and 5.2 summarises participation in the most popular outdoor activities (excluding team sports). It shows that:

§ Walking for exercise, cycling and jogging are three of the 5 most popular sport and physical recreation activities (the others being fitness/gym and swimming/diving).

§ These activities, except for golf, are primarily undertaken as non organised activities.

§ Walking is the most popular activity for adults particularly those 55+ years.

Table 5.1: Participation by Age (years)

	15–17	18–24	25–34	35–44	45–54	55–64	65+	Total
Walking for exercise⁽¹⁾	<1%	<1%	14.5%	23.6%	24.9%	34.2%	32.6%	22.5%
Cycling/BMXing⁽¹⁾	5.1%	3.3%	12.7%	13.5%	11.8%	6.7%	2.5%	8.8%
Jogging/Running⁽¹⁾	4.0%	10.5%	15.85	12.4%	4.3%	<1%	<1%	7.6%
Golf⁽²⁾								4.8%
Bushwalking⁽²⁾								2.4%
Fishing⁽²⁾								1.4%

(1) WA participation rates

(2) Australia participation rates

Table 5.2: Activity by Type of Participation

	Organised only	Non-organised only	Both organised and non-organised
Walking for exercise⁽¹⁾	1.9%	96.8%	1.2%
Cycling/BMXing⁽¹⁾	3.6%	88.4%	7.9%
Jogging/Running⁽¹⁾	4.3%	89.8%	5.8%
Golf⁽²⁾	30.5%	54.1%	15.4%
Bushwalking⁽²⁾	4.2%	89.9%	5.9%
Fishing⁽²⁾	3.4%	92.1%	4.5%

(1) WA participation rates

(2) Australia participation rates

Tables 5.3 and 5.4 present usage rates for five types of open spaces:

§ Public playing fields and ovals consist of wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand with any marked lines, goals/goal posts or other sport-specific infrastructures, such as football fields.

§ Schools and educational facilities includes swimming pools in educational facilities.

§ Outdoor sports facilities includes public swimming pools, outdoor tennis, basketball etc. courts, bowling greens, ski resorts, BMX tracks/courses, golf courses and athletics tracks. Excludes residential and educational institution swimming pools.

§ Parks or reserves includes open space or tracks or trails in nature areas.

§ Off-road cycle ways or bike paths includes off-road tracks or trails that are surfaced (e.g. gravel or bitumen) or unsurfaced (e.g. dirt). Excludes on-road bicycle lanes.

Key points to note from the tables are:

§ Parks and reserves are the most popular types of open space. Public playing fields/ovals, outdoor sports facilities and off-road cycle ways or bike paths had similar usage rates.

§ Parks and reserves and off-road cycle ways or bike paths were mainly used for non organised activities. Conversely outdoor sports facilities had higher use for organised activities.

§ Overall, whilst males and females had similar use of the different types of open space, substantial differences existed in some age groups (see cells highlights in yellow).

Table 5.3: Use of Open Space

	Public playing fields or ovals	Schools or educational facilities	Outdoor sports facilities	Parks or reserves	Off-road cycle ways or bike paths
Males
15–17	40.0%	53.6%	59.8%	24.9%	<1%
18–24	40.8%	22.4%	20.8%	19.6%	<1%
25–34	33.3%	4.6%	22.8%	38.15	29.8%
35–44	35.2%	3.2%	28.8%	36.3%	34.9%
45–54	24.4%	<1%	27.8%	35.6%	35.0%
55–64	11.6%	<1%	19.4%	30.6%	23.3%
65 and over	21.0%	<1%	18.0%	45.3%	18.5%
Total	29.3%	9.0%	26.2%	34.0%	27.1%
Females
15–17	12.5%	54.2%	28.3%	17.8%	<1%
18–24	32.7%	8.2%	20.9%	35.6%	<1%
25–34	26.7%	11.2%	20.2%	40.2%	25.3%
35–44	30.9%	5.9%	23.8%	41.7%	32.7%
45–54	15.5%	<1%	18.2%	34.6%	33.2%
55–64	20.8%	<1%	21.9%	39.1%	20.2%
65 and over	8.4%	<1%	17.9%	24.6%	17.9%
Total	22.3%	8.6%	21.0%	35.6%	25.1%
Persons
15–17	28.7%	53.8%	47.0%	22.0%	10.4%
18–24	36.9%	15.7%	20.8%	27.2%	21.6%
25–34	30.0%	7.9%	21.5%	39.1%	27.6%
35–44	33.2%	4.5%	26.5%	38.8%	33.9%
45–54	20.2%	2.8%	23.2%	35.1%	34.2%
55–64	15.9%	1.5%	20.6%	34.6%	21.8%
65 and over	14.5%	3.2%	17.9%	34.6%	18.2%
Total	26.0%	8.8%	23.7%	34.7%	26.1%

Table 5.4: Open Space by Type of Participation

	Public playing fields or ovals	Schools or educational facilities	Outdoor sports facilities	Parks or reserves	Off-road cycleways or bike paths
Organised only	22.3%	11.2%	29.9%	15.8%	6.8%
Non-organised only	20.7%	5.5%	15.3%	36.1%	28.4%
Both organised and non-organised	43.2%	15.6%	39.6%	48.6%	38.1%
Total	26.0%	8.8%	23.7%	34.7%	26.1%

5.2 Children and Adolescent Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (CAPANS)

The Physical Activity Taskforce conducts the CAPANS survey to provide a measure of physical activity levels and nutrition behaviours of West Australian children and adolescents. This comprehensive data then helps to inform policy, programs and practice to encourage physical activity and improve healthy active behaviours in children. The most recent survey in 2008 found:

§ Less than half of WA children interviewed met the recommended physical activity guidelines

§ Secondary school girls were least active with only 10% meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines

§ The majority of children reported participating in more than two hours of screen-based recreation on one or more days of the previous week

§ Boys reported playing movement-based video games as their most common active play activity

§ Body size of WA children appears to have stabilised since the 2003 survey, however the proportion of overweight and obese children remains unacceptably high

§ The proportion of secondary school students using active transport home from school has increased since 2003.

§ 2 in 5 primary school students usually consume the recommended amount of vegetables

§ 1 in 4 secondary school students usually consume the recommended amount of fruit for their age. A similar proportion usually consume the recommended amount of vegetables

§ Overall, consumption of fruit has increased since 2003, both in the proportion consuming and the amount consumed

5.3 Physical Activity Levels of Western Australian Adults

This survey is undertaken by the Physical Activity Taskforce to provide a measure of physical activity levels among West Australian adults. Surveys have been conducted in 1999, 2002, 2006 and 2009. The survey provides information for planning and developing initiatives aimed at improving levels of physical activity and health in Western Australia. Information about attitudes, knowledge and behaviour trends can also be seen across the four surveys and are outlined in the reports.

Findings of the 2009 study included:

§ 60% of survey respondents were sufficiently active to accrue health benefits, 28% were insufficiently active and 12% were inactive

§ Slightly more men than women were sufficiently active (62% vs. 59%), and participation in sufficient levels of physical activity decreased with advancing age (18–29 years 73%; 60 years and over 51%)

§ Participation in sufficient levels of physical activity was highest amongst 18–29 year olds (73%), those with a university education (66%), household incomes greater than $1200/wk (64%), and those not in a relationship (i.e. single) (65%)

§ 78% of men and 82% of women reported walking in the past week. More men than women participated in moderate-intensity (32% vs. 25%) and vigorous-intensity (46% vs. 43%) physical activity in the past week. Compared with all other age groups, a higher proportion of adults aged 18-29 years of age participated in walking, moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity activities

§ Walking for recreation (52%) followed by gardening (32%) and walking for transport (21%) were the most reported types of physical activities engaged in by active respondents

§ Over one-half of Western Australian respondents were categorised as either overweight (37%) or obese (18%), with 39% in a healthy BMI weight range and 5% categorised as underweight (5%)

§ Overweight and obesity was highest in males, those aged 45-59 years, those living in the South West, and those from low socioeconomic status groups such as lower education level, the unemployed and retired

5.4 Women’s Participation in Sport and Physical Activities

Prepared by the ABS in 2006, this report found:

1 Age and sex are strongly related to levels of participation in sport or physical activity for both adults and children.

2 Males/boys showed higher participation rates in organised sport than females/girls.

3 Socio-economic status also has a clear association with participation in sport and physical activity by adults and children.

4 Although screen based activities affect the level of participation in sport and physical activity in children, socio-economic characteristics have a more noticeable association with non-participation.

5 English language proficiency is also a factor that affects participation by adults and children. Adults with poor proficiency in English as well as children whose parents were born in a non-English speaking country show low levels of participation. This is particularly noticeable for women and girls.

6 In adults, irregular social contact is a factor associated with low levels of participation by women.

7 Although reported health status in adults is a factor associated with participation in sport and physical activity, the decrease in participation with poorer levels of health is more pronounced for males. However there is no established causal relationship between the two variables.

5.5 Sport and Physical Recreation Participation Among Persons with a Disability

This report was prepared by the ABS for the Standing Committee on Recreation and Sport in July 2006. Key findings were:

1 The overall participation rate in sport and physical recreation for those with a disability or long term health condition (LTC), is at lower levels when compared to those without a disability or LTC (54.6% in contrast to 70.2%). Age appears to be a major influence on participation levels, as rates of participation declined with increasing age.

2 Males with a disability or LTC aged 18-24 years were most likely to have participated in sport and physical recreation with the highest participation rate of 68%. Gender also appears to be associated with participation as overall more males (57.3%) participated than females (52%). This is true for all age groups from 18 years to 65 years and over.

3 The severity or degree of disability appears to be related to the levels of sports participation. The lowest levels of participation were observed for those reporting a disability with ’severe’ core activity limitation. Participation levels increased as the degree of limitation reduced.

4 There were similar rates of participation amongst disability types classified as ’sight, hearing, speech’ (51.3%) and ’physical conditions’ (50.7%). A lower rate was reported for those with an intellectual disability condition (40.0%).

5 The vast majority of persons stating they participated in sports and physical recreation had a playing role (97.0%).

6 Walking for exercise ranked as the number one activity for both genders. Activities with high male participation were golf, cycling and fishing. Females were more likely to participate in swimming, aerobics/fitness and tennis.

7 Higher levels of non-participation were observed for those who reported:

§ ‘No access’ to transport

§ Perceived level of transport difficulty as ’sometimes have difficulty getting to places needed’ or ’often have difficulty getting to places needed’

§ Their self-rated health status as fair and poor.

5.6 Migrants and Participation in Sport and Physical Activity

Prepared by the ABS in 2006, this report found:

1 The overall lower levels of participation in sport and physical activity by the migrant population is also reflected in nearly all other social and community activities. The inclusion of non-playing roles in calculating participation rates did not affect overall participation levels. This only amounted to approximately 2 % increase from the participation rates that only took into account playing roles.

2 Age and gender have a major impact on levels of participation across all groups regardless of country of birth. Participation rates progressively decrease as age increases; Males have a higher participation rate in sport and physical activity than females.

3 Birthplace is associated with lower participation rates in sport and physical activity:

§ People who reported their birthplace to be "Other than Main English speaking" had lower participation rates in sport and physical activities (51.4%) than those born in English speaking countries (70.7%)

§ Amongst people born in "Other than Main English-speaking" countries, those who arrived between 1998 - 2002 had the highest participation rates (61.3%)

§ The lowest participation rates in sport and physical activity were most evident in people reporting their place of birth as North Africa and the Middle East. This group had the lowest overall participation (31.2%). Females from this group also had the lowest participation (19.7%). This group also had the lowest participation rates in organised sport and physical activity (17%) but had a high participation in non organised activities (88%)

4 Proficiency in spoken English influence participation with people who can speak English very well having a higher participation rate (63%) than those who did not speak English (17.4%).

5 Walking, swimming and aerobics/fitness were the most popular activities across all the groups regardless of country of birth.

5.7 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples - Aspects of Sport and Recreation

Prepared by the ABS for the Standing Committee on Recreation and Sport in 2004, this report found:

1 The overall participation rate of the Aboriginal population was less than half (46%), compared with almost two thirds (63%) of the non-Aboriginal population. For both populations, participation drops with age, however, there is a much greater difference between the participation levels of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in the older age groups.

2 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations reported similar levels of high-level exercise (less than 10%) and the same levels (24%) for moderate exercise. However, a higher proportion of the Aboriginal population was sedentary (undertook no exercise) than the non-Aboriginal population (42% compared with 30%).

5.8 Factors Impacting on Participation

Whilst Esperance is a unique community, it is affected by the same leisure participation trends as other WA and Australian communities. Salient factors which impact on leisure participation and hence the provision of open space in Esperance include:

ü Participation in recreation, sport and physical activities is regarded as having positive benefits for individual participants as well as the general community. It is also a significant element of a quality lifestyle for many people. As lifestyle is considered to be important within Australian society, participation in recreation, sport and physical activity can be considered a “right”, rather than a luxury.

ü A significant population of older adults, which is increasing as a proportion of the population. As this age cohort increases in age it will become less mobile. However, there is every possibility that “baby boomers” will become more vociferous and demanding.

ü Children’s participation in sporting activities is relatively high, and is likely to do so in the future. The number of children participating in sport is being spread more thinly among an increasing range of sports. Consequently, some junior sports clubs may struggle to maintain numbers. Other sports, such as football (soccer) which have experienced increases in participation may continue to expand as the “world game” gains a higher profile in the Australian psyche.

ü Participation in organised sport by young people is constrained by the fact that many have part time/casual employment. Working hours are outside school/tertiary education hours, which conflicts with traditional training and competition times. This is unlikely to change, hence sports may have to change their traditional operational times to cater for this new dynamic.

ü Participation by adults in organised sport declines after they reach the early 20’s. Compared with informal activities, participation is much lower. The trend is for “convenience” sport and physical activity. That is, activities which are available when and where it is convenient for the individual and their social/peer group. Overall there is likely to be a lower level of commitment to participate in a regular team or club competition.

ü Activities which are currently the most popular (walking, cycling, swimming and fitness programs) are both non-competitive and can be considered “convenience” activities. It is likely that participation in these activities will continue to dominate participation rate studies and potentially increase. The other major benefit of these activities is that they can be easily undertaken by all sections (age, gender, ethnicity, income levels, ability levels) of the community.

ü Some sections of the community have special activity needs (eg CaLD, older adults, Aboriginal people, and people with disabilities). Generally, these demographic groups have lower levels of participation in recreation, sport and physical activity. Specific attention will be required to eliminate personal and social barriers to participation. Usually, this will require the employment of staff to develop and coordinate participation programs. It can be an expensive exercise to substantially increase participation by these people. Without this intervention, participation will continue to be relatively low.

ü Community expectations regarding the quality of facilities has increased and is likely to continue increasing. In other words people will “vote with their feet” and stop using substandard facilities.

ü Clubs are finding it harder it attract and retain volunteers. However, many people are time poor, and willing to pay more to participate without the “hassle” of volunteering. Consequently, sport and recreation is being privatised and the cost of participation is increasing.

5.9 Summary

Based on the information provided in this chapter:

§ The most frequently used facilities for leisure participation are open space areas, particularly parks and reserves.

§ The participation rate in non-organised activities is much higher than that of organised activities

§ Participation declines with age

§ Males/boys showed higher participation rates in organised sport than females/girls

§ A significant proportion of the Western Australians (adults and children) do not undertake adequate physical activity and are overweight or obese

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 218

12.4 Community Services

Item: 12.4.1

Esperance Coastal Management Plan

Author/s	Rod Hilton	Director Community Services
Authorisor/s	Rod Hilton	Director Community Services
	Matthew Scott	Chief Executive Officer

File Ref: D14/744

Applicant

Community Services Department

Location/Address

Internal

Executive Summary

Council is requested to review the Esperance Coastal Management Plan as prepared by Land Insights and to development an implementation plan.

Recommendation in Brief

That Council:

1. Receive and advertise the Esperance Coastal Management Plan for public comment for a period of 21 days; and

2. Subject to the receipt of any community comments, direct the CEO to prepare a draft implementation plan of the Esperance Coastal Management Plan.

Background

The Shire of Esperance Corporate Business Plan 2013/14 – 2016/17 has identified a need to review and update the Shire of Esperance Coastal Management Plan.

Catherine Field compiled the initial Coastal Management Plan in 2002. Land Insights was contracted to conduct the review and update the Plan to address new issues and changing social and environmental factors.

The key objectives of the review are to provide a framework for:

· Management and protection of the Shires coastal reserves in a sustainable manner so that they

can be enjoyed by future generations

· Protection and enhancement of the Esperance coastal and marine environment

· Equitable, safe and sustainable recreational uses

· Increasing community awareness of coastal and marine management issues and encourage a

sense of ownership

· Encouraging successful relationships between the community and the shire to continue in the

future to allow for better coastal management

· Planning for future coastal industry, urban growth and tourism

The study area comprises Coastal Reserves managed by the shire –

· Munglinup Beach

· Quagi Beach

· Coastal sites between Butty Head and Dempster Head

· Wylie Head

· Wharton and Little Wharton Beaches

· Nares Island Beach and Duke of Orleans Bay

· Table Island Beach

· Membinup Beach

· Alexander Bay

· Kennedy’s Beach

· Thomas River

· Israelite Bay

Officer’s Comment

Summary of outcomes extracted from the report:

Coastal tenure (pg 9) – the shire has facilities on some unallocated lands that are not officially managed by the shire. There are shire issued fisherman’s leases that are not being used and isolated shire reserves that are surrounded by National Parks.

Strategies -

· Seek management of unallocated reserves

· Consider handing management orders over Thomas River and Israelite Bay Reserves to DPAW

· Amalgamate fisherman’s leases with surrounding reserves at Israelite Bay and Nares Island.

Coastal processes and climate change (pg 14) – There should be a focus on those areas which have a current erosion trend, a narrow foreshore reserve and low relief. Esperance Bay is most at risk. It is important to consider coastal setbacks when constructing or replacing infrastructure or allocating recreation areas.

Strategies-

· Review assets and recreational facilities on reserves and consider how they can be protected

· Monitor beach and dune systems of priority high risk sites

· Retain primary dune systems as a coastal foreshore setback

· Advocate for a coastal vulnerability assessment of high risk priority areas

Environmental Management (pg 14-18) – Consideration should be given to aesthetics and landscape when approving new construction; and, consider the impacts of vegetation degradation, dune erosion, fire, plant diseases, weeds, feral animals, marine pollution, and exotic marine pests and offer protection to shorebirds, beach nesting, and habitats whilst supporting the sustainability of macro corridors and supporting a marine conservation reserve.

Strategies-

· Encourage the design of buildings and infrastructure to minimize the visual impact on the surrounding environment

· Rehabilitate damaged areas and control weeds, dieback, vehicle access.

· Monitor for signs of disturbance

· Develop and implement Bush Fire Hazard reduction program

· Eradicate feral animals

· Encourage and support protection zones

Access (pg 18 -23) – Includes roads, parking, pedestrian paths, disabled access, boat launching, signage, safety both on the shore and in the water, and exercising animals.

Strategies-

· Maintain roads and walkways

· Investigate more opportunities for disabled access

· Investigate controls for off road vehicles

· Support driver education programs

· Consider implementation of Visitor Risk Management and Assessment programs

· Assess coastal risks and educate public on hazards

· Develop horse riding trails

· Improve directional and interpretative signage

Land Use and Facilities (pg 25-29) – How the coastal areas are used and includes swimming, walking, sightseeing, exercising animals, water sports, picnicking and camping. The standard of public toilets is an ongoing issue along with rubbish disposal, picnic facilities, land use conflicts such as vehicles and animals on beaches along side pedestrians and swimmers/fishermen/picnickers etc. and storm water disposal.

Strategies-

· Restrict camping to designated camping areas

· Maintain amenities and provide facilities

· Provide rubbish disposal points and collection services at key camping grounds whilst encouraging people to take their own rubbish from low key no facility locations.

· Zone areas to separate vehicles, boat launching areas, and other beach users

· Retain storm water to prevent direct ocean disposal

Heritage(pg 30-31)- A number of registered Aboriginal heritage sites exist on coastal reserves and built structures of European significance exist particularly at Israelite Bay, and includes the Castletown and Tanker jetties

Strategies-

· Involve indigenous persons in coastal management

· Establish interpretative signage at historically significant sites

Community Involvement (pg 31-32)- There is a need to create a sense of ownership to successfully manage coastal reserves.

Strategies-

· Support programs and provide opportunities for the community to be involved in the management

of coastal reserves

· Develop public education and engagement programs

· Survey visitors to reserves and collect information on their experiences and expectations

The Key Issues identified in the report comprise:

· A need to develop systems and to provide resources to monitor impacts on coastal reserves

· Environmental management is required to protect natural assets

· Off road vehicle control is a growing concern

· It is suggested that unallocated crown lands with council infrastructure should be placed under

Shire management orders

· Unused fisherman’s leases should be amalgamated into surrounding reserves

· Consideration should be given to handing remote and costly to service reserves over to

Department of Parks and Wildlife (Thomas River, Israelite Bay)

· Risk management and hazard control is a requirement to protect users

· Public education is required to educate, inform, protect and direct people

· Consideration needs to be given to the standard and provision of facilities and amenities

· Identify and formalise access points and use constructed stairways in fragile areas

· Focus infrastructure development at signature locations (Twilight Beach, Wharton Beach)

Decisions will need to be made on the following:

· Does Council wish to acquire Management Orders over unallocated crown lands, in particular, land along the Tourist Drive to 11mile Beach?

· Does Council wish to consider handing over the Management Orders of Thomas River and Israelite Bay Reserves to National Parks?

· Does Council wish to negotiate with the Professional Fishermans Association the amalgamation of fisherman’s leases at Israelite Bay and Nares Island into the surrounding reserves?

· Is Council prepared to resource the set up and operation of monitoring systems over beach dune systems and infrastructure and recreational facilities?

· Is Council prepared to resource rehabilitation of damaged areas, eradication of pest plants, feral animals and weeds, and the development of protection zones?

· Does Council wish to encourage and support the implementation of the Recherche Archipelago Marine Conservation Reserve?

· Is Council prepared to resource the implementation of a Visitor Risk Assessment of all coastal reserves?

· To what level does Council wish to develop coastal camping grounds and popular beach areas?

· Is Council prepared to spend up to $1million over the next 10 years to install and replace coastal infrastructure.

It is proposed that the Esperance Coastal Management Plan be advertised and public comment invited on the recommendations contained therein before any decisions are made on the aforementioned issues.

Consultation

The recommendations and background information contained within the report are highly based on the information in the Esperance Coastal Management Plan 2002 (Field, 2002) as well as other resources prepared by the Shire Rangers, members of the former Shire Coastal Management Working Party, Shire Health and Environmental Officers, the Department of Parks and Wildlife, and the South Coast Natural Resource Management Group.

Financial Implications

The financial implications arising from this report are $82,830 a year for the next 10 years to install and renew infrastructure on coastal reserves.

Monitoring, assessing, co-ordinating, and implementing the recommendations of this report will generate significant environmental work beyond the capacity of the ranger service and existing environmental officer and may require the employment and equipping of an additional staff member estimated at $80,000 a year for the next 10 years.

A budget will need to be developed commencing with the next financial year.

Asset Management Implications

	Capital	Annual	Comments
Capital	$828,300	$82,830	10 year development period
Interest (economic cost)		$3,313	4% pa
Depreciation (ongoing costs)		$41,415	Over 20 years
Maintenance (ongoing cost)		$221,300

		$348,858	Per year

Statutory Implications

Nil

Policy Implications

Nil

Strategic Implications

Strategic Community Plan 2012-2022

Theme 2: Environment

Strategy 2.3 Provide equitable access for all users to our environment while balancing the protection of natural assets

Corporate Business Plan 2013/2014 – 2016/2017

Action 2.3.3 Review and update Coastal Management Plan and coordinate implementation schedule.

Environmental Considerations

The environmental considerations arising from this report are included within the report.

Attachments

a View.

Implementation Plan

Officer’s Recommendation

That Council:

1. Receive and advertise the Esperance Coastal Management Plan for public comment for a period of 21 days; and

2. Subject to the receipt of any community comments, direct the CEO to prepare a draft implementation plan of the Esperance Coastal Management Plan.

Voting Requirement Simple Majority

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 246

Agenda Cover Page

Shire of Esperance

COUNCILLOR’S INFORMATION BULLETIN

ORDINARY COUNCIL MEETING

22 APRIL 2014

DISCLAIMER

No responsibility whatsoever is implied or accepted by the Shire of Esperance for any act, omission or statement or intimation occurring during Council or Committee meetings. The Shire of Esperance disclaims any liability for any loss whatsoever and howsoever caused arising out of reliance by any person or legal entity on any such act, omission or statement or intimation occurring during Council or Committee meetings. Any person or legal entity who acts or fails to act in reliance upon any statement, act or omission made in a Council or Committee meeting does so at that person’s or legal entity’s own risk.

In particular and without derogating in any way from the broad disclaimer above, in any discussion regarding any planning application or application for a licence, any statement or intimation of approval made by a member or officer of the Shire of Esperance during the course of any meeting is not intended to be and is not to be taken as notice of approval from the Shire of Esperance. The Shire of Esperance warns that anyone who has any application lodged with the Shire of Esperance must obtain and should only rely on written confirmation of the outcome of the application, and any conditions attaching to the decision made by the Shire of Esperance in respect of the application.

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Council is committed to a code of conduct and all decisions are based on an honest assessment of the issue, ethical decision-making and personal integrity. Councillors and staff adhere to the statutory requirements to declare financial, proximity and impartiality interests and once declared follow the legislation as required.

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE

Index

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE 3

1. REPORTS 4

1.1 ENGINEERING SERVICES 4

1.1.1 Plant Maintenance Foreman’s Report 4

1.1.2 Rural Road Works 6

1.1.3 Town Works 7

1.1.4 Parks & Gardens 8

1.1.5 Grading Report 9

1.2 DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 10

1.2.1 Building Services 10

1.2.1.1 Building Applications February 2014 10

1.2.2 Planning Services 17

1.2.2.1 Development Applications Approved 1 March to 31 March 2014 17

1.1.1.1 Subdivision Applications Recommended for Approval 19

1.2.2.2 Subdivision Decisions – Western Australian Planning Commission 19

1.1.1.1 State Administrative Tribunal Proceedings Update 19

1.2.3 Health Services 19

1.3 EXECUTIVE SERVICES 20

1.3.1 Human Resources 20

1.3.2 Recruitment 20

1.3.3 Occupational Safety and Health Report for April 2014 20

1.4 COMMUNITY SERVICES 22

1.4.1 Ranger Services 22

1.4.2 Civic Centre Report 23

1.4.3 Visitor Centre 24

1.4.3.1 Cruise Ships 24

1.4.3.2 Melbourne Caravan and Camping Show 24

1.4.3.3 Statistics 25

1.4.4 Library Services 27

1.4.6 Bay of Isles Leisure Centre 28

2. INFORMATION CORRESPONDENCE 33

3. MINUTES AND NOTES OF MEETINGS HELD DURING PERIOD 33

4. PAPERS 33

1. REPORTS

1.1 ENGINEERING SERVICES

1.1.1 Plant Maintenance Foreman’s Report

Plant Number	Asset Description	Work Completed
T 100	Truck	Fabricate jockey wheel mounting bracket
G 41	Grader	Replace blade and lift arm shims
T 111	Truck	Fabricate sign and tool box framing
VR 11	Roller	Refit new drive motor to drum ( Westrac)
L 50	Backhoe	Replace transmission tube/ Bushes on rear backhoe pivot
T 105	8 Wheeler	Repair air line and fittings to tail gate
Prec 2	Per coater	Fabricate new wear plate ( Blue metal )
L 51	Compactor	Check wires on air con, tripping circuit breaker
T 95	Truck	Replace hydraulic hose and oil
LV 578	Wagon	Fit replacement spot light and adjust
T 95	Truck	Replace trailer air fittings
	Metal spreader	Replace pins and arms on rear gates
L 52	Skid steer	Clean out grease nipples on lower bucket pins
T 109	8 Wheeler	Fabricate tail gate lift point
TC 29	Tractor	Fit new reverse camera
TR 56	Water Trailer	Replace 2 inch suction hose and fittings
T 112	Truck	Fabricate second shelf in tool box
G 40	Grader	Replace door window
TT 4	Semi Tipper	Replace pivot point for suspension
TR 79	Pressure cleaner	Repair pressure handle
T 109	8 Wheeler	Repair air leak on gear box
MR 16	Roller	Replace nuts on turbo/ repair bonnet latch
LV 530	Ute	Remove power point and UHF
LV 558	Ute	Fabricate shelf and divider for tool box
TT 5	Semi Tipper	Repair rear tail lights
	Small compactor	Clean out carby , check over
TR 79	Trailer	Replace 7 pin plug and wires on A frame
LV 568	Ute	Fit new UHF aerial
L 58	Skid steer	Adjust engine bay door, replace door mirror
C 25	Caravan	Fit and wire new 3 way fridge
	Water pump	Replace cam locks
SL 6	Slasher	Replace wheel bearings
T 89	Truck	Replace air cleaner box, mud guard and brackets
TC 33	Mower	Replace blower blades, disc and surround
TR 82	Boring plant	Weld lift arm cracks
C 24	Caravan	Weld step and adjust
TR 24	Water pump	Replace impeller and seals
T 102	Semi	Repair door window switch
LV 534	Ute	Remove UHF , Tool box ETC
	Water bores	Fabricate test tube, water sample
G 40	Grader	Replace bade and lift arm shims
LL 5	Low loader	Grease and check wheel bearings, adjust brakes
TT 4	Semi Tipper	Replace tail gate booster
G 40	Grader	Replace steering joint
LV 596	Ute	Fit tool box UHF Etc


Light vehicles	11	Service
Heavy vehicles	30	Service

Work in progress
TR 54	Trailer	Replace ring feeder
TR 24	Water pump	Rebuild
T 95	Truck	Strip for sale

Work Scheduled
	Patching Truck	Fabricate tool box and frame work
	New Utes	Fit tool boxes, UHF, Phones ETC
	Gate	GSG front gate

New Plant
Hyundai I 40	4	Sedan
Triton	4	Ute
Toyota	1	Wagon
Gang mower
Rubber tyre roller

Gibson East Road		East of Highway 2km	Reconstruction	R2R
Fisheries Road		East of Tagon Road	Resheet	MRWA
Merivale Road		SLK 64.08 to 67.58	Reheet	MRWA
Merivale Road		SLK 47.79 to 55.94	Resheet	MRWA
Murrays Road		Southcoast Hwy to Tom Murrays	Chemically stabilise gravel	MUNI
Neds Corner Road		SLK 35.64 to SLK 36.75	Reconstruct	BLACKSPOT
Daniels Road		SLK 0.00 – SLK 5.00	Resheet	MUNI
Alexander Road		SLK 5.46 to SLK 8.46	Resheet	R2R
Merivale Road		West of Duke of Orleans Road	Resheet	MUNI
Twilight Beach Road		3km west of 9 mile	Reseal	MRWA
Backmans Road		SLK 9.42 to SLK 13.69	Reseal	MRWA
Starr Street		60m extension Gibson	Construct	Private Works
WORKS IN PROGRESS				FUNDING SOURCE
Cascade Road	Between Ashdale Road and Coomalbidgup Road		Cement stabilise patches	MRWA
Dempster Road	North of Scaddan Road		Resheet	MUNI
Grigg Road	Hwy to Lovers Lane		Cement stabilise patches	MUNI
Styles Road	Scaddan Road heading Northwards		Resheet	MUNI
Alexander Bay Road	South of farming land		Limestone resheet	MUNI
WORKS PROGRAMMED				FUNDING SOURCE
Griffith Road	West of Neds Corner Road		Resheet	MUNI
Griffith Road	Lovers Lane to Dalyup Road		Resheet	MUNI
Cascade Road	Edward Road to West Point Road		Resheet	MRWA
Beltana Road	South Coast Hwy heading northwards		Resheet	MUNI

1.1.3 Town Works

WORKS COMPLETED			FUNDING SOURCE
Esplanade	Esplanade GPT	Drainage Works	MUNI
WORKS IN PROGRESS			FUNDING SOURCE
Starr St	Gibson Townsite	Extend bitumen by 60m	PRIVATE WORKS
Myrup Rd	Truck Wash	Construction	GRANT
Industrial Area	Gilpin St & Sims St	Kerbing	MUNI
Corry Street	Emily Street to Mungan Street	Replace Kerbing	MUNI
WORKS PROGRAMMED			FUNDING SOURCE
Leak Street	Jane Street to Padbury Street	Drainage Works	MUNI

Parks & Gardens

Area

Comments

Playgrounds

Staff worked on a joint project with the Adventureland Park Committee and Rotary to undertake the refurbishment of play equipment within Adventureland Park. The Shire provided the necessary parts and equipment to undertake the works and Rotary provided the voluntary labour. Some of the works undertaken included treatment of rusted surfaces, replacement of non compliant and faulty parts and moving of certain pieces of equipment to ensure compliance with Australian standards. Whilst the project is not fully completed I believe it has been a success and should extend the life of the play equipment in the short term.

Mowing

Annual servicing of all drainage sumps within the town site in preparation for the up coming winter season was completed during the month. The works included mowing, whipper snipping, rubbish removal, tree pruning, chemical spraying and bobcat work.

All other areas were serviced in accordance with the mowing schedule with no particular issues.

Irrigation

The windmill at Twilight Beach that supplies water to the beach shower and toilet block failed during the month and required major maintenance. The required works were undertaken and the windmill is now back in full operation.

The newly upgraded irrigation systems at Esperance Oval and Newtown Oval are working well and the turf surfaces are rapidly recovering after being shut down during the installation period. Additional top dressing of trenches has been undertaken to ensure the ground are in the best condition possible for the up coming football season.

Gardens/Trees

The five Norfolk Pines at Salmon Beach that suffered chemical overspray from an unknown source are showing some signs of recovery. Advice on possible treatments has been investigated but due to not knowing what chemical was used it is difficult to establish what the best treatment should be. After seeking advice from an Aborist the decision was made to treat the trees with nutrient implants and continue weekly watering.

Staff will continue to monitor the trees progress.

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 264

1.2.2.2 Subdivision Applications Recommended for Approval

Nil

1.2.2.3 Subdivision Decisions – Western Australian Planning Commission

Subdivision Applications Recommended for Approval from 1 March 2014 to 31 March 2014
Date Received:	Application Number:	Applicant:	Location:	Proposal:	Subdivision Type:	Determination:
28 January 2014	149408	Gray & Lewis	Lot 249 Amelia Circuit, West Beach	1 to 18 lots	Green Title	7 March 2014

1.2.2.4 State Administrative Tribunal Proceedings Update

Nil

1.2.2.5 Status of LPS 23 Scheme Amendments

Amendment
No

Details of Amendment

Date
Amendment Initiated by Council

Current Status

Rezoning of Lot 64 Bandy Creek Road, Bandy Creek from "Agriculture - General" to "Special Use"

23 March 2010

· Awaiting modifications to Scheme Amendment report to facilitate referral to EPA for consent to advertise

14.

Major Omnibus

25 June 2013

· Approved by Council on 26 November 2013

· Final approval given from the Hon Minister for Planning subject to advertising of modifications

1.2.3 Health Services

Nil

1.3 EXECUTIVE SERVICES

1.3.1 Human Resources

Report: Lee Anderson Manager Human Services

1.3.2 Recruitment

Current Recruitment

Shire Ranger

Administration Officer – Volunteer Resource Centre

Customer Service Officer

Recent Appointments

Bruce Warren – Dozer Operator

To commence 28 April 2014

1.3.3 Occupational Safety and Health Report for April 2014

1.3.3.1 Incidents/near miss/hazards:

Shire Employees 3

Contractors/Volunteers 0

General Public 0

Total Number of Incidents Reported 3

New Compensation Claims 0

Continuing Workers Compensation Claims 4

1.3.3.2 OSH Inductions

Shire Employees 1

Contractors 0

Work Experience/Volunteers 2

1.3.3.3 Site Visits

· Depot Brazier Street

· Parks and Gardens

· HACC

§ Bay of Isles Leisure Centre

§ Wylie Bay Recycling Facility

1.3.3.4 Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)

The following graph shows the frequency rate of lost time injuries (LTIFR) per one million hours worked year to date (YTD) for 2014. The red marker on the graph indicates the LTIFR for 2013.

1.4 COMMUNITY SERVICES

1.4.1 Ranger Services

JOB TYPE	JOB TOTALS	EXTRA COMMENTS
	Total jobs attended 134	MONTH OF MARCH 2014
Dog barking	8
Dogs roaming	10
Dog attack	6
Dog Lost	5
Dog found	18
Dog other	30
Cats Feral	1
Cat roaming	1	Please note currently the Shire of Esperance do not have any by laws to cover this – waiting on state wide model for local shires.
Rubbish / illegal dumping	Nil
Livestock Roaming	1
Fire / Hazard	1	Jan and Nathan completed an effective season of fire break related works with Mel Ammon. Fire register set up and ongoing.
Fire / Other	1
Vehicles (abandoned / hazard)	2
Camping (illegal)	4
Camping (other inquiry)	8	Please note that overflow will open over Easter from 17/4-22/4 in line with caravan park booking information received. After 22/4 will be assessed on a 24 hour needs basis.
Parking (illegal)	2	Ongoing issues in relation to Castletown Primary School and lack of suitable areas for parking. Senior Ranger and Neil Williams ongoing assessment of situation.
Parking (other)	2
RSPCA / Welfare	2	Both matters referred to RSPCA Kalgoorlie Officer Peta Inwood for inquiry.
Dogs in pound Dogs Returned to owner Dogs euthanased Re homed	17 12 Nil 1	This is the total number of dogs in pound over March Please note this re home was returned as too active for potential owners. Dog has been sent to Kalgoorlie Dog Rescue into foster care and onward rehoming.
Coastal Works		Ongoing assistance and support for works at Quagi being provided by Work for the Dole scheme. Ranger services staff visiting Alexander Bay twice weekly. Staff member from Ranger Services attending Israelite Bay 10/4 in joint patrol with Fisheries and Department of Transport.
After hours calls from insight service.	34	There were a total of 34 after hours calls received to ranger services consisting mainly of dogs found.
Weekend duty ranger		Ranger services working weekends on a rotational basis providing high level of customer service and response to after hours calls especially in relation to dog roaming and dogs lost and found

1.4.2 Civic Centre Report

1.4.2.1 Entertainment:

There were two shows presented in March.

1.4.2.2 Show Reports:

Saturday 1^st – “Flak”

· Total attendance of 130 including 20 complimentary and 3 Companion Card.

· Advertising – Radio (RadioWest/HOT-FM and local ABC), Posters, Council Connections and FaceBook. The Esperance Express also printed an article on the show and ran a promotion / ticket give away.

· Bar takings of $563.00

· Thanks to Sarah Beckett and Phil Jones for assistance.

Saturday 22^nd – “Get Hypnotised” – The Matthew Hale Comedy Show

· Total attendance of 207 including 14 complimentary and 2 Companion Card.

· Advertising – Radio (RadioWest/HOT-FM and local ABC), Posters, Council Connections and FaceBook. The Esperance Express also printed an article on the show and ran a promotion / ticket give away.

· Bar takings of $944.00

· Thanks to Cassie Mack, Sarah Beckett and Phil Jones for assistance.

1.4.2.3 Shows on the way:

29^th April – “Tashi”

8^th May – “Controlled Falling”

27^th May – “Mother Africa”*

30 May – Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” (Black Swan Simulcast)*

7^th June – Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow

30^th June – “Pete The Sheep”

* - Venue hire.

1.4.2.4 Venue Hire / Use:

March had nine meeting days, three church services, one private function and one wedding at the Esperance Civic Centre. We were also the venue for the Wake of the late Maureen Mulgat.

1.4.2.5 Forward Bookings:

March has seven meeting days and two private functions currently booked. We are also the venue for the Western Australian half-Senate by-election

1.4.3 Visitor Centre

March was quiet month with door numbers steady and accommodation bookings up slightly on March 2013 (although down on our five year average).

1.4.3.1 Cruise Ships

The final cruise ship for the season, the “Celebrity Solstice” visited Esperance on Saturday the 1^st of March. The ship had approximately 2,500 passengers with approximately 1,200 of them coming to shore as ‘independents’ (no tour booked through the cruise ship). Unfortunately there were no local tours available for passengers to book as all local tour operators had dealt directly with the cruise ship, leaving little for the passengers to do around town (all hire cars were pre-booked).

There is a ‘Sundowner’ and debrief arranged for the cruise ship volunteers on the 2^nd of April and a meeting of the Esperance Cruise Ship Committee (local stakeholders) on the 3^rd of April.

1.4.3.2 Melbourne Caravan and Camping Show

Ross Beckett attended the Melbourne Caravan and Camping show from Thursday the 6^th to Tuesday the 11^th of March (inclusive). The visit was on behalf of (and paid for by) Australia’s Golden Outback

Attendances were down for the first day of the show due to a change in structure with the RACV special however other days were extremely successful. The demographics of people attending the show were mainly in the age bracket of 40 – 65yrs. Many have already visited Western Australia and had crossed the Nullarbor but were now looking to travel up through the centre of Australia and over the top end, down to Perth and then home again to the east coast. In general there were a lot of enquiries for Gibb River Road and Canning Stock Route. However, I was very surprised at the high recognition and knowledge of Esperance and our surrounding area.

Below are the attendance numbers for the past two years:

	2014	2013
Day 1	5,576	8,089
Day 2	6,673	6,380
Day 3	13,421	10,875
Day 4	12,329	12,455
Day 5	10,415*	8,448*
Day 6	3,859	3,563
Total	52,273	49,810

* = The Monday of the show is a Public Holiday in Victoria.

1.4.3.3 Statistics

Visitor Centre Door Entries

Accommodation sold

Commission earned from sales

1.4.4 Library Services

Staff and services

· Public Library Structural Reform update:

Ø All stakeholders in the Structural reform Process – State Library of WA (SLWA), Public Libraries Western Australia (PLWA) and the West Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) – have agreed to proceed with the review of the Framework Agreement governance model and other Reform matters. The suspension of the Reform process will be addressed by the formation of a new committee to re-start the process and a new Exchanges Review is also being progressed. A series of workshops will be held during 2014 on various matters relating to these issues

· The Library Manager is undertaking Project Management Training

· Clare-Frances Craig and Naomi Lam from the WA Museum visited the Esperance Museum on Monday 31 March and ran a Planning Workshop for Management Committee members and interested Volunteers, met with the World War 1 Remembering Them Project Team, and advised the Curator and other Volunteers with regard to operational matters and future training opportunities

· The WA Museum’s grant application for funding for the Remembering Them project, on behalf of museums in WA, was successful and will result in provision of interpretive panels and a display case for the Esperance Museum. The Project group are working on the interpretive material for the panels and the case

Building and Facilities

· A safety audit of the Library and the Museum was carried out in early April

Promotions

· Esperance Library Friends (ELF) are holding another ex-State Library stock Book Sale during the April (Easter) school holiday period. The last book sale in January raised over $4000 for new library resources

· SciTech held an interactive, fun and well attended fun Science workshop for parents and children on Saturday 22 March at the Library

· April School Holiday Activities have been advertised and bookings are brisk

· The Museum is having another Gold Coin entry Open Day on Easter Sunday 9.30am – 4.30pm. This will coincide with the Easter markets and a Vintage Car Display in the Museum grounds

· Displays in April include Youth Week, Easter and ANZAC

1.4.5 Bay of Isles Leisure Centre

1.4.5.1 Income Stats

Income overall in March 2014 was slightly higher compared to the same period last year, however, compared with the last month there has been a decrease in income. The decrease in Gym memberships and gym casual use is a concerning trend. Aquatic income has increased compared with last month and the same period last year, while Swim school income is down due to the timing of term enrolments which take place early in April, boosting figures for that month.

INCOME $
	*Mar-13*	Feb-14	Mar-14
Pool Admissions	$13,670.48	$13,810.49	$14,510.52
Pool Membership	$3,615.50	$3,763.81	$4,463.65
Gym Admissions	$2,703.06	$1,888.08	$1,829.93
Gym Membership	$5,028.23	$4,523.50	$3,738.80
Class Admissions	$2,149.49	$2,136.35	$2,306.76
Class Membership	$3,151.85	$3,071.26	$4,518.10
Hire Equipment	$272.74	$181.83	$471.85
Misc Income	$188.60	$364.92	$269.92
Swim School	$1,821.00	$11,233.00	$1,814.00
Creche	$772.79	$535.46	$556.36
Kiosk	$7,190.17	$5,945.67	$7,341.75
Pro Shop	$1,541.08	$1,476.49	$1,223.71
Room Hire	$540.00	$148.50	$792.00
Sporting Club Hire (ISS & Tennis)	$10.45	$727.65	$621.82
TOTAL INCOME	*$42,655.44*	$49,807.01	$44,459.17
10% commission from Sporting Club Hire $621.82

1.4.5.2 Attendance Stats

Overall attendance is slightly up compared with February 2014 and slightly less than for the same period last year. Aquatic casual use is doing well and Classes continue to perform well in terms of attendance.

ATTENDANCE #
	*Mar-13*	Feb-14	Mar-14
Aquatic - member use	2229	1419	1776
Aquatic - casual use	4325	3599	4349
Gym - member use	2131	946	1020
Gym - casual use	251	199	181
Spin Classes- member/casual	269	349	354
Classes - member/casual	665	397	840
Creche - member use		160	155
Creche - casual use	331	102	74
Creche - staff use		21	14

Sports Hall use	350	400	450
Silver/Gold Visit via Node 1/2	494	610	607
TOTAL USE	*11045*	8202	9820

1.4.5.3 Membership Stats

Membership excluding Multi-Passes has decreased 21% compared to March 2013

Multi-Passes increased 40% from March 2013, comparing to February and March 2014 sales of mini memberships dropped by 97.

For the month of March the centre has sold 189 new memberships

· 135 x Multi-Passes

· 13 x 12months

· 26 x 6months

· 15 x 3months

For the month of March the centre has had 11 members renew their membership

· 51 x Mini Membership

· 3 x 12months

· 1 x 6months

· 2 x 3months

Table indicates number of expired memberships, renewed memberships and new memberships (joining) over the past 12 months.

	Mar-13	Apr-13	May-13	Jun-13	Jul-13	Aug-13	Sep-13	Oct-13	Nov-13	Dec-13	Jan- 14	Feb 14	Mar-14
Expired	94	94	192	158	191	230	156	194	214	151	213	104	61
Renewed	62	88	55	69	66	79	24	19	26	5	13	8	6
Joining	75	154	64	88	180	205	166	205	117	125	190	58	54

1.4.5.4 Kiosk

· 2% increase in sales compared to March 2013, and an 19% increase in sales from last month due to swimming lessons in full swing (Dec-$8529, Jan-$10196 & Feb - $5945.67)

· Annual Budget; Expenditure 63%, Income 57%

1.4.5.5 Pro Shop

· 20% decrease in sales compared to March 2013 and a 17% decrease in sales from last month as Swimming Lessons commenced in February which increased the number of goggles purchased then.

· Annual Budget: Expenditure 91%, Income 74%

1.4.5.6 Crèche

· Visit’s are down 26.58% compared to March 2013 and 14 % decrease compared to last month visits

· Shire Staff – Crèche Usage made up 11.5% of Total Crèche March 2014.

1.4.5.7 Health & Fitness:

· A new Health & Fitness timetable has been released.

· 1200 people attended classes in March averaging just over 7.09 people per class for the month with 7.85 being the average for the financial year.

Fitness classes total participants in comparison to previous years.

1.4.5.8 Swim School

· Enrolments for term 2 have now commenced.

· The Anglican school completed a 7 week swimming program during March. Student achieved competencies such as bronze star and medallion as well as progressing through learn to swim stages.

1.4.5.9 Maintenance

· Our automatic shut down system for chlorine gas developed a fault during March. The system was activated into shutdown mode as would be the case if a Gas leak was present. The fault was isolated to a faulty gas generator in the self test system, this part was sourced from Perth and replaced and the system is again working correctly.

· Our annual service for UV treatment and chlorine gas is due in June, this service will be brought forward to address some minor issues. The service is now scheduled to take place early in May.

· All air handling systems were serviced in march

· All fire fighting equipment was serviced in March

1.4.5.10 Water

Facility water consumption (litres) for this financial year and for the last 2 years for the same period is displayed in the chart below. The increase in water use for this financial year compared to last financial year can be accounted for in the maintenance tasks performed this year requiring removal and replacement of pool water. Consumption is still slightly lower than 2011/12. To assist us to identify when our water is being used, the water corporation will fit a data logger to our mains connection in April. This device will provide graphs showing the time of the day water is used which will also allow us to identify usage trends as well as assisting to find any hidden leaks that may be present in our system that contribute to water consumption. The graph below compares water use with previous years.

1.4.5.11 Power

The Chart below shows power consumption in terms of electrical units used, comparing total use at this point in the financial year. Although slightly higher than last year we have used the same amount of Electricity as 11/12. Considering the addition of several air conditioners over the past 2 years we are still performing better that the 2011/12 FY.

1.4.5.12 Staff Training

· Two of our staff travelled to Perth to complete initial training for the Pool Operator qualification. They are now required to complete assignments and must work in the role with supervision before they can gain the qualification.

· Leisure Centre staff attended Lifeguard re-qualification training in March here at the Leisure Centre. The training refreshes skills such as spinal injury rescue and CPR.

· Two new casual lifeguards were appointed in March to replace two that left for other work opportunities.

· Several staff also completed team building training with other shire staff.

Ranger Services


JOB TYPE	JOB TOTALS	EXTRA COMMENTS

	Total jobs attended 134	MONTH OF MARCH 2014
Dog barking	8
Dogs roaming	10
Dog attack	6
Dog Lost	5
Dog found	18
Dog other	30

Cats Feral	1
Cat roaming	1	Please note currently the Shire of Esperance do not have any by laws to cover this – waiting on state wide model for local shires.

Rubbish / illegal dumping	Nil

Livestock Roaming	1

Fire / Hazard	1	Jan and Nathan completed an effective season of fire break related works with Mel Ammon. Fire register set up and ongoing.
Fire / Other	1

Vehicles (abandoned / hazard)	2

Camping (illegal)	4
Camping (other inquiry)	8	Please note that overflow will open over Easter from 17/4-22/4 in line with caravan park booking information received. After 22/4 will be assessed on a 24 hour needs basis.

Parking (illegal)	2	Ongoing issues in relation to Castletown Primary School and lack of suitable areas for parking. Senior Ranger and Neil Williams ongoing assessment of situation.
Parking (other)	2

RSPCA / Welfare	2	Both matters referred to RSPCA Kalgoorlie Officer Peta Inwood for inquiry.

Dogs in pound Dogs Returned to owner Dogs euthanased Re homed	17 12 Nil 1	This is the total number of dogs in pound over March Please note this re home was returned as too active for potential owners. Dog has been sent to Kalgoorlie Dog Rescue into foster care and onward rehoming.

Coastal Works		Ongoing assistance and support for works at Quagi being provided by Work for the Dole scheme. Ranger services staff visiting Alexander Bay twice weekly. Staff member from Ranger Services attending Israelite Bay 10/4 in joint patrol with Fisheries and Department of Transport.
After hours calls from insight service.	34	There were a total of 34 after hours calls received to ranger services consisting mainly of dogs found.

Weekend duty ranger		Ranger services working weekends on a rotational basis providing high level of customer service and response to after hours calls especially in relation to dog roaming and dogs lost and found

2 INFORMATION CORRESPONDENCE

3 MINUTES AND NOTES OF MEETINGS HELD DURING PERIOD

4 PAPERS

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 332

Agenda Cover Page

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE

LAKE MONJINGUP COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GROUP COMMITTEE

02 APRIL 2014

MINUTES

DISCLAIMER

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

ATTACHMENTS

Please be advised that in order to save printing and paper costs, all attachments referenced in this paper are available in the original Agenda document for this meeting.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

· 1. OFFICIAL OPENING 4

· 2. ATTENDANCE 4

· 3. APOLOGIES AND NOTIFICATION OF GRANTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE 4

· 4. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME 4

· 5. DEPUTATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INSPECTIONS, PETITIONS 4

· 6. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS 4

· 6.1 Declarations of Financial Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60a 4

· 6.2 Declarations of Proximity Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60b 4

· 6.3 Declarations of Impartiality Interest – Admin Regulations Section 34c 4

· 7. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 5

· 8. MATTERS REQUIRING A DETERMINATION 5

Item: 8.1 2014/2015 Budget Requirements 5

· 9. REPORTS 6

· 10. FINANCIAL REPORT 6

· 11. NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE 6

Item: 11.1 Appointment of Vacant Community Member Position 6

· 12. CLOSURE 6

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE

MINUTES

LAKE MONJINGUP COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GROUP COMMITTEE

HELD AT COUNCIL MEETING ROOM ON WEDNESDAY 2 APRIL 2014

COMMENCING AT 3:35PM

1. OFFICIAL OPENING

The presiding member declared the meeting open at 3:35pm

2. ATTENDANCE

Members

Cr Lara McIntyre Shire of Esperance

Dave Cowap Community Member

George Starcevich Community Member

Caroline Aylott Esperance Regional Forum

Kylie Bishop Community Member

Norma Warren Community Member

Ex Officio

Lynda Horn Community Services Officer

Trish Gardner Environmental Officer

Brian Warren Honorary Caretaker

Public

3. APOLOGIES AND NOTIFICATION OF GRANTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Jason Rhodes Manager Parks and Gardens

4. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

5. DEPUTATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INSPECTIONS, PETITIONS

6. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS

6.1 Declarations of Financial Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60a

Brian Warren declared a financial interest in item 8.1 as he receives an honorarium.

Norma Warren declared a financial interest in item 8.1 as she is the wife of Brian Warren.

6.2 Declarations of Proximity Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60b

Nil

6.3 Declarations of Impartiality Interest – Admin Regulations Section 34c

Nil

7. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Moved: D Cowap

Seconded: S Starcevich

That the minutes of the Lake Monjingup Community Development Group Committee meeting held on 5 March 2014 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

CARRIED

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

Moved: L McIntyre

Seconded: K Bishop

That standing orders be suspended for discussion at 3:37pm.

CARRIED

T Gardner arrived at 3:50pm.

T Gardner left the meeting at 4:50pm and did not return.

RESUMPTION OF STANDING ORDERS

Moved: L McIntyre

Seconded: C Aylott

That standing orders be resumed at 4:51pm.

CARRIED

8. MATTERS REQUIRING A DETERMINATION

Item: 8.1 2014/2015 Budget Requirements

Moved: G Starcevich

Seconded: K Bishop

The committee recommends that Council considers the budget adjustments for the Lake Monjingup Reserves:

1. That the Monjingup Park Ground Expenses be increased to $40,000 to cover increased costs of maintenance.

2. Removal of the Interpretative signage budget.

3. Retain all other budget lines as is.

CARRIED

Moved: C Aylott

Seconded: L McIntyre

The committee recommends that Council increase the Pet Cemetery fees to $80 per plot to cover the increased costs of maintenance.

CARRIED

9. REPORTS

Nil

10. FINANCIAL REPORT

As of 27 March 2014

Description	2013/2014 Budget	2013/2014 Expenses YTD	Variance
Monjingup Park Ground Expenses	$35,100	$27,896	$7,204
Weed Control	$1,500	$861	$639
Interpretive Signage	$3,000	$0	-
Minor Assets	$6,000	$0	-
Caretakers Honorarium	$5,000	$3,332	$1,668
Pet Cemetery Fees	-$1,000	-$760	-$240
Lake Monjingup Boardwalk Replacement	$10,000	$0	-

11. NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE

Moved: G Starcevich

Seconded: C Aylott

That urgent business be accepted.

CARRIED.

Item: 11.1 Appointment of Vacant Community Member Position

Moved: K Bishop

Seconded: G starcevich

The Committee recommends that Council appoint Mike Gibbs to fill the vacancy of community representative for the Lake Monjingup Community Development Group.

CARRIED

12. CLOSURE

The presiding member closed the meeting at 4:58pm.

These Minutes were confirmed at a meeting held on _____________________

Signed ________________________________________

Presiding Member at the meeting at which the Minutes were confirmed.

Dated_____________________

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 338

Agenda Cover Page

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE

ESPERANCE MUSEUM MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

02 APRIL 2014

MINUTES

DISCLAIMER

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

ATTACHMENTS

Please be advised that in order to save printing and paper costs, all attachments referenced in this paper are available in the original Agenda document for this meeting.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

· 1. OFFICIAL OPENING 4

· 2. ATTENDANCE 4

· 3. APOLOGIES AND NOTIFICATION OF GRANTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE 4

· 4. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME 4

· 5. DEPUTATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INSPECTIONS, PETITIONS 4

· 6. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS 4

· 6.1 Declarations of Financial Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60a 4

· 6.2 Declarations of Proximity Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60b 4

· 6.3 Declarations of Impartiality Interest – Admin Regulations Section 34c 4

· 7. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 5

· 8. MATTERS REQUIRING A DETERMINATION 5

Item: 8.1 2014/2015 Budget Requirements 5

· 9. REPORTS 6

Item: 9.1 Archivist Report for April 2013 6

Item: 9.2 Curators Report for April 2013 6

· 10. FINANCIAL REPORT 8

· 11. NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE 8

· 12. CLOSURE 8

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE

MINUTES

ESPERANCE MUSEUM MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

HELD AT THE ESPERANCE MUSEUM ON WEDNESDAY 02 APRIL 2014

COMMENCING AT 9:15AM

1. OFFICIAL OPENING

The presiding member declared the meeting open at 9:15AM

2. ATTENDANCE

Members

Cr Victoria Brown Shire of Esperance

John Guest Esperance Bay Historical Society

Maryann Lankester Esperance Bay Historical Society

Brendan Freeman Esperance Bay Historical Society

Royce Bryan Esperance Bay Historical Society

Glenys Gilpin Esperance Family History Society

Sylvia Boast Community member

Ex Officio

Jayne Arnold Manager Library and Culture

Lynda Horn Community Services Officer

Wendy Plunkett Curator

Public

3. APOLOGIES AND NOTIFICATION OF GRANTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Cr Natalie Bowman Shire of Esperance

Jennifer Ford Archivist

Tom Reimers Esperance Mechanical Restoration Group

4. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

Nil

5. DEPUTATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INSPECTIONS, PETITIONS

Nil

6. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS

6.1 Declarations of Financial Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60a

Maryanne Lankester declared a financial interest in item 8.1 as she receives an honorarium.

Wendy Plunkett declared a financial interest in item 8.1 as she receives an honorarium.

Royce Bryan declared a financial interest in item 8.1 as she is the contracted cleaner for the museum.

6.2 Declarations of Proximity Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60b

Nil

6.3 Declarations of Impartiality Interest – Admin Regulations Section 34c

Nil

7. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Moved: S Boast

Seconded: R Bryan

That the minutes of the Museum Management Committee meeting held on 5 March 2014 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

CARRIED

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

Moved: B Freeman

Seconded: M Lankester

That standing orders be suspended for discussion at 9:18am.

CARRIED

RESUMPTION OF STANDING ORDERS

Moved: R Bryan

Seconded: S Boast

That standing orders be resumed at 9:44am.

CARRIED

8. MATTERS REQUIRING A DETERMINATION

Item: 8.1 2014/2015 Budget Requirements

Moved: B Freeman

Seconded: G Gilpin

The committee recommends that Council considers the budget adjustments for the Esperance Museum Management:

1. That the advertising budget be increased to $2,000 to cover the cost of new brochures for the museum.

2. That the exhibition expenses be increased to $8,000 to accommodate the program outlined by the curator.

3. That the cleaning budget be increased to $15,000 to cover the costs of steam cleaning of the carpets and additional cleaning materials.

4. That the Utilities budget be increased to $14,000 to cover the increase in utility costs.

5. That the security budget be increased to $3,000 to cover the costs associated with the safety audit requirements.

6. That the projected income budget for the admission fees be increased to $55,000.

CARRIED

Moved: B Freeman

Seconded: S Boast

The committee recommends that Council retains the current Museum entry fees for the next financial year.

CARRIED

9. REPORTS

Item: 9.1 Archivist Report for April 2013

PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION

Maryann Lankester and Jennifer Ford continue rehousing the print photograph collection into archival quality albums. Approximately one quarter of the described photographs (total 4000) have been completed.

Appropriate storage containers for the glass negative collection (approximately 300) hope to be acquired this financial year and the negatives can then be accessioned and stored. Neville Mulgat has digitised them and once accessioned and entered into the MosaicPlus database they will be more accessible.

Keith DAW Collection

In February Vernon Daw, son of Keith Daw, donated his father’s World War I records. This includes medals, photographs and paper records such as his discharge certificate signed by King George, pay books and three small diaries. The diaries are being transcribed by volunteer Delle Maloney.

HEARNE Collection

A burial register kept by Cyril Hearn from 1932-1942 has been transcribed by Jan Davis. This contains information such as name, date of death, cause of death, religion, etc.

Della and Jan will continue transcribing significant archives.

The procedures on how to enter data about archival records into the MosaicPlus database is being reviewed and will soon be tested by volunteers.

Item: 9.2 Curators Report for April 2013

The Museum commenced in 2014 with many changes as well as further changes proposed during 2014 onto 2015 Historically museums remained static in an unchanging collection of inanimate objects. In 2014 it is the norm for a more vibrant museum space, infact the changes in museum operations reflect the need to give an interesting experience as well as interactive programs with the public. Firstly it is with a great deal of pleasure that we have welcomed the visit of the founder of this amazing museum Marg Barker. Secondly the ability to control a continuing eruption of furniture borers has become a daunting task. Finally a major part of our new five year plan includes many exciting projects, the projects commence with the WW1 project Remembering Them an ongoing project in partnership with the Western Australian Museum. There is compelling evidence to suggest we are at the start of exciting times at the museum.

The museum has continued for more than forty years in two venues in Esperance. In fact listening to founder Marge Barker, recounting the passion for history shown by many hardworking Esperance Volunteers over this period is inspirational. The Railway Good shed became the home for the museum after a very short period spent in a house in Dempster Street. Marge described how the committee vested the Goodshed in the Shire for safe keeping for future generations, to house the Esperance public’s valuable possessions and archival history. Marg also reiterated and confirmed museum practice that the museum should house only those items significant to Esperance.

(“Borers”) more particularly furniture borers in some very old furniture are continuing to appear in very old objects. The problem has been discussed previously, a considerable amount of research involving the CSIRO, WA Museum, Pest Control and Rob Sutter from the Shire. Rob spoke to the pest control persons who spray for the WA museum and suggested we spray the individual pieces with Mortein crawling insect spray. Dot had some of the same artefacts’ sprayed some years ago for borers some with kerosene. The borers only come out of the objects when the conditions are suitable, they like a cool humid atmosphere. At the present some of the objects have been treated successfully in some there is an ongoing problem as new eruption continues. Since the last Museum Management Committee Alex Roach insect specialist from NSW has been approached for advice. Alex believes that I have identified the correct borer however he asked for a sample of the frace, this has been forwarded to him also photographs of new and old borer exit holes. Alex described how the furniture borers will attack many types of wood based material even paper and paintings. He believes from the discussion that we have an ongoing serious problem. Since our conversation I have handed further contact with Alex to Jayne Arnold who I believe has e-mailed Alex and we are awaiting further actions. The borers flight period is over for this period however the continue boring and eating objects they are inside and they may emerge again in November.

Important components of any large organisation are policies as discussed the new policies will be presented to the MMC for discussion in a draft format over the next twelve months. The Maritime section of the museum has under gone a paradigm shift to include natural history as an interesting adjunct to this interesting space. As a result the space where natural history once resided will allow a large space for the new exciting WW1 Project. The WW1 project Remembering Them will include a Diorama set out on a large table, a map built from fibre glass a map of the area where our soldiers fought and many died at Gallipoli shown in a three dimension format. There will also be a state of art cabinet to house special WW1 artefacts. Finally the display area will house a large set of free standing panels including at least five double sided panels showing firstly the photos and stories of the home front and several stories and photos of the soldiers in a timeline, the Honour Roll will be on the last panel.. In November we hope to start our public programs in the museum with a Tea Dance and Singing Event with songs music and dance from the beginning of WW1, the second occasion will encompass a Photographic Exhibition in the second half of January also relating to WW1 relating to Esperance. Our major opening for WW1 Remembering Them will be subsequent to the completion of Anzac Day ceremonies, museum planned activities will compliment the Anzac Day remembrance. All the activities involve the RSL president George Starcevich relating to Anzac Day.

In Conclusion the visit from Marg Barker founder of The Esperance museum reinstated the original investment in saving Esperance History. Secondly the control of borers has become a long term project. Finally new projects are being rolled out starting as public programs in 2014. The museum will expand and become a more exciting venue in the future with the help of the wonderful volunteers who have worked to uphold the museum moving forward.

10. FINANCIAL REPORT

As of 27 March 2014

Description	2013/2014 Budget	2013/2014 Expenses YTD	Variance
Travel and Accommodation	$3,000	$687	$2,313
Advertising and Promotions	$1,000	0	-
Sundry Supplies & Expenses	$7,500	$4,122	$3,378
Exhibit Expenses	$7,000	$6,375	$625
Curatorial Expenses	$10,000	$5,000	$5,000
Telephone	$1,920	$1,450	$470
Internet/Network Access Fees	$660	$270	$390
IT Repairs and Maintenance	$1,000	0	-
Software Licences & Support	$1,315	$872	$443
Building – Cleaning	$12,000	$13,182	$-1,182
Building – Utilities	$12,500	$11,646	$854
Building – Security	$900	$2,491	-$1,591
Admission Fees	-$45,000	-$33,175	-$11,825

11. NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE

Nil

12. CLOSURE

The presiding member closed the meeting at 9:51am.

These Minutes were confirmed at a meeting held on _____________________

Signed ________________________________________

Presiding Member at the meeting at which the Minutes were confirmed.

Dated_____________________

Ordinary Council: Agenda

22 April 2014 Page 347

Agenda Cover Page

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE

ARTS COLLECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

03 APRIL 2014

MINUTES

DISCLAIMER

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

ATTACHMENTS

Please be advised that in order to save printing and paper costs, all attachments referenced in this paper are available in the original Agenda document for this meeting.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

· 1. OFFICIAL OPENING 4

· 2. ATTENDANCE 4

· 3. APOLOGIES AND NOTIFICATION OF GRANTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE 4

· 4. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME 4

· 5. DEPUTATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INSPECTIONS, PETITIONS 4

· 6. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS 4

· 6.1 Declarations of Financial Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60a 4

· 6.2 Declarations of Proximity Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60b 4

· 6.3 Declarations of Impartiality Interest – Admin Regulations Section 34c 4

· 7. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 5

· 8. MATTERS REQUIRING A DETERMINATION 5

Item: 8.1 2014/2015 Budget Requirements 5

· 9. REPORTS 6

Item: 9.1 Shire of Esperance Art Collection Curator 6

· 10. FINANCIAL REPORT 7

· 11. NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE 7

· 12. CLOSURE 7

SHIRE OF ESPERANCE

MINUTES

ARTS COLLECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

HELD AT THE ESPERANCE MUSEUM ON THURSDAY 3 APRIL 2014

COMMENCING AT 4PM

1. OFFICIAL OPENING

The presiding member declared the meeting open at 4:08pm

2. ATTENDANCE

Members

Cr Lara McIntyre Shire of Esperance

Wendy Plunkett Curator Esperance Museum

Thuriyya Ibrahim Esperance Community Arts

Bruce Malloch Community Member

Ex Officio

Jayne Arnold Manager Library and Culture

Jane Mulcock Executive Officer Esperance Community Arts

Lynda Horn Community Services Officer

Public

3. APOLOGIES AND NOTIFICATION OF GRANTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Karen McClurkin Cannery Arts Centre

4. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

5. DEPUTATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INSPECTIONS, PETITIONS

6. DECLARATION OF MEMBERS INTERESTS

6.1 Declarations of Financial Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60a

Jane Mulcock declared a financial interest in item 8.1 as she is the Executive Officer of Esperance Community Arts who currently receive payment to perform curatorship of the art collection.

6.2 Declarations of Proximity Interest – Local Government Act Section 5.60b

Nil

6.3 Declarations of Impartiality Interest – Admin Regulations Section 34c

Nil

7. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Moved: B Malloch

Seconded: W Plunkett

That the minutes of the Arts Collection Advisory Committee meeting held on 6 March 2014 be confirmed as a true and correct record.

CARRIED

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

Moved: L McIntyre

Seconded: W Plunkett

That standing orders be suspended for discussion at 4:12pm.

CARRIED

T Ibrahim arrived at 4:15pm

RESUMPTION OF STANDING ORDERS

Moved: L McIntyre

Seconded: B Malloch

That standing orders be resumed at 4:59pm.

CARRIED

8. MATTERS REQUIRING A DETERMINATION

Item: 8.1 2014/2015 Budget Requirements

Moved: W Plunkett

Seconded: T Ibrahim

The committee recommends that Council considers the budget requirements for the Shire of Esperance Arts Collection

1. A budget line of $5,000 be allocated for the curatorship of the Shire of Esperance Art Collection.

2. A budget line of $1,000 be allocated for exhibition expenses.

3. Retention of the $1,000 art restoration budget line.

CARRIED

9. REPORTS

Item: 9.1 Shire of Esperance Art Collection Curator

ECA SEAC Curatorship Record of Hours 2013 -2014
DATE	HOURS	TASK
15/08/13	1.5	SEAC Committee Meeting / Library visit
28/08/13	0.5	Laptop (Lynda Horn ), Meeting arrangements (Wendy Plunkett)
30/08/13	2	Visit to Museum / Assessment of current storage of collection/ phone call to Rob Suter/ Movement of work to accommodate installation of storage rack / Audit of works present/ Email to Jayne
12/09/13	1.5	SEAC Committee Meeting
13/09/13	2	Collection of Biennial prize sculpture and relocation at Museum, art works moved into storage rack
18/09/13	4	Collection of remaining artworks from Shire and placement in storage rack in Museum (assistance from Jen Ford and Jayne Arnold). Sorting through electronic files (Jen Ford).
24/09/13	0.5	Meeting with Jayne Arnold - SEAC/Waterfront CRG relationship
04/10/13	1	Preparation for SEAC Meeting - Recommendations for display of collection - Jayne Arnold/ Jen Ford
09/10/13	0.5	Preparation of report.
10/10/13	2	SEAC committee meeting
06/11/13	1.5	Assessment of collection for loan - (assistance from Jen Ford - 1.5)
07/11/13	1	Preparation for meeting SEAC committee meeting
13/11/13		Assessment of collection for loan - (assistance from Jen Ford - 1.5)
10/01/13	0.5	Nomination of SEAC representative (communications/letter)
31/01/14	1	Volunteer Supervision - Database set up
10/02/14	1	Follow- up on Museum Wandjina painting
13/02/14	1	SEAC committee meeting
14/02/14	0.5	Meeting follow-up - quotes for repair work - Old Courthouse Framers / admin
19/02/14	1	Quotation on repair work - Warren Andrews , Museum
06/03/14	1	SEAC committee meeting
19/03/14	0.5	Meeting with Bruce Malloch
28/03/14	1	Council Meeting Preparation - Volunteer Supervision
03/04/14	1	Preparation of SEAC Curators Report
31/01/14 - 01/04/14	14.5	Entry of catalogue data for first 31 works into Filemaker Pro-database. (Estimate another 70 hours work required to complete data entry before June)
TOTAL	41

Progression on Database:

As of 1st April, 31 items have been entered. Problems have been encountered with entry of photographs and biographical data. We will continue to create records for each artwork and enter as much data as we can before June. Problems with entry of photographs will be followed up once all other data has been entered.

Repairs to work:

Warren Andrews has assessed the collection and submitted a quote for $1000. Bruce Malloch has also assessed the collection and offered his expertise and assistance with repairs. Warren will be engaged pending a final decision from the committee based on Bruce's report. Repairs will follow recommendations in Fiona Gavino's 2013 report.

Recommendations for display of collection

Given the financial/time constraints, and the fact that the whole exhibition has recently been exhibited and it is now all safely stored and accounted for, we recommend that a small number of stabilised works (including the pelican sculpture) be displayed at the Shire places accessible to the public from November 2013 – Jun 2014 using the hanging systems that are already in place (as long as they are safe).

Works appropriate for this purpose have been identified.

Given Council's decision to create a separate budget line for management of the Art Collection, thereby removing it from the CDF process, and given the timing of this report due to Shire changes in the structure and function of the SEAC Advisory committee, we have not prepared an exhibition plan or additional recommendations for display of the collection. Future recommendations will depend on Council's decisions about how much the Shire wishes to invest in the collection on an ongoing basis and will be better negotiated in discussion with the person employed to manage the collection from July 2014 onwards.

Jane Mulcock

Curator

10. FINANCIAL REPORT

Nil

11. NEW BUSINESS OF AN URGENT NATURE

Nil

12. CLOSURE

The presiding member closed the meeting at 5:01pm

These Minutes were confirmed at a meeting held on _____________________

Signed ________________________________________

Presiding Member at the meeting at which the Minutes were confirmed.

Dated_____________________

Description		Variation
Development Application Fees 03-06937	Operating Expense	$147
Building Licences 03-08522	Operating Expense	$90
Community Assistance - Minor 03-69422	Works Account	($237)
Net Result		Nil

Objection
The proposed Outbuilding would block the majority of natural light into Bedroom 4 of the neighbouring residence.	In accordance with the Residential Design Codes, unless the proposal would result in overshadowing of 25% or more of the neighbouring property on 21 June (Winter Solstice), overshadowing is not a consideration. In this instance as the objecting neighbour is located to the north-east of the property, overshadowing of the neighbouring property will be minimal.
The close proximity of the wall of the proposed outbuilding would create a feeling of claustrophobia in a bedroom and detract from the ambience of the room, also affect my future resale value as a direct result.	The proposed Outbuilding (Shed) will result in some impact on the adjoining lot from its close proximity, however this should not impact direct sun (bedroom faces the south-west) or ventilation. There should be no impact on overlooking and privacy. As such the proposed setback variation is considered to be acceptable. Impact on future resale value is not protected under Western Australian planning legislation, as such this point is not a valid planning consideration.
The view currently enjoyed from bedroom 4 of the park/recreational area opposite would be totally obscured by this proposed location.	Individual views from properties are not protected under Western Australian planning legislation, as such this point is not a valid planning consideration.
Any activity creating noise carried out in this outbuilding is directly outside bedroom 4 and the ensuite/bedroom 1 window of my residence.	The applicant has indicated that the proposed Outbuilding (Shed) is for storage of a boat. While there may be some noise caused by this, it is considered that the reduction in setback requested by the applicant is unlikely to result in any increase in noise to the neighbouring property relative to the standard requirement of 1 metre.

Meeting Type	Time/Date	Location
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 21 January	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 28 January	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 18 February	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 25 February	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 18 March	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 25 March	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 15 April	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 22 April	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 20 May	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 27 May	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 17 June	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 24 June	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 15 July	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 22 July	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 19 August	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 26 August	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 16 September	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 23 September	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 21 October	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 28 October	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 18 November	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 25 November	Council Chambers
Agenda Briefing Session	1pm Tuesday 9 December	Council Chambers
Ordinary Council Meeting	4pm Tuesday 16 December	Council Chambers

Disclosure of Financial, Proximity or Impartiality Interests

Local Government Act 1995 – Section 5.65, 5.70 and 5.71 and Local Government (Administration) Regulation 34C

Declaration of Interest (Notes for Your Guidance)

Author/s	Les Crake	Manager Building Services
Authorisor/s	Richard Hindley	Director Development Services

Author/s	Cassia Dafoe	Town Planner
Authorisor/s	Richard Hindley	Director Development Services

a View.	Letter requesting waiving of fees
b View.	Letter requesting donation of shade shelter
c View.	Approved plans

Author/s	Jennifer Parry	Manager Administration Services
Authorisor/s	Shane Burge	Director Corporate Services

a View.	Building Asset Hierarchy
b View.	Building Hierarchy List
c View.	Outside Building Hierarchy List

Author/s	Beth O'Callaghan	Manager Financial Services
Authorisor/s	Shane Burge	Director Corporate Services

Author/s	Trevor Ayers	Manager Economic & Business Development
Authorisor/s	Matthew Scott	Chief Executive Officer

a View.	Department of Commerce Policy Paper
b View.	Application Guidelines

Author/s	Helen Hall	Executive Assistant
Authorisor/s	Matthew Scott	Chief Executive Officer

Author/s	Priscilla Davies	Manager Corporate Performance
Authorisor/s	Matthew Scott	Chief Executive Officer

a View.	Lake Monjinup Community Development Group Meeting - 2 April 2014
b View.	Espernace Museum Management Committee - 3April 2014
c View.	Arts Collection Advisory Committee - 3 April 2014
d View.	Esperance Roadwise Committee - 7 April 2014

Author/s	Lynda Horn	Community Services Officer
Authorisor/s	Rod Hilton	Director Community Services

Description	Budget 2013/2014	Proposed Budget 2014/2015	Variation
Monjingup Park Ground Expenses	$35,100	$40,000	$4,900
Weed Control	$1,500	$1,500	$0
Interpretive Signage	$3,000	$0	-$3,000
Minor Assets	$6,000	$6,000	$0
Caretakers Honorarium	$5,000	$5,000	$0
Pet Cemetery Fees	-$1,000	-$1,000	$0
Net result			$1,900

Description	Budget 2013/214	Proposed Budget 2014/2015	Variation
Travel and Accommodation	$3,000
Advertising and Promotions	$1,000	$2,000	$1,000
Sundry Supplies & Expenses	$7,500
Exhibit Expenses	$7,000	$8,000	$1,000
Curatorial Expenses	$10,000
Museum Building Expenses –Cleaning	$12,000	$15,000	$3,000
Museum Building Expenses – Utilities	$12,500	$14,000	$1,500
Museum Building Expenses – Security	$900	$3,000	$2,100
* Telephone	$1,920
* Internet/Network Access Fees	$660
* IT Repairs and Maintenance	$1,000
* Software Licences & Support	$1,315
Admission Fees	-$45,000	-$55,000	-$10,000
Net result			-$1,400

Description	Budget 2013/2014	Proposed Budget 2014/2015	Variation
SOE Curator	$5,000		$0
Restoration of Council Art Work	$1,000		$0
SOE Art Collection Exhibition Expenses	$1,000	$1,000	$1,000

Net result			$1,000

Author/s	Scott McKenzie	Manager Engineering Administration
Authorisor/s	Gavin Harris	Director Engineering Services