Kambalda Aquatic Facility Update – Stage 2 Works Approved by Council
Shire of Coolgardie 31 Oct 2019

Published: Thursday, 31 October 2019 at 2:12:19 PM

Kambalda Aquatic Facility Update – Stage 2 Works Approved by Council

Construction of the Kambalda Aquatic Facility Project commenced on 10 May 2019.

During construction, it became apparent that Council had the opportunity to increase the scope of works to the facility by adding additional items that were originally planned for Stage 2 of the development in the next financial year.

At a Special Council meeting on 30 October 2019, Council were presented with a range of options that would significantly improve the features offered to the community. These were outside of the original tendered scope of works but were being considered for Stage 2 of the development at a later date. 

The most significant of the additional works are –

Pool lighting upgrade to current standards; Retractable shade sails to the learn to swim pool; Learn to Swim pool solar heating and blankets; Additional refurbishments in canteen and changerooms; and Landscaping including wheelchair accessible BBQs.

The Learn to Swim Pool, with a beach entry, will now be heated and have a retractable shade structure which will significantly improve accessibility for young children, seniors and people with disabilities.  It will provide a greater opportunity for sports participation and physical rehabilitation to community members including the 180 people with disabilities residing in the Shire.

The Shire recently developed partnerships through Memorandum of Understandings with St John Medical, Goldfields Individual and Family Support Association, Addlife Physiotherapy, and Bright Minds Therapy. 

The MOUs contribute to a wider holistic community health plan called the St John Country Primary Health Care Model.  The model is the first of its kind in regional Western Australia and aims to – develop healthy communities and coordinated care for Aboriginal Australians and people with long term disabilities.

Attracting and retaining people to regional WA can be challenging and the MOUs are designed to help the Shire to be more "Inclusive and Accessible" to everyone, irrespective of their ability or disability.

The new items will allow the Shire to extend its swimming programs to provide specialised water aerobics, learn to swim classes and interactive Aqua sessions for small children, seniors and people with disabilities.

The lighting upgrade to Australian and Swimming WA standards will allow the pool to be used for swimming training at night.  Due to the requirements to meet these standards, if this upgrade was not completed, the pool would not be able to be used for night training.

The original date of practical completion for the facility was 2 February 2019. The new date for practical completion is now 18 March 2020. This date is subject to no unforeseen delays relating to third party suppliers such as:  utilities connections, health approvals, delivery of supplies and landscaping.

 “By bringing these additions into a single stage, the community will receive a very high-quality pool - likely one of the best aquatic facilities for its population size in Western Australia. 

This will also be the only heated outdoor learn to swim pool in the region with these features for children, seniors and people with disabilities.

A completion of the full scope of the Facility by 18 March 2020 gives a 10 ½ month construction timeframe which is reasonable for a project of this size; particularly for a refurbishment bringing aging infrastructure up to a new standard.

We know the community are really looking forward to the opening and hope that all community members understand that the inclusive and high-quality facilities will be worth the time it takes for construction.” said Malcolm Cullen, Shire President.

For media enquiries, please contact -

Malcolm Cullen, Shire President, Shire of Coolgardie

PO Box 138, Kambalda WA 6442

Mobile       0417 266 191

Email         [email protected] 

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