Dence Park Master Plan

The Masterplan is a high-level document which provided an indicative layout of the spaces and amenities. Council has refined the Masterplan, which has resulted in a redesign that produces a more practical layout while still meeting the same level of community needs.

One of the biggest changes is the location of the indoor pool. In the Masterplan, the indoor pool was proposed to be located on the southern end of the facility. This created user convenience issues as patrons would have had to get changed in the amenities building, walk in the open, and then enter the indoor pool. This would be unpleasant in bad weather and on cold days. The decision to propose the indoor pool in the new northern location will not only allow for an improved user experience but also greater passive surveillance from the reception area.

Another proposed change is the amenities building. The Masterplan had proposed a new amenities building, while the Draft Concept Plan proposed to retrofit the existing building instead. Further investigations determined that the location of the existing building provides better supervision opportunities across the whole facility, and therefore relocating the amenities building would not be the best option.

The amenities building will be significantly updated into a modern facility with proposed upgrades including a new lift that will take visitors from the carpark entrance level to a new ground-floor reception area, as well as accessible toilets and change room facilities.

Since we last sought your feedback in 2020 there have been additional changes to the draft concept plan, specifically to the outdoor pool and waterplay facilities. Through excessive collaboration with specialist services over the last 18 months and to ensure the project stays within budget it has been decided that the outdoor pool will remain at 6 lanes and there will be an option for either waterplay or an upgraded splash pool.

Through the master planning process, the clear preference of the Epping community was for Council to prioritise the aquatic works component of the Dence Park Masterplan. Council is reflecting this community preference by prioritising the following:

• A renovated and expanded pool amenities building
• An upgraded 6-lane 50 metre outdoor pool with access ramp
• A new 20 metre indoor pool with access ramp
• Accessibility improvements
• Associated pool pumps, filtration and other aquatic infrastructure
• Waterplay equipment

The indoor pool will be used for a variety of programs such as aqua-aerobics, lap swimming, lane walking and learn to swim classes. The proposed pool has also been designed to allow for better passive surveillance and improved safety of pool users.

The community raised a number of considerations during the exhibition of the Draft Dence Park Masterplan in November 2019. While many of these were detailed questions that were outside of the scope of the Masterplan, they will be addressed as part of the environmental assessment and development approvals process when this is undertaken as part of the Dence Park Implementation Plan.

These considerations include heritage, protection of native flora and fauna, wider ecology and biodiversity, bushfires, flooding, stormwater flows, architectural design, waste and other environmental pollution concerns, as well as construction management.

The Dence Park Masterplan is a strategic document to guide the improvement of the park over the next 10-15 years.

The Dence Park Masterplan Implementation Plan provides a clear and strict cost-controlled pathway to delivering the priority works in the Masterplan. The Implementation Plan divides the priority works in the Masterplan into packages of work, identifies a timeline and allocates a total budget towards the project.

A community focused, recreation hub with swimming pool facilities that engages a wide variety of users, whilst retaining and enhancing the site's unique natural setting.

The original Dence Park Masterplan proposed the following improvement works:

• Redevelopment of Epping Pool, including a new 6-lane rebuilt 50m pool, at-grade access, new amenities building, new spectator seating, new 25m indoor pool, and new water play facilities
• Creating new formal passive recreational spaces including picnic facilities, gardens and seating
• Creating new active recreational spaces, including a new playground
• Upgrading associated park ancillary facilities, including car parking, pedestrian pathways, amenities building as well as bushland conservation
• Staged redevelopment of the Epping Creative Centre to improve accessibility and provide more space.