City of Canterbury Bankstown to sacrifice ageing Wran Leisure Centre

As part of a 15 year plan to redevelop is aquatic and recreation centres over the next 15 years, the City of Canterbury Bankstown has announced that it will permanently close its Wran Leisure Centre in Villawood and the Greenacre Leisure and Aquatic Centre.

In their place, the Council plans to build a community centre at Thurina Park, Villawood while also continuing with its plance for the new Canterbury Leisure and Aquatic Centre.

Consultants reports have advised that the Wran Leisure Centre built in 1978 - which features an indoor 18 metre heated pool, children’s play area, tennis courts, squash courts, sauna and multi-purpose hall - is structurally unsound, sinking and has cracks in several places.

The Greenacre Leisure and Aquatic Centre - which has been shut for the past three years - is also being closed permanently with the community to get a aquatic playground and enhanced play space at nearby Roberts Park.

The Council plan provides for centres at Birrong, Canterbury, Revesby and Roselands to be upgraded.

Bankstown state member Tania Mihailuk, one of the four people who spoke out against the closure of Wran Leisure Centre, was reported by Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph as saying "the Wran Centre serves a diverse population of communities, including many living with disabilities and elderly individuals, a number of whom are from marginalised communities.

“The closure would result in closing down access to the only local pool for these residents.

“Villawood is one of the most disadvantaged communities in the state, without a single backyard pool.

Mayor Khal Asfour said the decision to close 'the Wran' was taken in 2013 but that the Council had waited until it had a strategic plan for all six local aquatic and recreation centres before taking action.

Mayor Asfour stated that the closure was not an easy decision but it had to be done, advising "the Wran Centre closure won’t happen for a few years and really the community wanted a better leisure infrastructure.

“We were elected to take tough decisions and we have to look at the greater good of the community.

“To rebuild a pool at the Wran centre will cost $30 million and we don’t have that money."

He added that the Council will not be selling the land.

The City of Canterbury Bankstown recently joined Royal Life Saving as Aquatic Safety partners, with the partnership set to deliver a range of services including safety assessments across all venues.

Swim schools at the Council's facilities will also partner with Royal Life Saving to ensure best practices and access to a range of resources including our Royal Life's new Multicultural Communities Portal that provides an array of translated resources to their patrons.

Speaking about the partnership, City of Canterbury Bankstown Manager of Leisure and Aquatic Services, Ben Ellison-Kubecka stated "this is a great opportunity for facilities and operators in the industry to demonstrate their commitment to ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for their customers and staff. The partnership offers us the opportunity at CB City, to proactively plan out the whole year in a more structure way in terms of budget, audits, assessments and training. I commend Royal Life on their response to the needs of the industry with initiatives like this.”

Images: The Wran Leisure Centre (top) and the concept for the upgraded Canterbury Leisure and Aquatic Centre (below).