Entrepreneur revives plans for white water canoe park in Perth

Longstanding plans for a white water canoeing facility in Western Australia appear to have been revived, with newspaper The West Australian reporting that a Zimbabwean-born hotelier plans to build an adventure water park in Perth.

Stewart Cranswick - who once ran whitewater adventure tours on the Zambezi River above Victoria Falls - has been reported as planning to build a $9 million white water canoeing facility at a site near Perth’s Challenge Stadium.

Cranswick also plans build a four-star hotel alongside the facility.

A longstanding plan for a $25 million facility at the Champion Lakes Regatta Centre in Western Australia received funding substantial funding pledges prior to the 2010 Federal Election. However, no progress has been made on a facility that had been planned as long ago as 1998, when an International Slalom Course on the Harvey River was lost when the river was dammed.

In spite of the Water Corporation of WA promising to replace the course, and other business groups investigating the proposal, a new white water canoe appears to have slipped down the agenda of the Western Australian Government.

Even now, the Western Australian Government and its Department of Sport and Recreation appear unenthusiastic about the new plan, apparently raising concerns about the “suitability” of the site near Challenge Stadium.

But as Cranswick explains "building the park next to Challenge Stadium - in that sporting precinct - is our preferred site … it would be perfect."

As a contingency, Cranswick, along with Canoeing WA, is looking across Perth for other suitable four hectare sites.

If developed, the park would include an Olympic-standard 500 metre course and a range of other leisure water attractions. Water for the facility could come from the Indian Ocean.

Canoeing WA Executive Officer Rosalie Evans told The West Australian that a white water park would be a great boost for Perth, providing a venue for elite canoeists and kayakers, tourists and emergency services for fast-water rescue training.

10th August 2010 - WA WHITE WATER PARK GETS COALITION BACKING