Cumberland City Council

Otium was appointed by the Cumberland City Council to undertake research and apply best practice sport surface guidelines to optimise the sporting outcomes of their existing sport facility network for their current and future communities.

Otium led the project, including the following tasks:

• Background research and supply analysis.
• Community engagement, including a community survey, local club survey and State Sporting Organisation interviews.
• Demand modelling for current and future needs of the sporting network.
• Development of intervention opportunities.
• Site assessment and shortlisting of priority sites for synthetic surface intervention.
• Delivery of guiding principles, decision-making framework and site-specific recommendations

 The project provided a set of high, medium, low, ongoing and future recommendations for the sporting fields, netball courts and tennis courts, to assist in planning for these facilities beyond 2036. This included the shortlisting of sites for synthetic surface planning and implementation.

• Balancing need and investment across various surface typologies.
• Site-specific impacts on the ability to deliver interventions.

• Enhanced participation outcomes through enhancing the City’s sport surfaces.
• Evidence-based approach to planning and investment.