Shire of East Pilbara

The aim of the Community Facilities Plan (CFP) is to provide a strategic and evidence-based framework to guide the Shire’s planning (and provision) of community facilities, to ensure they are functional, accessible and fit for purpose in the townsites of Marble Bar, Newman and Nullagine.

The CFP seeks to:

• Review existing documents used in the planning for community facilities and, where relevant, provide recommendations for existing or new documentation.
• Review existing standards for the provision of public open space and buildings, and make recommendations for future action.
• Identify potential gaps or overprovisioning of community facilities.
• Provide a plan for implementation through renewals, upgrades, adaptive re-use or new community facilities provision. Adversely, this may include decommissioning and demolition.
  

The CFP focuses on the following types of community facilities:

• Parks, playgrounds and associated infrastructure.
• Sporting opening space and associated buildings.
• Libraries, community centres, youth centres and other community buildings.
• Aquatic and recreation facilities.
  

In regional and remote areas such as Newman, Marble Bar, and Nullagine, community facilities often need to be brought up to modern standards to ensure equitable access for the catchment population. Providing the community with accessible, functional and fit-for-purpose community facilities is an important factor in supporting and retaining the population.

Most of the audited facilities were in serviceable condition, notwithstanding quality and compliance issues. It is evident that the Shire needs to improve:

• Accessibility and connectivity.
• Personal safety and security. « Environmental sustainable design initiatives. « Consistency of infrastructure and build quality. « Diversity of opportunities.
• User comfort.
• Feel and welcomeness.

In total, there were 35 built form projects, six recommendations involving the need to develop strategic planning documentation and seven involving internal/ operational actions. Each recommendation was allocated a timeframe of short, medium and long-term.

The CFP is to be used as a mechanism for the planning and development of the Shire’s community facilities. This includes renewals, upgrades and decommissioning or new community facilities – where evidence-based need has been determined. Aquatic and recreation facilities.