Issues and Opportunities Discussion Paper What is Active Warrnambool?Active Warrnambool will be Council’s new sport, recreation and physical activity strategy.

The Active Warrnambool Strategy succeeds the Warrnambool Recreation Plan (WRP) 2007-2017.WRP contained 84 recommended actions of which 62 were achieved, 17 were in progress while five were not completed.

WRP resulted in 58 sport and recreation projects

Council funding: $2,994,071

Other government, club andphilanthropic funding: $6,130,371

Total project funding: $9,124,442

Active Warrnambool will help achieve objectives in key

planning documents including Council’s Health and Wellbeing Plan, Warrnambool 2040 and the Council Plan (2017-21).

Community engagement to inform Active Warrnambool has so far included conversations with five focus groups, key stakeholder meetings and written submissions. The engagement for the long-term Community Plan, Warrnambool 2040, also provided opportunities for Council to discuss sport, recreation and physical activity with the community and provide survey data on their sport and recreation participation preferences.

This document provides a summary of the Issues and Opportunities report. The report addresses the following questions:• What is successful and what needs improvement?• What needs to be done?• What are the key issues?

Warrnambool’s population in 2016 was 34,245 people. The median age of residents is 40 years (lower than the Regional Vic average of 43 years. Its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is 1.7% (higher than the Regional VIC average of 1.6%). Persons born overseas (8%) and speaking a language other than English (4%) are lower than the Regional VIC averages of 11% and 6% respectively.

Between 2016 and 2036, the population is forecast to increase by approximately 12,000 (a total of 46,909 and 34.95% growth), at an average annual change of 1.51%. A significant proportion of this growth (9,000) is expected to occur in the area north and northeast of Warrnambool (6,000 people), southeast of Warrnambool (1,600 people), and in Dennington (1,400 people). In 2016, the dominant age structure was persons aged 20 to 25 (6.9% of total persons). The largest increase in persons between 2016 and 2036 is forecast to be in ages 10-15, which is expected to increase by 983 and account for 6.6% of the total

persons. 0-4 and 5-9 age groups are forecast to account for the second and third highest increases and respectively account for 6.6% and 6.7% of the total persons.

Implications for the Active Warrnambool Strategy from the key demographic analysis include:

• Need to plan for adequate sport and recreation provision and active transport connections in the north/ northeast and southeast areas of Warrnambool and Dennington.

• Need for a focus on the provision of recreational opportunities for younger people, and opportunities suitable for inter-generational participation.

• Most people living in the municipality are born in Australia and speak English at home. The long standing team sports of football, cricket, netball, tennis and soccer are expected to remain sports of choice for many residents.

Warrnambool – Demographic Profile

Health status and sport participation – How Are We Faring?The Health Status and Sports Participation table below provides a summary of various health indicators, and comparisons between Warrnambool (LGA), State and Regional averages.

* 2014 level, as Warrnambool-specific data has not yet been released for the 2015 Victorian Population Health Survey.Sources: Victorian Population Health Survey 2015, VicHealth Indicators Survey 2015, Warrnambool – a Healthy City 2017-2021

Health Indicators Warrnambool Barwon South West Region Victorian State Average

SedentaryPercentage of adults who are sedentary (ie no physical activity undertaken)

2.4% * 2.7%(2014: 3.3%)

3.6%(2014: 3.6%)

Insufficient Physical activityPercentage of adults who undertake an insufficient amount of physical activity each week (ie less than 150 min of moderate intensity or 75 mins of vigorous intensity physical activity per week for 18-64 year olds)

45.4% * 48.6%(2014: 49.7%)

47.5%(2014: 50.4%)

Sufficient Physical activity Percentage of adults who undertake sufficient physical activity each week (ie 150 min or more of moderate intensity or 75 mins of vigorous intensity physical activity per week for 18-64 year olds)

47.4% * 47.3%(2014: 42.0%)

47.0%(2014: 41.4%)

Participation in organised physical activity (organised by a fitness, leisure, indoor sports centre, sports club or association)

32.8% 29.5% 28.7%

Participation in physical activity organised by a sports club or association

17.2% 13.8% 9.8%

Participation in non-organised physical activity 69.2% 71.9% 70.5%Non-organised physical activity – Walking 47.1% 54.9% 51.2%Non-organised physical activity – Jogging or Running

16.1% 13.4% 14.0%

Non-organised physical activity – Cycling 12.6% 13.5% 11.8%

2013 2017 Difference

Access to good quality open spaces (excellent/good rating)

87 82 -5

Access to walking and cycling infrastructure (excellent/good rating)

79 65 -14

There are opportunities to be actively involved in my community through clubs and/ or other organisations (excellent/good rating)

86 90 +4

Top 10 physical activities Comparison data

Warrnambool 2040 AusPlay (April 2017) AusPlay Child (April 2017) WarrnamboolRecreation Plan 2007

1. Walking 75.8 43.7 (1) Not listed 59.8 (1)2. Swimming 58.2 14.7 (4) 30.5 (1) 19.7 (2)3. Fitness gym 46.3 32.7 (2) 1.3 (17) 12 (4)4. Cycling (all forms) 38.5 11.8 (5) 0.9 (21) 13.8 (3)5. Bushwalking 32.5 6.1 (6) Not listed 6.7 (14)6. Fishing 28.6 2 (17) Not listed 11.3 (5)7. AFL 27.4 2.5 (15) 8.3 (3) 9.6 (8)8. Surfing 25.3 2.6 (14) 1.2 (18) 6.2 (15)9. Yoga/Pilates 20.4 4.4 (10) 2.5 (16) Not listed 4.5 (19)10. Athletics 19.1 15.7 (3) 4.5 (10) 9.7 (7)

Most popular physical activities, sourced from:• Warrnambool 2040 Long Form Community Survey 2017 (Measures % survey respondents) • AusPlay 2017 National participation data for the sport sector (Measures % population)• Warrnambool Recreation Plan 2007-2017 (Measures % survey respondents)

The summary of the top ten most popular physical activities is provided below. A summary of the findings show:• Significant growth and popularity in all top ten activities. • Seven of the activities are recreational or fitness based.• Three of the activities are traditional sport related activities.• Most significant growth is in cycling, bushwalking, fishing and surfing.

including surfing, fishing and walking.• The Warrnambool community has a strong culture

of sports club membership. Warrnambool residents participate in physical activity organised by a club or association at a higher rate compared to all Victorians – 17.2 per cent to 9.8 per cent. The Warrnambool 2040 engagement indicated a strong club culture can encourage many in the community to be physically active.

• The successful development and enhancement of recreation facilities and spaces under the Warrnambool Recreation Plan 2007-2017 has had a significant impact on community participation in physical activity.

• Council’s Community Development Fund has been an important source of funding for sporting and recreation clubs to help buy equipment and run events and tournaments.

• The effectiveness of the community committee managing the Allansford Recreation Reserve demonstrates the potential for similar sporting reserves to have a community-based management framework.

Key Findings

Activity

• There is a need to maintain the strong culture of involvement in sports clubs and participation within them to support a physically and socially connected community.

• There is a need to investigate greater mixed use of existing reserves and sports facilities; - to improve connections between existing spaces and facilities, - to encourage a broader range of social and non- competitive activities at them, and- to increase the provision of neighbourhood parks within walking distance of residential areas.

1. What is Successful?

The following points are a summary of what is currently successful in encouraging the activity of the community:

• The extent and diversity of the Warrnambool Open Space Network is fundamental to encouraging physical activity.

• Warrnambool has an even distribution of fit-for-purpose sports grounds to service the community and valuable open spaces for non-organised active and passive recreational pursuits.

• Warrnambool is well supplied with facilities to cater for the high participation level sports of AFL, cricket, lawn bowls, tennis, netball and basketball.

• The community has access to a variety of high quality indoor facilities including AquaZone, Warrnambool Stadium and the Val Bertrand Netball Centre.

• The protection and enhancement of key physical and environmental assets has contributed to a high level of participation in informal and nature-based recreation

2. What are the Key Issues? / What needs to be Done?

The following points are a summary of the issues, the gaps in current delivery, the opportunities to build upon the aspirations of the community and the existing strengths summarised above. The points are summarised under the three Strategy themes – Activity, Facilities and Spaces, and Council Management and Programming.

Overview - Meeting needs around facilities and spaces to encourage an active Warrnambool community is less about the provision of new or more facilities (excluding potential need for more soccer pitches) but more about the better use of existing spaces and facilities and ensuring they are well maintained and renewed.

• The single use focus of most formal sports bases and sports clubs’ sense of ownership are barriers to achieving greater mixed use and needs to be considered.

• There is a need to support increasing flexibility of programming to help overcome or ease the barriers to participation.

• Community place-based infrastructure should be developed to encourage activity and participation by those traditionally less engaged in physical activity.

• There is a need to understand the future needs and strategic provision of facilities for key sports.

• There is a role for partner organisations- to promote positive messages of mentorship, collaboration and community as benefits of club membership, - to assist clubs to build their capacity, and- to support clubs to diversify their membership (ie be more inclusive of female participation).

Facilities and Spaces

• There is a need to maintain the level of provision of outdoor sports facilities, except for soccer, where increased access to facilities is required to meet demand.

• There is a need to maintain access to high quality indoor sports facilities that meet the community’s needs.

• Consideration needs to be given to resourcing existing strategic, development and master plans to continue to guide the development and enhancement of existing facilities and spaces and areas where gaps in facility provision are identified.

• The protection and enhancement of key physical and environmental assets (the natural environment) and provision of appropriate public access to waterways and coastal environments is needed.

• There is a need for investment - to be directed to evidence based initiatives and facilities that support high levels of community use,- to be prioritised based on need and available funding, and

- to be prioritised to renewal of existing facilities that are available for public use.

• New plans and strategies such as the Great South Coast Regional AFL, Cricket and Netball Strategy need to be considered to determine Council’s approach to implementing on-ground work.

• The growing popularity of new sports and unstructured activities such as Ultimate Frisbee and petanque and the demand for access to diverse and high quality open spaces needs to be considered.

• Changing standards in facility provision and their consequential impacts need to be considered.

Council Management and Programming

• There is a need for Council to invest in evidence-based development and enhancement of recreation and facilities and spaces.

• The enhancement of the Community Development Fund is needed to invest in community needs and participation outcomes.

• The implementation of sustainable and effective facility management models that support community-based leadership should be considered.

• The completion or review of existing plans and policies (including completion of the Playspace Strategy and Sports Ground Management Review) is required to guide Council’s future management and investment into these facilities.

• The development of an open space contributions policy to guide direction for development contributions is needed.

• There is a need to raise awareness of the recreation opportunities on offer through Council publications and programs.

• Consideration should be given to the open space facility provision and needs in the Urban Growth Corridor, South Dennington and North of the Merri Precinct Structure Plans and Development Plans.

• Clarification of Council’s role in recreation provision is needed to guide its responsibilities and ensure appropriate resources are provided for it.

• Finalise Implementation Report - May 2018• Third Stage of Community Engagement to confirm the project goals and priorities - August 2018• Finalise Draft Strategy - August/September 2018

For project enquiries recreation@warrnambool.vic.gov.au

Next Steps