Tempest Park Upgrade Plans Spark Hope and Skepticism Among Local Sports Clubs
Massive facility upgrades have been proposed for Tempest Park in Cockburn, sparking a mix of hope and skepticism among local sporting groups. The Coolbellup Amateur Football Club, which has called the park home for decades, fears these plans may become another series of empty promises from the council.
Three Visions for Transformation
The City of Cockburn has presented three distinct visions for upgrading Tempest Park's facilities, with community consultations now open for public feedback. Vision one focuses on renovating the existing club building with new toilets, a refurbished umpire room, and additional external storage.
Vision two proposes an entirely new building design featuring a wrap-around patio, new kitchen space, an administration office, two gender-neutral changerooms, and expanded storage rooms. Vision three presents a larger design with four substantial changerooms, an outdoor function space, and additional toilets and showers.
The park infrastructure itself could see significant improvements including more benches, new cricket nets, and an upgraded walking path. Tempest Park serves as the winter home for the Coolbellup Amateur Football Club and summer base for the Phoenix Cricket Club, both of which have participated in upgrade consultations.
Years of Frustration and Broken Promises
Football club vice president Luke Newton expressed deep frustration with the council's track record, revealing that discussions about upgrades began before 2022 with minimal tangible results. "There's been so many promises," Newton told PerthNow. "It took us 15 years to get sufficient lighting for training, and we've had separate battles with that. So it's all blurred into a long begging process."
The current club building suffers from multiple deficiencies including frequent roof leaks during heavy rain that drip into the hall and onto spectators. Electrical systems regularly trip out, sometimes leaving the club without lights for training sessions. Newton emphasized that the size and number of changerooms are inadequate for the club's diverse player base, which includes significant female and Indigenous populations.
Growth Stifled by Substandard Facilities
The Coolbellup Amateur Football Club currently fields three open men's teams and one women's team, with well over 100 members and volunteers. Despite recently celebrating its 50th anniversary in the Perth Football League, Newton says the rundown facilities are preventing further growth.
"The problem is the government drags it out so long that the money sits there over a four-year term, and then someone has a better idea for it and suddenly we're not important anymore and we don't get it," Newton explained. "They give us reasons like lack of numbers, but I can't attract new members with a building and facilities like that."
While the club has seen some minor improvements over the years including toilet renovations and additional storage facilities, multiple attempts to fix the leaking roof have failed to bring the building up to standard.
Compromise Reached but Concerns Remain
Last year, the club was presented with five redevelopment options and reached a compromise with the city, but Newton says this outcome wasn't included in the new proposals. The club prefers vision three with its four large changerooms and additional showers, but significant concerns remain.
"The whole point of having four changerooms was to separate the men and the women, but they have shared showers and toilets, so you're not eliminating the problem," Newton noted. He also highlighted that the plan lacks a dedicated bar area, which serves as the club's main income source, noting that regulations prevent placing the bar within the kitchen space.
The clubroom building serves multiple community groups including a darts team, snooker group, and cricket club, but Newton emphasized that the football team remains the primary user. "I get the council doesn't want to build a new building that only serves one purpose, but the football club is the main purpose it's serving. I wish they'd listen to our feedback a bit more," he said.
Council Response and Future Process
City of Cockburn group manager for recreation and place Andrew Tomlinson confirmed that city officers have been consulting with both football and cricket clubs throughout the planning process. "Engagement has included regular discussions regarding current and future usage requirements, seasonal needs and operational considerations such as training capacity, match-day requirements and supporting infrastructure," Tomlinson stated.
He acknowledged that "over time, the community and our sporting clubs have grown but community infrastructure at Tempest Park has largely remained unchanged." The park was identified for improvements in the City of Cockburn's community, sport and recreation facilities plan for 2018 to 2033, and is recognized as an active proposal in the current community infrastructure plan for 2024 to 2041.
The goal is to create welcoming and inclusive facilities that meet contemporary requirements. Once community feedback is received on the three visions, it will be presented to council for consideration along with recommendations. The project will then enter a detailed design process to establish cost estimates, which have currently been identified as "high level." The delivery timeframe will depend on council's annual budget allocation process.
Despite his skepticism, Newton remains hopeful while cautioning against premature excitement. "We are very supportive of whatever upgrades to the playground facilities they want to do ... the people that live around the park come in and use the facilities are going to benefit from this as well," he said.
"If council just gave us what we wanted, we'd never bug them again. You can either do it right and solve the problem forever, or do a half-assed job and have to keep coming back." Public consultation remains open for comment until 4pm on Thursday, April 23.
