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Warrnambool City Council is continuing to advocate for better lighting at Davidson Oval in West Warrnambool, with the community encouraged to lend its support by completing a short survey.
Council will apply for funding through the Victorian Government’s Local Sports Infrastructure Fund – Community Sports Lighting stream.
Plans have been developed for modern, energy-efficient LED lights to improve the quality, safety and usability of the oval, while ensuring compliance with Australian Standards and minimising spill light to surrounding properties.
“Over the past decade we’ve seen lighting improvements at Friendly Societies Park, Merrivale, Reid Oval, Brierly and most recently at Warrnambool Lawn Tennis, so we know how much of an impact they can have,” Warrnambool Mayor Cr Ben Blain said.
“Our latest priority project is Davidson Oval, where the current lighting levels don’t meet current standards for competition, or even training.
“As part of our Active Warrnambool and Healthy Warrnambool plans, we want to develop more infrastructure that allows more people to participate in sport, and being able to train safely while creating the possibility for night games is an important part of that.”
Cr Blain said that while better lighting at Davidson Oval would provide a boost for tenant clubs Old Collegians Football Netball Club and West Warrnambool Cricket Club, it also had the potential to facilitate wider community use.
Council partnered with South West Sport to turn the lights on at Brierly Recreation Reserve across three mornings and three evenings in winter to create a space for people to engage in casual exercise such as walking, running and group fitness.
“We have seen through the Light the Night project at Brierly how lighting up a sports ground can help create a safe space for casual exercise and recreation, especially for women and girls,” Cr Blain said.
“Despite some very cold and wet weather, we had about 85 people involved in exercise through the pilot program.
“We now want to understand whether better lighting at Davidson Oval could provide similar opportunities for the West Warrnambool community.
“Victorian Government funding is incredibly competitive, so we need the community to join us and help demonstrate the need for this upgrade.”
Visit www.yoursaywarrnambool.com.au to complete the survey.
Hard copies are available at the Civic Centre, 25 Liebig Street.
The survey closes on Sunday July 26.