The ACT government has been urged to negotiate with the operators of the Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre about redeveloping the site or relocating the complex.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A draft report into the future of aquatic facilities in Canberra over the next 20 years suggests the Phillip venue has ''aged substantially and is potentially under threat''.
''Although any redevelopment of the site is at present compelled by the Territory Plan to retain a 50-metre pool and an international-sized ice rink,'' the document read.
''The outdated nature of the venue means that considerable investment would be needed to upgrade it to meet current day standards and needs. It is questionable if this could be done on the present site and it might be more effective to pursue development of a totally new venue elsewhere in the Woden Town Centre precinct.''
The strategic plan for aquatic and related facilities in Canberra to 2030 has been discounted by Sport and Recreation Minister Andrew Barr as only a draft document and not government policy, although it was commissioned by the government.
The operators of the complex, Glencora Pty Ltd, owned by Wayne Houghton, was granted a 99-year lease by the ACT Planning and Land Authority.
The pool has a loyal clientele, some who swim outdoors year-round, and the draft report acknowledges the venue is ''set in attractive lawn areas''.
The draft report also suggests relocating the ice rink to a more central location such as the Canberra Olympic Pool in Civic. It further suggests the Woden site be used for other commercial uses and that alternative locations for the complex be considered.
Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre manager John Raut, who has been with the complex for 32 years, said the operator was spending almost $400,000 on new equipment to ensure better year-round ice and a minimum temperature in the pool of 24 degrees.
Despite that investment, the operator was open to working with developers to upgrade the site.
Mr Raut believed the best scenario could be the existing site being reconfigured so that there were no outdoor pools but an indoor pool facility, new ice rink and room for a boutique hotel with shops and restaurants on the ground floor.
''It would just make it more viable,'' he said.
Mr Raut personally believed a new aquatic and ice rink centre should be built on the nearby pitch 'n' putt facility, saying it would be better use of the land and used by more people. He said there was a push from some quarters to put a new ice rink at Stromlo but believed that was too out of the way.
