The owners of the Big Splash water park in Canberra’s north say they will not demolish the existing water slides, but will list the site for sale.
In a statement released last night, Purdon said temporary ticketing, change rooms and food facilities would be installed on site before the main pool reopened by November, in line with conditions set by Access Canberra.
“Now that the new site fencing and general clean-up is complete, all effort is focused on making the main pool operational, the company said.
It said it would continue the work to reopen the site “in parallel with, and regardless of, the sale timetable”.
‘Refusing to be ignored’
Amelia Tattam welcomes the prospective sale. (ABC News)
Community group Save Big Splash said the prospective sale was a great outcome.
“This community has spent months showing up, speaking up and refusing to be ignored. Today persistence has paid off,” Save Big Splash spokesperson Amelia Tattam said in a statement.
“The slides are staying and the lease goes with the site. And now the right operator has the chance to step in and give this place the future it deserves.”
“This is the news we have been fighting for,”
she said.
No demolition on the cards
The owners say work to reopen the site by November will continue alongside the sale process, and any buyer will have to meet the existing lease requirements. (ABC News: Monte Bovill)
Ginninderra Labor MLA Tara Cheyne said the update on the upcoming sale was a relief.
“Too often in this saga there’s been silence or just not enough information about what’s happening,” Ms Cheyne said.
“Of course I’m still very nervous, and I’m sceptical, but I was encouraged.”
She said she had met with the owners and she believed they were now “in tune with comments from the community”.
“They’re looking to sell. They’re not looking to redevelop. They’re not looking to demolish anything.
“I understand they’re not Canberra-based. They thought they were investing in something that’s turned out to be very different.
“I’m not sure what the actual intentions were … but I think they’d like to take their money out and invest it elsewhere,”
she said.
Ginninderra Labor MLA Tara Cheyne said she had an encouraging meeting with the site’s owners. (ABC News)
She reiterated the government’s position that the reopening date of November 1 was non-negotiable, and that progress leading up to that date would be monitored.
“It’s not an aspiration. It’s a condition. The pool must open,” she said.
“And if it’s not met then obviously the enforcement powers come back into play.”
Apartment developers told to jog on
Big Splash’s owners have confirmed the slides will remain for the upcoming sale. (ABC News: Monte Bovill)
Ginninderra Greens MLA Jo Clay said “clearly the community was right”
She issued a warning to any prospective buyers:
“There are strong community expectations. This is a whole recreational site and you are not going to get away with not running it what way,” Ms Clay said.
“Obviously it’s a difficult site to run but it’s not impossible. This was a successful water park for a long, long time.
“And whoever takes this on needs to understand that since that site was last sold, parliament have said there will be no rezoning.
“So don’t take it on if you think it’s going to be homes, that’s not going to happen.“
Ms Clay said the government could seize the opportunity to take over the site.
But Ms Cheyne said the government did not have a position on whether it would be interested in buying the site without first seeing the sale documents.
