New $8m netball facility built almost one year ago remains unused
A brand-new $8 million netball facility in Melbourne's northeast that was officially opened nearly a year ago but still hasn't hosted a single game. The outdoor courts are the biggest netball facility in the city of Yarra and even though there are teams ready to play on them, a council permit for landscaping work is what's holding up that first centre pass.
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00:00 Eight competition grade netball courts with lights and a pavilion.
00:07 They've been empty for nearly a year.
00:09 It's a mess.
00:10 Yeah, it really is a bit of a mess.
00:12 Frustrating to say the least.
00:14 This has been sitting here for a year now, almost a year completed, and no one has stepped
00:20 foot on it to play a game of netball.
00:21 So it's just disappointing.
00:23 If it was a football oval, it'd be well and truly used by now.
00:28 The local netball association has more than a thousand members who should be playing here.
00:33 In the meantime, they're playing on just four courts in Richmond.
00:37 We should have a full Saturday competition running from 8 o'clock until 5 o'clock, and
00:41 it should be a completely used facility.
00:44 This is the only eight-court facility in the city of Yarra.
00:47 We get inquiries from new families every week.
00:51 So there are a number of girls and boys who are wanting to play netball and we can't accommodate
00:57 them.
00:58 What's holding it up is these mounds of dirt.
01:01 The landowner, Parks Victoria, first applied for a landscaping permit from the council
01:06 in May last year.
01:08 The council wanted more information before they approved the permit last month.
01:13 We've planned and cancelled events on multiple occasions at that site because it's just not
01:20 safe.
01:21 Now the council's approved the permit, Parks Victoria can find a contractor to get started
01:25 on the landscaping work.
01:27 We expect the courts to be open in the next few months.
01:30 In a statement, Yarra Council said at no stage had it delayed the project.
01:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]