Skip to main content

Regional Sports Precinct in Mernda

The Regional Sports Precinct in Mernda will provide multipurpose sports courts to help meet the growing demand for quality sporting facilities across the region.

Background 

The City of Whittlesea is committed to helping improve the health and wellbeing of its residents by providing safe, accessible and conveniently located sporting and recreation facilities. 

Regular physical activity among people of all ages is known to increase happiness, reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve social connections. 

A lack of inclusive and purpose-built sporting facilities is a deterrent to participation, particularly among females, whose involvement in organised sport is about half that of males. 

The Regional Sports Precinct in Mernda will feature a number of multipurpose courts catering to netball, basketball and other court-based sports. 

Location

The Regional Sports Precinct will be built on land at Plenty Road in Mernda, to the north of Bridge Inn Road. 

Providing access 

As part of the Regional Sports Precinct development, Everton Drive will be extended about 100 metres east to connect to Plenty Road, creating a new intersection. 

This intersection, to be controlled by traffic lights, will not only help ease congestion around Mernda, but provide access to the sports precinct via Everton Drive. 

Work on the extension and intersection is expected to begin in early April 2024 and take about 12 months. 

For more information about the Plenty Road-Everton Drive intersection project, go to www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/plentyroadintersection

Sports courts 

At its meeting on 19 March 2024, Council approved a concept design for the Regional Sports Precinct’s indoor stadium and outdoor netball facilities. 

The concept design provides for four indoor multipurpose courts and up to eight outdoor netball courts. 

It also includes car parking, landscaping, wetlands development and the installation of associated supporting infrastructure at the site. 

The new courts will help to boost participation rates across a number of sports, including netball and basketball, and reduce the need for residents to travel outside the municipality. 

Future facilities 

Construction of the Regional Sports Precinct will be staged to allow for other facilities, such as aquatic and leisure facilities, to be potentially added in the future. 

The provision of aquatic and leisure facilities is dependent upon further consideration of the financial implications, including any available state and/or federal government funding, by Council in the 2025-26 financial year. 

Benefits 

Council's Active Whittlesea Strategy 2019-2028 outlines some of the health and wellbeing challenges facing residents in the City of Whittlesea. 

These include higher-than-state-average rates of lifestyle conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoporosis. 

Residents in the City of Whittlesea also smoke at a higher rate than the state average, and rates of obesity and heart disease are increasing. 

A lack of conveniently located, accessible and purpose-built sporting facilities is a known barrier to people engaging in physical activity. 

The Regional Sports Precinct in Mernda will help improve the quality of life among the region’s residents by providing a place where people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities can participate. 

Community stakeholder reference group 

Council has established a community stakeholder reference group to provide feedback throughout the Regional Sports Precinct’s design process. 

The group includes representatives from Netball Victoria, Basketball Victoria, a local netball association and a local school, as well as a local resident and CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) advocate to ensure the facility meets the needs of the broader community. 

Name change 

Some residents might know the Regional Sports Precinct by its previous name ‘Regional Aquatic and Sports Centre’. 

This is the same project - this is just the working title adopted in March 2024.

For more information on the background of the project, go to Regional Aquatic and Sports Centre at Mernda webpage.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Why are you undertaking these roadworks? 

The extension of Everton Drive and resultant intersection at Plenty Road is required to improve traffic flow around Mernda and provide access to the future Regional Sports Precinct. 

The extension was identified in both the Mernda Strategy Plan (2004) and Everton Gardens Development Plan as necessary to manage traffic flow as Mernda’s population grows. 

 

When will the works start? 

It is anticipated the successful tenderer will start work on the Plenty Road-Everton Drive intersection in early April 2024. The works are expected to last about 12 months. 

 

What disruptions will there be? 

The roadworks will affect a section of Plenty Road, in both directions, about 100 metres north of Bridge Inn Road through to Station Road. 

Plenty Road will remain open for the duration of the works, however, motorists can expect changed traffic conditions, including a reduction in the speed limit, to keep workers and road users safe. 

Once works start, Council recommends motorists plan ahead and allow extra time to complete their journey. 

Residents in Everton Drive and surrounding streets will continue to have full access to their properties for the duration of the works, as will property owners in Station Road. 

More information will be communicated once a Traffic Management Plan is completed and approved by the Department of Transport and Planning. 

 

What other roadworks are planned in the area? 

After the Plenty Road-Everton Drive intersection is complete, a roundabout will be constructed at the intersection of Everton Drive and Sissinghurst Parade. 

The roundabout, which will be the subject of a separate tender process, will provide vehicles with access to the Regional Sports Precinct. 

More information about this project will be communicated in due course. 

Why build the Regional Sports Precinct? 

The City of Whittlesea is committed to providing the sport and recreation facilities its growing population needs to live healthy and active lives. 

Netball and basketball are two of the largest participation sports in the municipality, however, the demand for courts currently outstrips supply. 

As a result, many players are choosing to play in competitions held in neighbouring municipalities. 

Demand is only expected to increase as the population of the City of Whittlesea’s northern communities grows. 

Therefore, a modern, fit-for-purpose sports court precinct at Mernda will help to meet this demand and increase participation. 

 

How many courts will there be? 

Council has approved a concept design providing for four indoor multipurpose sports courts and up to eight outdoor netball courts. 

The final number of courts will be dependent on the level of funding available. 

 

Who can use the courts? 

The courts will be made available to local sporting organisations, primary and high schools and community members. 

A detailed programming schedule will be formulated closer to the precinct’s opening. 

Will the Regional Sports Precinct have a pool? 

As part of the second stage of the Regional Sports Precinct project, contractor COX Architecture will do detailed design work on the possibility of including aquatic and leisure facilities, such as a pool, spa and gymnasium, in the third stage of the development. 

A report will then come to Council for consideration in the 2025-26 financial year outlining the fiscal implications, including any state and/or federal government funding either committed or available to apply for.