In this project, when referring to 'community infrastructure,' it means buildings, pools, sports fields, and courts that are provided to the public by the Council and other organisations. The Community Infrastructure Plan aims to determine the current and future needs of our community. To achieve this, the Plan will assess the various services and activities available and then identify the necessary facilities to support them.

The full list of facility types that are included in this is presented below:

1. Aquatic centres and swimming pools

2. Arts and culture (art galleries and exhibition spaces, theatres, indoor and outdoor performance and rehearsal spaces)

3. Community meeting spaces (halls and meeting rooms, sports pavilions, scout and guides halls)

4. Creative spaces (artist studios, music recording, video and gaming, creative industries)

5. Indoor multipurpose courts and sports halls (table tennis, badminton, basketball and netball, gymnastics)

6. Facilities for older people (senior citizens centres, seniors’ groups, social support groups, dementia-friendly facilities)

7. Kindergarten, long day care and occasional childcare (including creche)

8. Libraries (in-centre and mobile)

9. Maternal & Child Health

10. Neighbourhood houses and community development spaces (men's sheds and crafting spaces, U3A and community development activities in libraries)

11. Outdoor sports courts and associated pavilions (tennis, netball, basketball)

12. Playgroups and toy libraries

13. Sports grounds and associated pavilions (football, cricket, soccer, hockey, rugby, baseball, lawn bowls)

14. Youth spaces and youth resource centres

The Community Infrastructure Plan will recommend how council should:

1. improve existing community facilities and ensure they are used to their full potential
2. build new community facilities, where and when
3. change the way services are delivered or how facilities are used, to make best of them and reduce operational costs.

The Plan will develop these recommendation using evidence of community needs and an understanding of the priorities of service providers. This evidence and understanding will be developed through the Plan through:

• Consultation with communities and service providers
• Physical audits of existing community facilities
• Analysis of journey times and modes of transport
• Analysis of Census and other demographic data and population forecasts

Key aspects of community need and the infrastructure required to meet that need will include:

• A connected network

Community facilities operates as a network of shared and complementary facilities across Whitehorse and into neighbouring municipalities. To the greatest extent possible within the limits of geography and financial viability, community services and facilities should be located in areas of good transport accessibility within a ‘reasonable journey’ of users.

• Designed to meet contemporary service needs

Community facilities are designed to meet the requirements of the services they support, based on modern service-delivery models.

• Inclusive and universally accessible

Community facilities are accessible to everyone. Community facilities are designed and managed to meet the needs of families, users and staff of all physical and cognitive abilities, gender types and ages.

• Environmentally sustainable

Community facilities are designed according to Environmentally Sustainable Design practices and are prepared for the impacts of climate change, through mitigation and adaptation measures. Facility design includes features such as renewable energy and carbon reduction measures, passive heating and cooling, and use of recycled materials.

• Optimised to support a high level of utilisation

Community facilities are designed and managed to meet their full capacity, making best use of infrastructure to achieve viable levels of use. Facilities are promoted for use by the whole community, not limited to particular user groups unless essential for their effective delivery of services.

• Multipurpose and adaptable to enable shared use by services and users

Community facilities are designed to meet the needs of multiple services and user groups. Facilities are shared by multiple users. Where appropriate, complementary services are integrated or co-located within facilities or in close proximity to each other.

Council has adopted many separate plans and strategies that articulate needs for services and facilities. The Community Infrastructure Plan will be the first document that pulls these together into a single plan while also conducting new research into the need for infrastructure types that do not already have a plan in place. This holistic approach is necessary due to the high levels of growth happening in Whitehorse and the many competing demands for the limited budgets of Council and other service providers. Assessing several facility types in the one document will also enable Council to determine where multiple services and spaces could be provided together, such as through multipurpose community hubs, and ensure Council’s investment in infrastructure is distributed equitably across the municipality.

The Community Infrastructure Plan will primarily inform how Council invests in its existing assets and in new infrastructure. But it will also recommend how Council can partner with other levels of Government, and the private and community sectors, to co-fund facilities and deliver integrated services.

• Service and facility types not on the list below.
  • Aquatic centres and swimming pools
  • Arts and culture (art galleries and exhibition spaces, theatres, indoor and outdoor performance and rehearsal spaces)
  • Community meeting spaces (halls and meeting rooms, sports pavilions, scout and guides halls)
  • Creative spaces (artist studios, music recording, video and gaming, creative industries)
  • Indoor multipurpose courts and sports halls (table tennis, badminton, basketball and netball, gymnastics)
  • Facilities for older people (senior citizens centres, seniors’ groups, social support groups, dementia-friendly facilities)
  • Kindergarten, long day care and occasional childcare (including creche)
  • Libraries (in-centre and mobile)
  • Maternal & Child Health
  • Neighbourhood houses and community development spaces (men's sheds and crafting spaces, U3A and community development activities in libraries)
  • Outdoor sports courts and associated pavilions (tennis, netball, basketball)
  • Playgroups and toy libraries
  • Sports grounds and associated pavilions (football, cricket, soccer, hockey, rugby, baseball, lawn bowls)
  • Youth spaces and youth resource centres
• Detailed day to day maintenance and minor defects.
• Detailed design and costs for improving existing facilities or constructing new ones (detailed design and costing will happen after the Community Infrastructure Plan has been produced).
• Improvements to roads, paths, cycle routes and public transport.

Improvements to existing Council-owned facilities would primarily be funded through Council’s annual Capital Works Program, using Government grants where available. Some sports clubs and community organisations may also pay for works or contribute to larger projects. New infrastructure would be funded through a combination of Council revenue, contributions by developers, government grants, and partnerships with other service providers.