Currently there is no public Warm Water Pool in the City of Bayside.

There are many proven benefits of warm water exercise including:

• Pain management
• Recovery and rehabilitation
• Treatment of chronic conditions
• Improved mobility and wellbeing

A public facility, that is affordable and accessible will support the health and wellbeing of our community, in particular:

• Our ageing population
• Residents with disability or health conditions
• Our large sporting community
• Parents with young children.

Investigations into a Warm Water Pool facility commenced in 2018 following a petition from community members and consultation with older people and health service providers.

In 2020, Council undertook a Warm Water Pool Feasibility Study, which confirmed that a warm water pool in most Bayside locations would be well patronised.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, eleven potential locations across Bayside were investigated and in December 2021 Council endorsed the Brighton Golf Course as the preferred location.

To understand if the proposed Warm Water Pool facility, as well as a private Wellness Centre, should proceed, we undertook community consultation in February – April 2022 to understand if our community would use either facility, preferred services and facilities, what they saw as the benefits and challenges and their overall level of support.

More than 1,371 people participated in the first phase of consultation. There was 80% overall support for the warm water pool and 77% would likely use the facility. For the Wellness Centre, there was 70% overall support with 68% likely use. Find out more.

With community support for both proposals, in June 2022, Council resolved to progress to the design stage for the warm water pool and provide landlord consent for the Brighton Golf Course leaseholder to proceed with design development of the Wellness Centre, as well as commence lease negotiations. Read the minutes from this meeting.

The north-east corner of Brighton Golf Course is the location for the Warm Water Pool because:

• It’s a central location in Bayside, with good access by road and public transport (823 bus)
• There a high proportion residents aged 60+ in the neighbouring area
• The site would have less environmental impacts than other locations
• There is sufficient space to meet the expected parking needs

It would also deliver on Priority 2.3 of the Bayside 2050 Community Vision to ‘Ensure that open space and community infrastructure on that land has the potential for multi-purpose use’.

A Warm Water Pool at Brighton Golf Course would also be able to be delivered quicker than other locations because:

• There are no existing buildings that need to be removed prior to construction
• The current lessee and operator of the golf course, BlueFit, is also an experienced aquatics provider and would be able to operate the facility.

The Warm Water Pool facility will be located next to the car park and behind the existing Women’s Golf Club (see image below).

It will also be located next to a proposed Wellness Centre which would initially be a private facility, leased and operated by BlueFit (current lessee of Brighton Golf Course).

The proposed warm water pool facility will include:

• Two pools heated to 34ºC for gentle exercise, aquatic therapy programs, and children’s swim lessons
• Allied services such as physio and occupational therapy
• Accessible design and changerooms for people with high or complex needs
• Kiosk for refreshments
• A Pro Shop for the golf course.

Explore the proposed concept design and the indicative floorplan in more detail.

Excluding ramps, the sizes of the two pools are:

Program Pool 1: 15m x 10m

Program Pool 2: 8m x 12m

It is proposed that the depth of the pools will range from 0.9m to 1.4m.

The Warm Water Pool will be specifically designed to cater for people of all abilities, including facilities and programs for people with high or complex needs.

Two pools – both with access ramps and hoists from high need changerooms and one proposed to have a moveable floor – will support multiple uses (such as children’s swimming lessons and community use), as well as aquatic programs and therapeutic activities.

Council will set the fees and charges for the Warm Water Pool with support for pensioners, vulnerable and low-income residents.

The Wellness Centre would be required to meet contemporary accessibility standards, Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards 2010.

User affordability of this public facility was another challenge raised during the first phase of community consultation, and Council has committed to providing affordable, community access to the public Warm Water Pool.

The proposed fee schedule is benchmarked across mid-range similar facilities and current aquatic industry costs. Fees may increase by 5% per annum, subject to consultation with Council.

The following opening hours have been proposed to maximise community access and provide exclusive access to a program pool, consistent with feedback from stakeholder reference groups:

Monday to Thursday: 6am to 9pm

Friday and Saturday: 6am to 7pm

Sunday: 7am to 5pm.

The Warm Water Pool is being proposed and developed by Council. It would be a public facility that provides two pools for exercise, treatment, swim lessons and general use. The focus of the Warm Water Pool is to support health, wellbeing and rehabilitation. It would be fully funded and built by Council.

The Wellness Centre is proposed by the leaseholder of Brighton Golf Course, BlueFit, next to the Warm Water Pool.

The proposed Wellness Centre would be a private facility that provides indoor and outdoor mineral hot springs and plunge pools, a spa and sauna, snow room and reflexology walk and a range of related rejuvenation services and programs. It will also have a café open to all wellness centre, golf course and warm water pool visitors. The Wellness Centre would be fully funded and built by BlueFit and, after an agreed lease period, become a Council-owned facility.

The two proposed facilities would be located next to each other and are complementary but would offer different facilities and services, in addition to the existing golf course.

During the first stage of community engagement, we heard that the two facilities would attract different demographics – with the Warm Water Pool appealing to older and young residents and those with a disability or chronic condition, whereas, usage of the Wellness Centre highest among those aged 35-49 years.

The course will remain a public par 67 course, however, accommodating the proposed Warm Water Pool and Wellness Centre would mean alterations to the 9th and 12th holes.

The 9th hole is proposed to be reduced to a par 4 and the 12th extended to a par 5. BlueFit will be investing in course improvements including tees and greens and a new Pro Shop, proposed to be in the Warm Water Pool building.

The current short practice fairway will cease to be used under the proposed changes, but a new indoor specialist golf training and coaching facility will be created in the existing Pro Shop instead.

BlueFit also plan to introduce new practice hitting cages to allow golfers to warm up before teeing off.

The proposal by BlueFit includes:

• Fully funding, building and operating the Wellness Centre
• Carefully realigning the golf course (holes 9 and 12), to retain par 67
• Providing a new indoor specialist golf training and coaching facility
• A financial contribution towards the cost of the Warm Water Pool

Regardless of whether the Wellness Centre proposal is approved, BlueFit has already committed to:

• Leasing and operating Council’s proposed public Warm Water Pool
• Investing in improvements to the golf course.

In July 2023, Leisure Management Services transferred its business to BlueFit Pty Ltd, which has taken on all obligations in the existing lease for Brighton Golf Course.

BlueFit is a leisure focused company that manages aquatic centres, golf courses and leisure facilities all around Australia. In Bayside, it currently manages and operates the Sandringham Family Leisure Centre swimming pool, as well as the Brighton Golf Course.

It is proposed that BlueFit manage the operation of all current and proposed facilities on the Brighton Golf Course site, under separate leases for the Golf Course, proposed Warm Water Pool, and the proposed Wellness Centre. Find out more.

The Warm Water Pool is estimated to cost Council around $25 million to deliver.

Due to commercial confidentiality, the cost of the Wellness Centre is unable to be disclosed, however would be fully funded by BlueFit.

The construction of the Warm Water Pool was estimated to be between $15 to $18 million in 2021. Current cost estimates, based on the concept designs, indicate it will now cost around $25 million to construct.

The revised cost estimate provides a more detailed assessment of fit-out and fittings including lockers for facility users and operable walls that will withstand the corrosive aquatic environment, while providing the necessary acoustic mitigation between the two pools allowing simultaneous programming of the aquatic spaces.

Also included is the undercover entry canopy providing shelter from the accessible car spaces to the building - a desired feature raised by community advocates.

These projected cost figures will continue to be assessed during detailed design development to manage costs within a challenging construction environment.

With community support for both proposals, in June 2022, Council resolved to progress to the design stage for the warm water pool and provide landlord consent for the Brighton Golf Course leaseholder to proceed with design development of the Wellness Centre, as well as commence lease negotiations. Read the minutes from this meeting.

Proposed developments for the warm water pool and wellness centre will be subject to separate planning permit processes, and any other regulatory approvals, as required.

Community members can provide feedback on the Warm Water Pool concept design through the second phase of consultation from 20 September – 17 October. Feedback on the proposed Wellness Centre can be provided through the planning permit process, as this is a private development.

Community consultation on the proposed leases for the Brighton Golf Course site, including the area for the proposed Warm Water Pool and Wellness Centre, is expected to be undertaken from late October 2023. Select the blue +Subscribe button at the top of the page to receive updates on this project, including when consultation opens.

Brighton Golf Course covers an approximate area of 320,000m2 between Dendy Street and South Road.

The proposed Water Water Pool has a footprint of approximately 1,600m2 and the proposed Wellness Centre is slightly larger at approximately 1,800m2.

Concept designs for the Warm Water Pool have been created, with an indicative floor plan available for community feedback during the second phase of consultation (20 September – 17 October 2023). These designs will be revised, following community feedback, and detailed design will commence.

The Wellness Centre design layout is available to view here.

The new facilities will be designed to nestle into the existing landscape and maximise views across the golf course. There will also be significant landscaping and planting around the facilities.

An arborist’s assessment has indicated that some vegetation, including 15 established trees would need to be removed to accommodate the Warm Water Pool.

There is the potential that additional trees removal may be required due to impacts to their root zones. This will be assessed as the detailed design of the project progresses.

More than 500 trees would be planted throughout the golf course site to offset any loss.

Warm water pools do use large amounts of energy. In line with Council’s commitment to carbon neutrality and our Climate Emergency Action Plan, the Warm Water Pool will use innovative and efficient energy management techniques. This includes:

• heating air and water from renewable sources
• recycling and treating pool water to minimise water waste
• retention of stormwater from the building/s and site to reduce the use of potable water
• structural design to ensure the integrity of the building’s thermal envelope.

Other sustainable building features will include:

• feature solar panels,
• sensor lighting and the inclusion of water tanks to utilise storm water for toilets.

BlueFit initially propose to access mineral water through a shallow bore that draws from the Werribee aquifer and provide this to the pools via heating and filtration.

Once the facility is established, in the future, BlueFit may seek to undertake a deep bore(s) to access geothermal heating for their facility, which could potentially also be used to heat the Warm Water Pool.

Geothermal waters are popular worldwide and growing in use in Victoria, such as the Peninsula Hot Springs and Deep Blue Warrnambool.

BlueFit would need to seek environmental and Council approval before a deep bore could be undertaken. BlueFit would require a permit from Southern Rural Water (SRW) before proceeding with any works which may impact the aquifer.

Any extraction of energy (water or heat) would need to be authorised by both SRW and the Environmental Protection Authority. Any permits issued would require ongoing monitoring of the aquifer.