Public and private sports facilities in Helensburgh are set for a funding boost, with the NSW Government announcing that $5.3 million of its $200m Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund will go towards improving the town’s pool, footy oval lighting and Burgh Healthy Hub. 

Ever since he bought the old squash courts on Cemetery Road eight years ago, arborist Ben Abeleven has had big dreams for Burgh Healthy Hub.

Now, thanks to a $2.1 million funding boost from the NSW Government’s Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund announced on Wednesday, November 23, stage 1 of those dreams is set to become a reality in the next three years.

The money will help Burgh transform an area that is currently used for parkour into a new gymnasium room, which Treetop Arts director Charlie Truscott, Ben’s wife, will then fill with children’s classes, including gymnastics, aerials, circus and tumbling.

The extra gym space will also provide an indoor training option for community sports teams, such as the Helensburgh Tigers rugby league club and Helensburgh Netball, which supported Ben’s grant application.

Ben said that accessibility, supporting women and girls in sport and environmental design were key in his application. “The purpose of the grant is to make the facilities more available, more accessible…  more female-friendly… and environmental design. So one of the things we will have is a green roof.”

“Ben's a really amazing big dreamer,” Charlie said. “I'm actually just really happy for him because that [funding] feels like a really nice win after such a hard slog for so long.”

Their first job is to renovate the bathrooms. "And then the whole parkour area is what will get built," Charlie said. "So they dig down, the gym will be underground because, in phase 2 of the designs, under Burgh there'll be car parks. So you can drive directly to the gym, and the gym is 24 hours. And then you can go up and that's where the kids space will be.

"So there's lots of digging in the first phase.

"We are going to use all our local tradies." 

Activities in the current building will continue as usual through the construction period, Charlie said.

Helensburgh pool, oval lighting upgrade funded

Public facilities are also set for major upgrades thanks to the Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund.

Wollongong City Council will receive $3.2 million to help it further the dream of a Helensburgh Park multisport facility – starting by installing lighting at Rex Jackson Oval and fixing the pool.

Along with Council's Community Services Director Kerry Hunt, Heathcote MP Lee Evans and Minister for Sport Alister Henskens were in Helensburgh on November 23 for the funding announcement.

Mr Evans said the pool – while looking “beautiful” on the sunny Wednesday morning – required a major upgrade to fix its “concrete cancer”.

“That's where all the [steel rebar] starts to rust.

“If you left it [you’d get] rust marks and it would actually start squeaking. So they're replacing the whole shell, which will be a major upgrade to redo it all and re-cement it.

“So it's a major upgrade and hence the amounts of money that's going to be going into it.”

Mr Henskens said, “These projects will not only provide more opportunities for people to play sport, but they will also generate a local sports facility infrastructure boom, creating jobs and delivering an economic boost for the northern Illawarra.”

In a statement on Thursday, Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said, “The work that is planned as part of the facility upgrade will extend its pool life by another 40 years, and will address issues with the ageing pool shell and plant equipment. It’ll also allow for a new solar shade structure to be installed and for the construction of accessible and changing place amenities."

Council's General Manager Greg Doyle said the Helensburgh Park Plan of Management identified the need for a combined community centre, library and sporting precinct.

"We’ve a vision to take what is here now – a pool facility and neighbouring sports field facility – and create a multisport facility that supports both aquatic and land-based recreation, as well as link in with a new community centre and library," Mr Doyle said.

The sports field lighting and pool upgrades are in Council’s current Infrastructure Delivery Program, set to happen between 2023 and 2026.