Coughlin Park Community Centre Development Plan

Horsham is a city, centrally located in the Wimmera and next to the Grampians National Park and the famous Mount Arapiles. It is 300 kilometres north-west of Melbourne and 450 kilometres south-east of Adelaide. With a population of over 20,000 people, the municipality is the retail, business and service centre of the Wimmera.

Horsham Rural City Council (HRCC) is committed to providing and supporting the development of recreational and sporting facilities. With this in view Council assisted the Committee of Management to develop a new facility Development Strategy for Coughlin Park.

Coughlin Park is privately owned by the Catholic arch-diocese of Ballarat and is the site of Saint Brigid’s Secondary College. The area is regarded as a community asset and also accommodates sporting clubs including:

• Horsham Saints Football and Netball Club
• Coughlin Park Lawn Bowling Club
• Horsham Saints Cricket Club and
• St. Michaels Tennis Club.

The complex is also used by the Horsham Volleyball Association and community groups such as “Relay for Life”.

The aim of the project was to provide a development strategy that identified how the Coughlin Park sporting precinct can grow and prosper and how the committee can service this growth and increase participation in sport and recreation activities for all members of the community.

The feasibility study:

• identified the community need for a new multipurpose community hub
• identified the best location for the proposed facility
• developed governance and management models
• engaged with the Coughlin Park community
• developed the architectural concept plans for a new community building
• determined indicative costs associated with constructing a new multipurpose facility
• developed financial and business plans for the proposed new facility.