Will Glenelg Council finally install female changerooms at Heywood Recreation Reserve?

After four years of lobbying from local sporting clubs, Glenelg Shire Council has endorsed a long-term plan for Heywood Recreation Reserve, bringing female change rooms, court upgrades and new public toilets into reach.

Glenelg Shire councillors voted unanimously in favour of adopting the 10-15 year master plan for the Heywood Recreation Reserve on Tuesday night, setting a roadmap for roughly $914,000 worth of upgrades. 

High on the list: female change facilities, flood mitigation and traffic management.

Councillor Michael Carr asked during Tuesday’s meeting where women currently changed at the Recreation Reserve. 

"Probably in your car," responded mayor Karen Stephens. 

“Disappointing isn’t it?” Carr replied. “It’s 2025 and we expect females to get changed in their cars or get changed before they come to sport and go home without getting changed, it’s got to hit the top of the list, that’s my view at this point in time.”

The mayor said the master plan would increase the chance of securing state funding.

Councillor Mike Noske praised the plan as being modest and achievable, and said it was the result of thorough community input, from stakeholders such as Heywood Football Netball Club, a Lions Club, and tennis and cricket clubs.

The Brolga spoke to Heywood Football and Netball Club president Anthony Stephens following Tuesday’s council meeting.

Stephens said the club had been pushing for improvements to the female change facilities for four years.

He said that currently, some women who play sports at the club were changing in their cars, or in the small female toilet inside the Recreation Reserve’s main building.

“The main changerooms are for the men only, we've got a small toilet inside our club rooms. It's a female toilet that they can get changed in, but it's not a changeroom as such,” Stephens told the Brolga.

“It's way too far away from the netball courts and the tennis courts, so most of the girls get changed in the public toilets, which is not ideal on a cold, wet, windy day.”

The consultation process for the master plan began early last year. 

Other facilities requested by the community included better netball and tennis courts and new public toilets.

“The change rooms they've roughly proposed, there's nothing concrete yet, but to the current netball and tennis rooms, we would attach a female change facility there,” Stephens said. “The netball courts are not flash at all, and they get flooded during the winter and they’re quite slippery and old.

“We’d also like new public toilets, to get rid of the public toilets that are already there that are in the middle of the car park, because they cause a traffic flow problem, and they’re a bit of a danger for the kids.”

Stephens said an extension of the club rooms to include proper female changerooms would help bring their hopes of introducing a women’s football team closer to fruition.

“If we were going to get a women's football team, then you've got 14, 15 or 18 girls having to get changed at once. So we would definitely need a facility to help with that,” he said.

“It can also help with the town. At the moment, there are a lot of caravanners that come through the area and use those toilets that are already there, that are not really fit for purpose anymore.”

In previous years, the recreation reserve has seen new lights to allow for night games, as well as storage sheds.

With a master plan in place, Stephens said the council could seek funding contributions from Netball Victoria, Netball Australia and the AFL.

Thumbnail credit: Glenelg Council