Western Lions Park
The opportunities for sport and recreation in West Townsville suburbs will be enhanced through a $400,000 upgrade to Western Lions Park, located on Fulham Road in Heatley adjacent to the Heatley State Primary School.
The upgrades provide play opportunities for families and young children under five. Improvements include a new children's playground, shade shelters, additional pathways, solar security and pathway lighting, perimeter bollards, additional landscaping and shade trees and picnic seating.
Funding for upgrades
In 2007, the children's playground at Western Lions Park was recognised as coming to the end of its service life and potential funding sources for much-needed upgrades were identified. An application for funding was made under the Community Renewal Program, an initiative of the Queensland Government's Community Renewal program coordinated by the Department of Communities. Community Renewal is an initiative delivered in partnership between State and local governments, business, residents and the community sector to deliver projects that improve people's lives in selected Queensland communities.
To be eligible to apply for funds for the program, Townsville City Council was required to prepare a master plan for the whole park. The master plan was informed by the findings of the 'Communities for Children Recreation Needs Analysis' report commissioned under the Communities for Children program for the Townsville West area.
On completion of the Western Lions Park Master Plan an estimate of costs was prepared along with proposed staging of the works. The highest priority improvements were costed at $400,000 which included; new children’s playground to cater for 0-12 year-olds, 3 shade shelters, a shared bicycle/footpath, footpaths, solar lighting, installation of bollards around the perimeter of the park, additional shade trees, a drink fountain, garden beds and dry creek bed informal play area.
Townsville City Council's funding bid was successful in securing $243,000 to assist in the implementation of the proposed initial improvement works. Combined with additional funds from Council, the design and consultation process commenced.
Community Consultation
A requirement of both Council and the Queensland State Government funding conditions was to undertake a community consultation process. The intention was to involve members of the community as well as the park stakeholders to comment on the draft master plan.
A community consultation event was held in September 2008 in order for residents to contribute any comments and ideas in terms of how they would like to see the park be developed over the coming months and into the future. After the consultation process, a detailed design was completed which took into account the communities needs and aspirations.
Master Plan
The master plan was completed in November 2008 and will be used to guide landscaping development and infrastructure at the park in the years to come. This is designed to be an evolving document, which will be adapted and reviewed as community needs are identified and as funding becomes available.
The first stage priorities of the upgrade works have now commenced with the installation of perimeter bollards to secure the park from vehicle entry. In addition, water logging of No 2 playing field has also been addressed by carrying out additional top dressing to raise the playing surface. Initial upgrades are due to be completed in June 2009, with a public launch and celebration planned for the opening of the new facilities.
Potential future works identified in the master plan may include upgrades to the basketball half-court, installation of a large birds-nest swing, an exercise circuit, the provision for a community facility and additional pathways, shade trees and landscaping.
Townsville City Council would like to apologise for any inconvenience the temporary closure of these areas of the park has caused. If you have any queries relating to the park upgrades please contact the project managers, Terrain Consultants on 4755 4075.
If you have any comments relating to the master plan call Townsville City Council Parks Services on 4727 9000.
To view the master plan, please click on the links below.
 Western Lions Park masterplan - overview (631kB)
Western Lions Park masterplan - northern section (662kB)
Location Map
Western Lions Park map location (281kB)
Please Note: These are large files and it is recommended that files be downloaded using a broadband connection to the Internet. Some files may be too large to download satisfactorily and may best be viewed in person. Some of these documents contain a large number of images and diagrams, and may be incompatible with interpretive software. | 
