An artist’s impression of the stunning new Whyalla foreshore water park and community plaza.

Click the image for Foreshore Master Plan Detailed Designs.

Key points:

• Whyalla is a step closer to its new foreshore water park and community plaza, moving to the next stage in the government funding process
• New concept designs show the exciting play areas and modern café and surf life saving building
• Council is seeking community stories and memories to assist with the funding process and to form part of the foreshore design
• Staff will be at the foreshore in early January, allowing residents to share their memories
• The detailed designs differ to some of the master plan elements to ensure they’re practical and sustainable

A stunning new Whyalla foreshore water park and community plaza is a step closer, as the project has moved to the next stage in a Federal Government funding process. And now we need you to share your foreshore stories to shape the final funding application and help get it over the line!

This comes as new concept designs for the project are being released, showing the exciting play areas and a modern café and surf live saving club building.

Mayor Phill Stone said external funding was critical for the project to proceed, so progressing to the next stage of the process was a major milestone.

He said Council was now keen for the community’s memories to be included in various aspects of the proposed development to give it a truly local feel, while demonstrating to the funding body the importance of the foreshore to our city.

“The community has already played a major role in shaping the Foreshore Master Plan through their overwhelming feedback during consultation, we’re now keen to take that a step further,” Mayor Stone said.

“Many of us have fantastic, treasured memories and stories of our time at the foreshore, be it enjoying the old swings or slide on the beach as kids; partaking in water sports and fishing; or ‘chucking a beachy’ with friends.

“These are a key part of Whyalla’s history, so we want these stories to be reflected in the design.”

Council will be offering numerous ways for residents to contribute to the project. A marquee will be set up at the Visitor Information Centre pod at the foreshore from 11am-3pm on January 3-5 and 8-10, allowing people to drop in and have a chat with a staff member or record a video message. You can also head to our website to submit your memories; call us on 8640 3444 or email gail.rostig@whyalla.sa.gov.au.

These stories will then be consolidated, with a number of them included on furniture, architecture, boardwalks and other aspects of the foreshore development, ensuring it captures Whyalla’s history and essence.

“It’s proven that storytelling builds community connection, so collecting the stories of our community and weaving them into the foreshore plaza will create a level of meaning that makes it a far more engaging space,” Mayor Stone said.

These are examples of how community storytelling has been incorporated into similar projects in Australia.

Some of the key features of these detailed plaza designs include:

• Numerous water-play features such as a water curtain, sprays and water bucket
• Outdoor adventure play (with junior and senior obstacles)
  • The designers have aimed to make it ‘uniquely Whyalla’, with the adventure play space framework replicating various structural elements of the Whyalla Steelworks
• Wave lawn
• Scooter track
• Shelter and seating

“We understand these are still just ideas until we can secure the funding, but hopefully it gives the community a sense of the quality of design we’re looking at and helps generate some excitement,” he said.

“They may also notice some aspects are different to the initial imagery used in the Foreshore Master Plan. It’s important to understand those were simply concepts – we’re now looking at designs that are practical and sustainable.”

Council will continue to provide regular updates on how the community can contribute to the project and the outcomes of the final funding round.

Whyalla Foreshore Revitalisation Master Plan - Engagement Plan

Whyalla Foreshore Engagement Summary

FAQs

The artist impression drawings look different to the Whyalla Beach and Foreshore Masterplan endorsed in 2021. Does that mean the community consultation was a waste of time – is Council just doing what it wants without listening to community feedback?

The community of Whyalla set the themes and priorities for the project during consultation, enabling the landscape and engineering team to build a detailed design focused on these priorities. All the key aspects such as the water, nature and adventure play components of the design come directly from the masterplan community engagement work. The community have set the vision and now the practical application of this is occurring. There will also be opportunity to integrate Whyalla storytelling and icons into the design, which is the work we are embarking on in January 2024.

We wanted a colourful cuttlefish waterpark, this design is very different, why did the plans change?

Water and splash play is complex in engineering, and involves significant maintenance, safety considerations and hydraulics (pump station/treatment plant). The current design uses the most experienced group of architects, engineers and play space experts who have worked on Glenelg’s Moseley Square, Henley Square and BHP Billiton’s Elizabeth Quay in Perth. This team has provided a design outline (based on budget and practicality) that can now have Whyalla icons and storytelling pieces added, including replicating structural elements of the Whyalla Steelworks through the adventure play space framework to ensure it is ‘uniquely Whyalla’ (see the examples provided in imagery).

Why can’t there be a water slide?

Slides and the collection pools at their base generally require paid, trained and licensed supervision for best-practice operation. While there are examples of unsupervised slides in other council areas, these have proven problematic and the preference for those type of waterparks is within caravan parks and leisure and aquatic facilities where operational procedures and insurances adequately manage and reflect the risk.

Why is it taking so long to see the development come to life?

This is a significant development and it is not possible without external funding partners, including government and private investment. These processes are lengthy and extremely competitive. The business case and economic modelling – along with detailed design, surveying and engineering – are also long and complex processes. This development is a major undertaking, so it’s important we get it right the first time and maximise value for public money.

How will this benefit locals? They should come first before tourists

The foreshore upgrade – combined with future complementary activations – will make it more attractive to locals as well as interstate and international tourists. The expected increase in visitors to the area will support local businesses by encouraging patronage. The upgrades will make the foreshore more accessible and enjoyable for locals, it will provide for more all-ages play, support family gatherings and provide a meeting place to complement the much-beloved Ada Ryan Gardens.

Why did you move the playground from its current location?

Co-locating activities within a plaza space provides combined attractions, increasing numbers of patrons, improving passive security and ensuring the site preparation, utility supply (water, wastewater and power) and public amenities (toilets, changerooms, bins) are shared, which reduces costs. It also enables expansion of car parking areas in future stages.

Won’t this development increase our rates and debt position?

The aim is for the Whyalla Beach Plaza and Playground Precinct to be funded through shared contributions between Council, State Government and the Federal Government. Council will contribute $3 million (currently in the budget) and is seeking contributions externally of $8.8 million, helping minimise any impact on ratepayers. This project will deliver a world-class precinct and is vital for Whyalla’s future – for the community that has identified it as a priority; and for attracting tourists and newcomers to our city.

So what happens if you can’t secure the external funding you need?

The project will still go ahead, however it will need to be staged over a much longer time period to enable Council to budget the cost over multiple financial years.