New change rooms for Dudley Cornell Park

Published on 08 February 2019

Work has started on new female friendly change rooms at Dudley Cornell Park.

The popular Horsham North reserve is one of the Wimmera’s busiest sporting facilities. It hosts cricket, junior football, athletics and soccer.

However the current amenities are outdated, change rooms are not up to standard and public toilets are 100m from the existing building where families have to negotiate vehicle traffic to access them.

Modern public toilets will be included as part of the new building, and a sheltered barbecue area will be conveniently located between the two ovals. In the future, two art works created at recent NorthFest festivals will be installed at the reserve.

Horsham Rural City Council has allocated $160,000 to support the projects, with a Sport and Recreation Victoria grant contributing $100,000.

Councillor Josh Koenig, a member of the Dudley Cornell Park Advisory Committee said increasing female participation was key to revitalising the popular recreation area.

“This reserve was virtually my backyard when growing up and it’s pleasing to see the improvements happening. It means the park will be a modern facility and every person in the community can enjoy its benefits,” Cr Koenig said.

“We recognise that many local sports facilities, built around 50 years ago when sport was a male-dominated area, simply aren’t accessible for women or people with disabilities.

“Female participation in sport is a key focus area of council’s Health and Wellbeing Plan and this sort of investment will open the doors for many new and emerging players to participate in sport, as they will simply feel more comfortable,” he said.

Cr Koenig said the Park’s user groups were in full support of proposals to increase female participation in sport.

“Sports clubs that are currently located at the Park are all keen to provide more sports programs that are aimed at teenage girls.”

“It’s also the main option as a recreation facility for people in Horsham North, so it’s critical that the infrastructure meets the community’s expectations,” he said.