Northern Beaches Council recently handed over the keys to a new western amenities block at Lionel Watts Reserve, Belrose to the presidents of three sporting clubs that use the ground.

Council recently completed the refurbishment which provides an additional set of change room facilities to cater for the increased number of women participating in community sport, giving equal access to changing facilities for the first time and allow men’s and women’s competitions to run concurrently.

The improvements, which are part of the Glen Street Masterplan, include a scenic upper level platform for visitors to view games as well as additional storage for the sporting clubs, minor refurbishments and an upgrades of the existing canteen, amenities and change rooms. It also includes additional accessible pathways around the building which facilitates better inclusion and accessibility in playing and watching community sport.

Mayor Michael Regan said Council was very pleased with the new amenities.

“It’s great the increased space provided by this upgrade will support the increased number of matches to be able to be played on the synthetic fields (finished in 2019) supported by night matches and wet weather competitions.

“This new building was the result of great collaboration between Council, the NSW Government, AFL, the Forest AFL Club, the Wakehurst Football Club and the Wakehurst Redbacks Cricket Club.

“We thank not only the sporting clubs involved, but the whole community for their time and input into the extensive community consultation. The participation, interest and passion of the community allows us to deliver high quality facilities that will be enjoyed by a large number of residents for years to come.”

Jonathan Hall, Forest AFL Club President said: “The new facilities are really important to our club. It provides the ability to grow comfortably and it’s also a massive attraction for new players. We think with the new synthetic surface and new change room and viewing area – we’ve got one of the best AFL facilities in all of NSW.”

Kevin Wesson, Vice President, Wakehurst Redbacks Cricket Club said: “It’s a fantastic addition to the Lionel Watts campus. Spectacular viewing area for people to watch games in the summer and as a club we will make particular use of the storage area because cricket has a lot of equipment that we don’t use over the winter and we need to store and get access to. It’s an excellent facility.”

Greg Dick, President, Wakehurst Football Club added: “Council engaged with us very early on this project. They surveyed to find out what our needs were, what our priorities were. They’ve listened to us and they’ve given us what we’ve asked for. It’s been a great experience.”