Kyabram Recreation Reserve upgrades one step closer

Cr Jarman said he thought it was a good starting place for council and the reserve stakeholders to work through what stage two looked like.

The Wilf Cox Community Complex at the reserve is undergoing an accessibility and female-friendly upgrade to support use by sporting groups and the wider Kyabram community.

The works began in August 2025 to modernise the facility through a rearrangement of the ground floor, elevator installation and the creation of accessible, modern amenities and changing facilities in accordance with sporting organisation guidelines.

In February 2025, council committed officers to exploring stage two of the project, including a kitchen, access and other items for future budget consideration.

To achieve this, council engaged with community and user groups to identify and prioritise future projects for the improvement of the reserve.

Council engaged consultants Capire, supported by council officers, to undertake the community engagement over a three-month period from October 2025 to January 2026.

The consultation included a two-day workshop targeting 20 to 30 participants representing 14 local community groups, including Kyabram Development Committee, Kyabram Football Netball Club and Kyabram Cricket Club.

The feedback from the wider public and the stakeholder workshop highlighted the town's top infrastructure priorities for the reserve, including improvements to spectator shelter, accessibility, sporting infrastructure and additional technology.

Due to a limited response, the decision was made to pivot to a broader model consisting of a single consultation session and a public survey, which took place from November 2025 to January 2026.

The survey received 102 responses, including 43 respondents associated with the Kyabram Football Netball Club or Kyabram Junior Football Club, and 22 associated with the Kyabram Cricket Club.

At the meeting, Cr Jessica Mitchell thanked the community for continuing the conversation with council by outlining what was on the wishlist for the future.

“While we would like to see higher numbers with our engagement and surveys, I think it was clear with some of the feedback that was received from the community for what the needs for that space are into the future,” she said.

“Just looking at the motion that we’re considering at the moment, while I support it, I think it could be useful from council’s standpoint to have some timeframes around this,” Cr Adrian Weston said.

Cr Weston then raised whether the mover, Cr Jarman, and seconder, Cr Mitchell, would be prepared to consider that the investigation of the priorities be completed by the end of the year.

The suggestion was rejected by mover Cr Jarman.

In the budget, which was also adopted at the June 16 council meeting, $200,000 was allocated for the Kyabram Recreation Reserve stage two design.

Council chief executive Pauline Gordon said a detailed design would typically cost around 10 per cent of a total build.

She said the process after consultation “could take ages”, but it would ensure council lined itself up, did the work, got the detailed design done and then looked for funding opportunities.

“It’s a step-by-step process so if that design isn’t up, and there’s funding available that we can source, then we wouldn’t be able to get that funding,” Campaspe Shire Mayor Daniel Mackrell said.

“So when there is funding from federal, state or collaborations, we can go: here it (the design) is.”

“There is a process and community wants it now, but we’re doing it, so we can have it as close to now as possible.”