Blackwood Football Club proposed use of Hawthorndene Oval

Full Council Meeting 13 August 2024

The outcomes of the consultation for the proposed use of Hawthorndene Oval by the Blackwood Football Club were presented to Council at the Full Council Meeting held on Tuesday 13 August, 2024.

At this meeting the Council endorsed the issuing of a 5-year licence to the Blackwood Football Club for use of Hawthorndene Oval for junior football training for the following months, weekdays and times as proposed by the Club, and as per the community consultation:

• April to September
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
• 4pm to 6pm

Council also resolved to review the usage of Hawthorndene Oval following consultation on the 2024/25 operating project for the Apex Park / Hawthorndene Oval Master Plan.

For more information please view the Motion Outcome tab to the right of the page or visit the Council Agenda and Minutes page on our website.

Thank you for your feedback, this consultation is now closed and under review.

Have Your Say on the proposal to issue a licence to Blackwood Football Club for their use of Hawthorndene Oval

The City of Mitcham sought community views on a proposal to grant Blackwood Football Club (BFC) a 5 year licence for limited use of Hawthorndene Oval.

Background

Hawthorndene Oval is currently licenced to Coromandel Valley Ramblers Cricket Club for use during the Summer season (October to March) on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings. SANFL previously held a licence for use of the oval on weekends in the Winter season (April to September), however, no longer hold a licence for the oval and as such the Cricket Club is currently the only licenced user of the oval.

The recently updated and endorsed Community Land Management Plan for Hawthorndene Oval envisages entering licences to support community sport. This document is available in the 'Documents' tab to the right of this page.

Blackwood Football Club currently hold a licence at Blackwood Hill Oval and Hewett Oval, however with the growth of women and girls' football in recent years this has resulted in Blackwood Football Club having insufficient oval capacity to cater for all teams, and these ovals being degraded due to overuse.

The Club's female program has grown to two senior teams with 55 players and five junior teams with over 100 players from u10s, u12s, u14s & u17.5s. As such, the Club are seeking use of Hawthorndene Oval.

The Proposal

The proposed arrangement would allow Blackwood Football Club to use the oval for junior team training on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons (4:00pm to 6:00pm) from April to September as per the Blackwood Football Club use of Hawthorndene Oval Proposed Licence Details document available in the 'Documents' tab to the right of this page.

The proposal aligns with the recently updated Community Land Management Plan for Hawthorndene Oval, which supports community sport licences.

Blackwood Football Clubs proposed use is limited to:

• Junior training only (no matches or weekend use)
• Winter season (April – September)
• Daylight hours only (no oval lighting proposed)

Current Oval Usage

• Coromandel Valley Ramblers Cricket Club holds a licence for summer season use (October to March) on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings.
• SANFL no longer holds a winter season licence for weekend use.
• This proposal does not affect the Cricket Club's current arrangement

Feedback was sought to ensure that the community support issuing this new 5 year licence for the use of the land.