SHANE Rattenbury has announced the ACT Government will not endorse a revised proposal from the Brindabella Christian College (BCC) to build a Sports Pavilion and associated facilities on Lyneham Neighbourhood Oval.

“Following the community raising concerns about the proposal, the ACT Government undertook a survey to get a clearer picture of the level of community support,” Shane said.

“The survey closed on Friday last week with 62% of overall respondents not supporting the revised proposal. While 94% of respondents who were parents and carers from Brindabella Christian College supported the proposal, the level of support from within the broader Lyneham community was less than 25%.

“It is clear from the survey results that there is significant community opposition to the proposal being put forward by BCC. As the proposal involves the use of public land but lacks the support of the local community, I am unable to support it proceeding.

“The Lyneham Neighbourhood Oval is a facility for the entire Lyneham community and it is vital that the views of local residents and regular users of the oval are taken into account when considering any future uses of the area.

“The community survey was completed by 676 people and represented those who lived in north O’Connor and Lyneham, as well as parents at the three local schools – Brindabella Christian College, Lyneham Primary School and Lyneham High School.

“It was quite clear from the results that the majority of support for the proposal was from those with children at Brindabella Christian College, the proponent of this project.

“The proposal was supported by the majority of parents at Brindabella, but only 20% of parents at Lyneham Primary and 19% at Lyneham High Schools.

“Of those people surveyed who do not have children at any of the schools, 75% opposed the proposal, and of people who use the oval regularly, 67% were opposed to the proposal.

“Some of the main issues raised by those opposed to the proposal were the loss of green open space, private use of public land, the car park extension and increased traffic on Brigalow Street, and concern about who would have access to the pavilion.

“Those in favour of the proposal cited the availability of extra facilities, improvements to parking and better amenity for the school and public.

“Early engagement with the community on this project was certainly not ideal, but I believe that this survey has allowed us to effectively hear from a broad cross-section of those who have an interest in the future of the Lyneham Oval, and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey for their thoughtful engagement,” said Mr Rattenbury.