NOOSA AQUATICS CENTRE UPGRADE PLAN AND NOOSA AQUATICS FACILITIES STRATEGIC PLAN · Attachment 2 Noosa Aquatic Facilities Strategic Plan 2026-2036

Noosa Council’s Aquatic Facilities
During development of this strategic plan, existing   Six aquatic facilities (see page 14) that sit outside Noosa Shire boundaries,
aquatic facilities currently servicing Noosa Shire    but which are commonly accessed by the Shire’s residents, were also
were reviewed and assessed. This Strategic Plan       considered during creation of this strategic plan.
defines aquatic facilities as built assets that
enable community participation in water-based
recreation, sport, education or therapy, including
                                                      LOCAL CONTEXT
Council pools, school facilities and other venues     With its renowned beaches and strong visitor draw, Noosa sees aquatic
that form part of the wider aquatic network.          facility use influenced by multiple factors, including the following without
                                                      limitation:
Noosa Council currently owns, manages and
operates the NAC, Tewantin Splash Park and            Ready access to river and ocean swimming, with no stinger season
Hinterland Adventure Playground in Cooroy.            Local young people in particular may prefer to swim at the beach, which
These are the only aquatic facilities in the          offers more space, lack of regulations and access to surf.
network over which Council exercises control.
                                                      A high percentage of residential pools in the Shire
Other aquatic facilities in the Shire include:        According to the QBCC register of regulated pools, there are approximately
 ● 3 x 25m pools situated on DoE land (Tewantin       7,400 single pools (i.e. not including shared pools such as those in body-
   State School, Cooroy Campus of Noosa               corporate managed estates or hotels / resorts) in the Shire, which equates
   District State High School and Pomona State        to 22% of all private dwellings. This compares to 20% for Queensland and
   School), operated by third party lessees that      13% for Australia. While residents with backyard swimming pools still
   receive modest financial and operational           derive benefits and enjoyment from visiting public swimming pools (e.g.
   support from Council                               lap swimming, social connection), this high percentage of privately owned
 ● 25m pool and 14m learn-to-swim (LTS) pool          residential swimming pools is likely to impact local aquatic facility attendance
   situated on independent school land (Good          rates, especially by families.
   Shepherd Lutheran College), available for          Limited public access hours to school pools
   use by students and customers of the on-site
                                                      Pools situated on DoE land within Noosa Shire are open to the public
   swim club and swim school
                                                      only outside school hours and in line with each respective pool lessee’s
 ● 25m pool at Noosa Springs Golf and Spa             operational schedule. Currently, DoE pools at Tewantin, Cooroy and
   Resort, available for use by fitness centre        Pomona are operational, with a third-party lessee responsible for providing
   members and aqua aerobics customers                public access. Good Shepherd Lutheran College offers extensive aquatic
 ● Indoor hydrotherapy pool at Noosa Hospital,        infrastructure, but community access is restricted to students, members of
   available for hospital patients only               the swim club and patrons of the swim school based at the facility.




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