THE growth of women's football in Golden Square has been hamstrung by council delays in deciding the fate of the suburb's community-run pool, according to the FNL Club president.
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Golden Square Football Netball Club president Brendan Stewart said women's football had "literally exploded" within the club since 2013, when the pool was placed into community hands.
But the club had no female change rooms apart from a cramped, small netball facility, he said.
Mr Steward said the whole facility, female and male, was desperately in need of an upgrade.
He said the club was not even in a position to apply for commonwealth or state grants until the City of Greater Bendigo made a decision on the site's master plan.
The FNL club shares a site with the Golden Square Pool, Cricket Club and Bowling Club.
The Golden Square Pool Committee has been awarded a series of short term leases on the site since 2013.
In 2018 council voted to keep the pool open for two more years under the management of Golden Square Pool Inc.
This was subject to continued development of a master plan for the recreation reserve and a review of the city's Aquatics Facilities Strategy.
Mr Stewart said the club was frustrated by the delay in deciding whether the Golden Square Pool would remain open long term.
He said girls and women's teams had to play separately, or share change rooms.
"We're waiting, and we've been waiting patiently for a long time, for that facility upgrade, including female change rooms," Mr Stewart said.
"We've got nothing. We've got one netball court. We're a Bendigo Football Netball league club with very little facilities.
"We just want to see decisions made so all clubs and user groups can just at least have certainty of existence and plan for the future."
Golden Square Pool committee president Sam Kane said the pool had been advocating for a longer term lease, and would welcome certainty.
Mr Kane said a longer term lease would allow them to plan for important infrastructure works.
He said the committee wanted to make sure the facility was there to look after the health and wellbeing of Golden Square residents.
Mr Kane said the committee had worked in close collaboration with the city, to find the best outcome.
Mayor Margaret O'Rourke said council deferred decision on the pool in 2018 to continue master planning on the recreation reserve.
Cr O'Rourke said work had been going on in the background regarding the busy precinct.
The council will revisit its 2018 decision about the pool in April.
Cr O'Rourke said council had to balance the needs of sporting facilities every day.
"It is something that we struggle right across our municipality in terms of sporting facilities, all the various user groups, aging infrastructure, new infrastructure," she said.
"It's something that we're always balancing."
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