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Community letter to residents

Dear Resident,

Bardon Latrobe Football Club recognises that with a growing Brisbane population, there is more pressure being put on sporting facilities across the city to accommodate new members, including our own. We also recognise that this has led to impacts to some local residents. At our core, we are a Club for the community and of the community, run solely on the time and energy of volunteers. We are part of this wonderful community and are working hard to minimise the impacts of the Club’s activities.

Approximately 80% of our members are under 18 with 63% aged 10 or below. Half of our members are little kids under 10.  We are delighted to support the local community with 40% of the Club’s members living in Bardon and another 43% live in the directly adjacent suburbs.

As you may be aware, the Club undertook a survey earlier this year of both our members and the surrounding community to gain an understanding of different viewpoints and feedback on a range of ideas to help assist the Club with future planning initiatives. We wish to thank those residents who have provided feedback and suggestions; we appreciate your time and interest in our Club. In the feedback, some key issues were raised by the community which we would like to acknowledge. 

  1. Parking activity within the carpark and along David Avenue – the Club is working with Council to improve car parking at Bowman Park and ways to manage illegal car parking on David Ave.
  2. Light glare and duration of use – the Club is looking at upgrading the lighting and incorporating an automated control technology system. 
  3. Evening noise from training, games, and post-training/game activities – the Club will continue to adhere to the Clubs operating hours when scheduling activities to manage noise, as well as investigating use of additional venues.
  4. More soccer fields – the Club is looking at reconfiguration of existing playing surfaces to better utilise space and reduce wear and tear on the fields, including improved irrigation.

Some of these potential solutions cost a substantial amount of money, or are not within the control of the Club (eg falling within the Council’s remit), so they may take some time to realise. We wish we could fast-track these solutions, however in the mean time we ask for patience and supportive communication.

A variety of additional concerns have also been raised recently, however the Club would like to reassure residents that there are NO plans to expand the existing playing fields or to alter public access to the park and green space.  Further information and responses to other concerns can be found in the table below.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with us through our Community Liaison Officers at community.liaison@bardonlatrobe.org.au. They will aim to reply within seven working days. 

Regards,

Michael Watts

Bardon Latrobe Football Club President

ConcernResponse
Bowman Park and its green space is at riskBowman Park features many wonderful community facilities. BLFC has a lease over part of Bowman Park to manage and maintain the Clubhouse buildings and sports fields. Club improvements we anticipate will add value to this green space and not threaten it.
The Club is trying to make the park exclusive for its membersThe Club has a lease that permits and authorises the Club to use the leased area for its activities. However, the playing fields are open to the general community when not in use by the Club. Anyone is welcome to use the Clubhouse when they are open and in use by the Club. Playing fields will occasionally be roped off for maintenance or repair.
Noise on weekends regularly extends into eveningsEvening and night games are rarely played on Saturday or Sunday. In 2021 there has been only 1 weekend evening game. 
Claims of late games, drinking and partying most nights.Night games are, with rare exceptions, only played on Friday nights and conclude by 9:30pm. Alcohol is only served in the evenings on Friday nights until 9:30-10pm and for Club functions. The Club will continue to manage Club functions within its leased hours so that we continue to respect the community.
There have been many breaches of the BLFC liquor licenseThe Club has not had any breaches of its liquor license.
The Club has signalled to council plans to:

Establish a restaurant

Relocation of cricket pitch

New soccer fields

Summer competitions

Development squad and academy


There are no plans to establish a restaurant.

The feasibility of re-orienting the cricket pitch to optimise use of the playing fields is being explored. Any change or modification would need to be supported by Council. 

The Club is looking at options to better utilise the sporting field space to reduce overall wear and tear.  


There are no current plans to conduct summer competitions.

The Club currently engages a skills coach for the development of junior players. Further opportunities to develop juniors will always be a priority of BLFC. No formal “Academy” is planned. 
Lights are too bright and are left on late into the night.We commit to turning the lights off on the fields on weekdays by 9.30pm. We acknowledge there may be times where a volunteer may forget to switch them off. Due to the aging nature of the lighting infrastructure, the Club is looking to upgrade the lights to reduce glare, improve safety and that is within Australian Standards. We are investigating automatic switching technology to manage the times the lights are on and off. 
The broader community have been ignoredThe Club has engaged and responded to community feedback and concerns consistently, including by Committee members and past and present Club Presidents. 
There is no community consultationA survey of the residents was undertaken earlier this year to 100+ residents neighbouring Bowman Park to obtain feedback and views from the community on various matters. The Club is planning to undertake community engagement early in the new year to seek further resident feedback. 
Car parking along David AveThe Club is working with Council on solutions and illegal parking along David Ave. Additional planting has been one solution discussed with Council. 
Car parking in parkland adjacent to the ClubhouseThe Club has Council approval to use the area adjacent to the Clubhouse for overflow car parking. We are working with Council on ways to better manage the car parking in this area including vegetation planting and bollards. 

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