Canning Districts Hockey Club claims it was left out of City of Canning plans to remove turf facility

The Canning Districts Hockey Club says it has been left out of discussions about the upgrade of a reserve, which will result in it losing a training facility. Last month, the City of Canning approved awarding a tender for the construction of a new pavilion at Ferndale Reserve. The city has received nearly $4 million in State funds for the pavilion, which will have gender-neutral changerooms, a social hall, storage areas, upgraded accessibility provisions and improved viewing access to all three playing fields at the reserve. There will also be landscaping and a new carpark, and oval reorientation is being considered. But the works will require the removal of a mini-pitch. The city says the hockey club will retain use of the grass fields and it was working with the club to find alternative options for training. Cr Michelle Hurn was the sole dissenting voice in the vote, saying the pavilion could have been positioned in a way that did not compromise the future of the hockey club, and it had been told to “suck eggs.” Club president Elaine Foote said it was “quite some time” before they knew of the project. The club had fundraised to put in the pitch about 12 years ago. “We tend to use it for all the grades,” she said. “It’s used every Saturday night throughout the year. ‘We paid for the turf down there and the paving and everything. “All we need them to do is to swing it (the pavilion) to go the opposite way. “For some reason they don’t want us there.” She said the city had offered to pay for members to be able to train on another club’s turf. In a letter to Ms Foote, Hockey WA said it supported keeping the training area at Ferndale Reserve. Club vice-president Jonathan Sorci told a city agenda briefing last month the club was approached in 2024 with plans to redevelop the club rooms. “After about six months, however, consultation with the hockey club dried up until April 2025, where we were informed by the CEO that the new building was now going to be built over the hockey club’s turf and there was no other option,” he said. “At that time and throughout the past 12 months, we have shared with the administration the importance of the turf to our club and the loss of it potentially meaning the end of our club. “The whole club centres around the turf, training, social games, developing our juniors and dinners as a community after training.” Mr Sorci said other clubs in the area that did not have turf had to travel as far afield as Dayton, while those that did charged higher fees. “Canning Districts caters to members of our community like new migrants and lower socioeconomic households that would otherwise not have the opportunity to play hockey, and the turf allows them to improve their game and be involved in their community,” he said. City of Canning mayor Patrick Hall said grass areas the club’s junior teams played on at Ferndale Reserve were unaffected by the project, while senior teams played their matches on synthetic turf at other facilities, which was “standard for hockey at that level”. “The area being removed is a small synthetic training space that is more than 15 years old and no longer in optimal condition,” Mr Hall said. He said the city began engaging with the Canning Districts Hockey Club in September 2024 and had continued to remain in contact with the club throughout the project. As the project developed, the design, size, configuration and location of the facility were refined to deliver the best possible outcome for the site and to support a regional, multi-use recreation reserve. “We understand how important this facility is to the club and its members, and we value the input they have provided,” Mr Hall said. “This project will have an impact on a number of sports at Ferndale Reserve, and those impacts have been carefully considered. “The intention of the development is to deliver a contemporary facility that serves the whole community for the next 40 years, one that addresses longstanding barriers to participation, including oval capacity, which is one of the biggest impediments to equality in female sport.”