Pratten Park club upgrade given mid-2028 delivery target as funding waits on budget review

Users of Pratten Park’s Community Sports and Bowling Club have been given a mid-2028 target for completion of an upgraded facility, after Inner West Council backed immediate planning work and deferred the funding decision to its next quarterly budget review.

Councillors voted unanimously on 22 September to note the project’s feasibility design and cost estimate and request a report to the next Ordinary Council meeting on how the work can be expedited.

That report will cover the immediate commencement of the Development Application for the project. Council also committed to completing construction and final delivery of the upgraded facility by mid-2028.

Funding for the project will be determined through the next quarterly budget review. The resolution did not specify a construction cost, the detailed scope of the upgrade or a construction start date.

The decision sets a delivery target for sporting users and community organisations at Pratten Park, while the next stages involve the Development Application, further reporting and the funding review.

The club upgrade was one of several decisions affecting major community facilities at the meeting. Council deferred its post-exhibition report on the Leichhardt Park Wharf Project until alternative designs that align with the current budget allocation can be considered.

At Punch Park, councillors separately approved six months of pickleball line marking on the existing multipurpose court. Play will be limited to 9am to 7pm, with noise-reduction measures encouraged, while proposed changes to the tennis operator’s licensed hours were deferred for 12 months.

The Pratten Park resolution was moved by councillors Jo Carlisle and Jessica D’Arienzo and carried with no votes against it. The next report is due at the next Ordinary Council meeting, but no date for that meeting was stated in the resolution.