Cameron Lovering has raised a series of pointed questions regarding the financial and logistical management of the site, which was cleared following the decommissioning of the 70-year-old Rochester District War Memorial Pool.
Under a contract finalised by former mayor Rob Amos, council invested $500,000 to flatten the infrastructure and temporarily landscape the area into a green public space, which opened after the grass established in early 2025.
However, the grounds have recently been re-excavated to facilitate local stormwater infrastructure works.
Speaking as a neighbour observing the development, Mr Lovering questioned why a more logical timeline wasn’t established when the pool was first cleared.
“They turned it into a green space park, and I imagine how much money that would have cost. And then they’ve dug it all up again,” Mr Lovering said.
“Should it not have been part of a continuous rebuild process? We could have saved some money by doing this when the pool was already a big hole in the ground.
“Instead, money was spent to turn it into a green space park with irrigation, only to tear it all back up again.”
Council documentation reveals the initial $500,000 landscaping project was always designed as a temporary, interim measure so residents would not be left with a fenced-off concrete eyesore while the council fought the long-term battle to secure construction grants.
However, internal council records validate the community’s frustration regarding the duplicate works.
The current excavation is driven by the $488,500 Mary St stormwater upgrade.
Because the broader flood mitigation designs were still being dynamically modelled well after the 2022 disasters, the engineering requirements for these subterranean pipes were not finalised or ready for construction when the pool was filled and seeded.
The lack of alignment means nearly $500,000 is being spent on a stormwater upgrade which requires tearing up the exact lawns and irrigation infrastructure laid just 18 months earlier.
Furthermore, residents face the reality the site will likely be dug up for a third time once structural flood defences are finalised through the ongoing Campaspe Shire flood review and construction eventually begins on the pool shell itself.
Campaspe Shire Mayor Daniel Mackrell said replacing regional pools was an insurmountable financial burden for local ratepayers alone.
“We’ve recently removed the old pool infrastructure and prepared the site in readiness for a new aquatic facility,” Cr Mackrell said.
“We just need the funding support to make it happen.”
Until that cash arrives, residents are left watching a revolving door of construction — and demanding far tighter co-ordination from the local authority.
