Sunshine Coast Council engaged LPC to develop an engagement-based community needs assessment for a community facility in Pelican Waters.
Situation Explained
Pelican Waters is a master planned community that has been developing since the 1990s. Pelican Waters is located at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast, around 5 kilometres from Caloundra.
A preliminary assessment of local community venues completed by Council indicated there may be a need for an additional community facility in the Pelican Waters area. This project was delivered to explore whether a Council-owned plot of land might be suitable to be developed as a community facility.
There are over 80 social infrastructure venues and facilities in the northern Sunshine Coast area that were identified as providing some form of community function, however, the majority of them are located in Caloundra and Golden Beach.
LPC worked with Council to design and deliver an engagement-informed community needs assessment to explore the level of need for a new community venue to support the Pelican Waters community and local community groups.
Our Approach
The project aimed to:
- understand of the needs and demands of the Pelican Waters community and community organisations for a new local community facility
- understand the current use, capacity and opportunities within the existing network of community venues within the Pelican Waters catchment
- analyse the social infrastructure capacity compared to desired standards of service
- make recommendations about whether there is sufficient need and demand to support developing a local community venue at the subject site.
We designed and delivered a mix of engagement activities that would gather in-depth information from key local stakeholders, and feedback from local community members. Council also advertised the engagement opportunities through social media, media release and radio.
Throughout the engagement period, we captured
- 187 feedback items through interview with 13 community groups and organisations
- 826 feedback items through online surveys and polls
- 40 feedback items through an in-person pop-up stall.
Results
Feedback indicated that most community members were interested in seeing a new community venue being established in Pelican Waters. There were several specific community activities and programs that were seen to be missing in Pelican Waters. Most community members and stakeholders mentioned one of the following benefits that could come from a new community venue:
- Improved social connections
- Filling a ‘geographical gap’ in publicly owned community facilities
- Limited need to travel outside of the suburb
- Stronger sense of community connection and pride in the suburb.
Outcomes from the needs assessment indicated that existing venues were seen to be less accessible due their limited parking capacity, lack of parking spaces for people with disabilities, and required a booking or hiring cost.
LPC submitted our final report to Council mid-2022.