Bridge Watersport Park wins approval in ERD Court
This was "the big one", Adam Bruce says – now only a few steps remain before his cable wakeboarding park can be built in Murray Bridge.
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The Bridge Watersport Park is a big step closer to being built.
Proponent Adam Bruce had a win in court last month, where he was appealing the Murray Bridge council’s original decision to reject his plan for a cable water sports park on the east side.
The council later changed its mind, but the Environment, Resources and Development Court had still needed to give its approval, Mr Bruce said.
This win, he said, was “the big one”.
He made some adjustments to his final proposal, to soothe any objectors’ concerns: opening hours, fencing, contingency planning in case of a flood, that sort of thing.
But the park will still feature two lakes, side by side.
In one, wakeboarders will be towed around by a powered cable system; the other will be for slower-paced recreation, and will feature a floating playground.
There are still a few more hurdles to be cleared before construction can start, including consent for the detailed design of a main building and a plan for getting rid of wastewater.
Barring that, though, Mr Bruce said he was keen to get cracking.
“We’re hoping to start building as soon as possible,” he said.
“Our goal is to try and open for the 2022-23 summer.
“But I'm realistic and know how long things take, and with the current world we’re in there’s all sorts of potential hurdles.”
One of those will be the fact that the machinery used to pull wakeboarders around the park comes from Europe, and the company which builds it will need to send engineers to install and test it.
“I’m hoping the whole travel (restrictions) thing’s eased up next year,” Mr Bruce said.
“That’s going to be a little bit challenging for us.”
