Echunga Public Convenience Proposal

Council is seeking your feedback on the proposed provision of public conveniences in Echunga. The proposal aims to find a solution that balances the needs of the community, standardising service levels and the Long Term Financial Plan.

The proposal:

1. Construct one new single public convenience at the Echunga Community Park in 2026/27 (as per the Echunga Township Plan)
2. Replace and potentially relocate the public convenience near the football oval at the Echunga Recreations Grounds in 2027/28
3. Transfer ownership of the public convenience near the Echunga netball courts from Council to the Echunga Recreation Grounds Committee;
4. Cease the Council operation and maintenance of the facility at the Echunga Memorial Institute upon the completion of items 1 and 2.

That means that Council will operate and maintain 2 public toilets for Echunga that being the new toilets at the Recreation Grounds and the new toilet at the Echunga Community Park. The toilets near the netball club would be the responsibility of the Echunga Recreation Grounds and the facility at the Institute would be the responsibility of the Echunga Memorial Institute.

Consultation on the proposed Echunga public conveniences is open from Monday 8 September to Friday 3 October 2025. You can provide your feedback by:

• Completing the online form below
• Sending an email to yoursay@mountbarker.sa.gov.au
• Writing a letter and posting to PO Box 54, Mount Barker SA 5251 or delivering to the Civic Centre, 6 Dutton Road, Mount Barker

Background

Current situation

Echunga has three public conveniences including:

• Two at the Recreations Grounds (Football Club and Netball Club)
• One at the Memorial Institute, which Council maintains but does not own.

In 2019, Council adopted the Echunga Township Plan. This plan noted the provision for a new public convenience at the Echunga Community Park, though no timeframe was set.

The Recreation Grounds toilets are aging and no longer meet modern standards. The Netball Club have expressed they are happy to consider the option of retaining the toilets located near the courts under their control for club use only i.e. locked to the general public. This leaves the Football Club toilets as the main facilities that support the Recreation Grounds but they do not meet accessibility standards (DDA compliant), rely on dam water, are used by the golf course without a formal agreement, and are not well located within the grounds.

Council presently owns and maintains 32 toilets across the district and additionally provides maintenance and operating support to the facility at the Echunga Memorial Institute.

Planning for the future

Council is developing an Open Space Strategy that will guide what facilities (like toilets, paths, and carparks) are needed depending on the type of park or recreation space. It will recommend to Council the application of open space hierarchies i.e. Regional - supports all day use, District - supports visits up to 4 hours, Neighbourhood - serves around 4,000 people up to 2 hours, Local - serves the immediate area up to 1 hour, which is essentially a planning tool that helps Council design and deliver the appropriate service provision for local parks to larger regional destination locations, each with a defined catchment area guided by a length of stay. For more information on this strategy read the Open Space and Recreation Asset Management Plan.

The Recreation Grounds are classed as a District facility, so they require proper toilets and supporting amenities.

The Community Park is classed as a Neighbourhood facility, so facilities should be more modest and avoid duplicating services that already exist at the Recreation Grounds.

Financial Planning

When Council prepared the 2025/26 Annual Business Plan and long-term budgets, it scheduled funding for a new accessible public convenience in Echunga, as outlined in the 2019 Echunga Township Plan. This project also included supporting works such as a carpark and pathways. The total investment has been estimated at approximately $550,000 with detailed design to be completed this financial year. The following proposal aims to meet the same investment level and ensure service level standards expected of the community are met.

What Council plan to do

Although refurbishment could be considered as an option at the Recreation Grounds Football Club, the existing footprint and location make it difficult to meet DDA compliance, accessibility demands and the Code of Practice for the Provision of Facilities for Sanitation and Personal Hygiene.

To balance both the need to invest at the Recreation Grounds at a level appropriate for the use of a District level facility and also support the activation of the Community Park with a public convenience facility suitable to this location, the following investment strategy is proposed:

• Detailed design and costing for two public conveniences comprising of:
  1. A single modular style toilet at the Community Park. Includes an unsealed service vehicle access point for maintenance and operation demands but not for public use. Location to be determined through engagement with the Echunga Community Association. Delivery to remain in 2026/27.
  2. A triple/four bay modular style toilet including the provision of rainwater supply and an asphalt pad surrounding the toilet allowing for immediate accessible parking and access. Location to be determined through engagement with the Echunga Recreation Ground representatives. Delivery to be programmed in 2027/28.

The future operational management of the current facility at the Memorial Institute would be proposed to be returned to the Hall Committee. The retention of this asset as a Council managed facility would provide a service level well above that needed within Echunga as discussed above.