Words by Walter Bulyga and Shane Sody. Pics by Walter Bulyga
If you have visited Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (Park 2 of your Park Lands) at any time over the past two years you might have been surprised by the size and scope of the civil works associated with the vast new State Government Aquatic centre.
Even before construction began in 2022, the State Government promised that construction of this new Aquatic Centre would “return 1,000 square metres of Park Lands.” That claim has been repeated many times, by various State Government MPs.
The Lord Mayor, Jane Lomax-Smith was one of many who were deceived by this State Government assertion, claiming in 2023 that the new $135 million Aquatic and commercial centre would have a reduced “footprint” over your Open Green Public Adelaide Park Lands.
The Lord Mayor’s claim was made shortly before the Council voted to lease the Aquatic Centre site to the State Government for $1 per year, in the process rejecting the wishes of 98% of respondents to Council consultation.
These two satellite images showing the former swimming centre and the current construction site illustrate the reality of the situation.
Even if, as claimed, the “footprint” or perimeter of the new building turns out to be marginally smaller than the perimeter of the former Aquatic Centre, it is obvious that the area of Open, Green, Public Park Lands has been, and will continue to be reduced by this new construction and its associated facilities.
Construction site on 17 October 2025. Pic: Walter Bulyga
The area to be occupied by paved, fenced, and built form, is significantly larger than the 2.9 hectares of the former Aquatic Centre (now demolished) and its former fenced and paved surroundings.
The new centre’s total floor area is almost double the former Aquatic Centre and its sheer double-storey bulk is dominating your northern Park Lands even more than the former centre once did. Its scale and bulk is more reminiscent of a shopping centre than a swimming pool.
Construction site on 17 October 2025. Pic: Walter Bulyga
That is not a coincidence, because the Centre is intended to operate at a profit for its lessees, the YMCA, generating revenue not merely from swimming pool entry fees but also from multiple retail and commercial tenancies, all on your Park Lands.
Three hundred employees will work there, with recruitment now under way.
There is no guarantee that car parking at the new centre would be free, because the lease document does not prevent the lessee from imposing car parking charges.
In short, the Government’s claim of “1,000 square metres being returned to Park Lands” is plainly false, because neither an expanded car park area, nor the expansion of fenced outdoor areas (available only to paying customers) can be considered “returned” to your Open, Green Public Park Lands.
Construction site on 17 October 2025. Pic: Walter Bulyga
While walking the perimeter of the construction site on 17 October, I met a woman who, along with her daughter, has taken serious interest in the birdlife and in particular saving birds that had been entangled in discarded plastic netting arising from the fraying of the illustrations ziptied to the perimeter fence.
My inquiries on site also led me to believe that the new Aquatic Centre is behind its construction schedule and is most unlikely to be opened as promised in “summer 2025-26”.
Walter Bulyga is the Secretary of the Adelaide Park Lands Association.
The Adelaide Park Lands Association campaigned for almost two years to get a new Aquatic Centre constructed on any alternative brownfield site. Read the history of that campaign here:
