Digman Reserve, Newport

Sports like soccer and cricket are booming in the communities surrounding Newport in Melbourne’s inner west. So, to meet the growing thirst for local, green and active spaces, Hobsons Bay City Council commissioned the multipurpose redevelopment of Digman Reserve, turning a tired and worn area into a destination for the local sports and family communities.

At its heart was the development of two new natural turf sports fields and a synthetic wicket area. All was going to plan until the pandemic created havoc…

Delivering a project on budget during a pandemic has its difficulties, and there were also environmental and design challenges to consider. In the time between Joslyn Group being awarded the project and work commencing, a pavilion had been built close to the field. We worked closely with Hobsons Bay City Council to ensure no windows would be broken from a stray cricket ball off the field.

Every project we undertake includes an environmental impact plan. In the case of Digman Reserve, this was especially important as the grounds are located near an oil refinery and were contaminated with traces of heavy metals and asbestos. A high-pressure oil pipeline also runs alongside one of the fields, which we needed avoid to disturbing at all costs. Earthworks therefore followed a stringent process: controlling the surrounding areas, excavating, and then moving the contaminated soil to an EPA-designated site for disposal.

But despite these challenges, Hobsons Bay City Council knew that it could trust Joslyn Group to deliver a cost-efficient solution – even with all eyes on the project.

Thanks to lockdowns and curfews, COVID-19 brought its own set of unique challenges to the redevelopment of Digman Reserve. With the reserve located in a highly residential area, our crew was also restricted to just five people on site at any given time – which slowed the construction down even further.

While the stop-start nature of this project meant it took longer than anticipated, the result was worth the wait.

• End-to-end project management of civil works
• Civil construction and earthworks
• Lighting
• Irrigation system installation
• Drainage
• Soil augmentation
• Natural turf wicket table
• Synthetic turf wicket

To find out how we can help you deliver a top-notch sports development, get in contact.