Good Neighbour Initiatives
The recent request by our Club for a small increase in the time we can use the excellent facility at Matlock Reserve has given the opportunity for our neighbours to raise a number of matters. The Club welcomes all feedback and the opportunity to reply to these.
Camberwell Hockey Club has offered recreation and social engagement to the community for 80 years at our home ground, Matlock Reserve. This engagement has been greatly enhanced by the completion of the new Matlock Centre in 2018.
We strive to offer positive outcomes for all genders, ages and abilities and have participants ranging in age from 5 to 80 years old. Equally, we are aware of our responsibilities as neighbours and have actioned a range of initiatives recently and over the recent past that are having a positive impact.
The recent application for extended winter hours would allow our juniors to have a warm up before the early Saturday game and have three extra senior games on a Sunday. These games attract a very small spectator group so the effect on parking would be extremely minimal as would the noise factor. In summer we are asking for a few hours extra use on a Tuesday and Thursday day evening for training sessions and an intra club competition. We are not asking to use the pitch on a Sunday in summer but would like to be able to use the pavilion for use of “whiteboard” sessions, team building, small gatherings of new and old members, player, coach and parent meetings, education seminars focussed on umpiring, coaching, first aid and CPR training and personal development.
Good Neighbour Initiatives
Noise:
Addition of double thickness rubber on the back of the goals
No players or supporters on balconies after 10pm
Purchase of silent electric ground grooming and blower machines
Lighting:
$100K investment in new focused and shielded lighting, reducing spill.
Focussed lighting of external areas
Parking and Traffic:
Implemented “Park and Walk” for all Premier League home games of which there are 9 per year. We recently requested that all the players and support staff of the eight teams that play on these 9 days to car pool, use public transport, cycle etc to the ground. And if they do drive then park at least 250 metres from the ground and walk. This way car parking will be dispersed over a much greater area and put less pressure on the area in the immediate vicinity of the ground. We are very pleased with the enthusiastic take up of this initiative which will be on a permanent basis. *
Notices have been erected on club gates to ask all players and spectators to respect neighbours driveways and parking restrictions and to also be respectful when leaving.
Club representatives call council parking inspectors should they see any parking breaches.
Regular communications to Club members on parking via social media
Banned activities - The club has always had, or has implemented the following:
No banging on signage
No drums or other musical instruments when supporting
No club song. We try to prevent other clubs singing their song by beating them!
No PA on the ground other than the annual community open day
No siren
Bi annual community meetings
The club will hold meetings for community attendance every six months at the clubrooms to collaborate with residents on good neighbour strategies and implementation.
Please do not hesitate to call either myself or our Club Secretary John Unkles 0417 258 396 if you wish to discuss any matter in relation to the club.
Simon Winter
President
0488 661 237
president@camberwellhockeyclub.com.au
*Please understand that our women are exempt when their games start at 5pm as we want them to be safe walking to their cars.