THE City of Melville is spending almost $3 million on the former Leeming Recreation Centre despite the building being run by a private company.

Striker Indoor Sports and Fitness has been the main tenant since 2009, with kindy and performing arts areas leased to the Department of Education. 

Leeming resident Con Abbott was a staunch opponent of the centre’s privatisation under former mayor Russell Aubrey and says the City’s capital works budget for 2024-25 “piqued” his interest. 

It shows the City will be spending $2 million to fix the roof and $591,548 on a car park upgrade which has already begun. 

“I’d lost interest in the facility, until I saw the capital works and thought, ‘hang on a minute, why are we investing all this money into what is essentially an investment asset? 

“Is the return on investment that good?’”

• Leeming’s Con Abbott. Photo by Katherine Kraayvanger

Despite hours of investigation in his own time, neither the City nor Striker would let him see the lease agreement, arguing it was “commercial in confidence”.

“I don’t know the deal, I don’t know what they’re paying annually, I don’t know what the time frame is,” Mr Abbott complained.

“I don’t even know the long-term plan, whether at the end of the lease, there is a plan to return it back to being a community asset, or alternatively, it’s just not renew and set and forget.

“Sunlight is a great disinfectant, and I think it would be helpful to know what is the future of that, because we lost our community facility 15 years ago,” Mr Abbott said. 

“It was our community facility and it was the hub of our suburb.

“It’s still a thorn in the side for many residents.”

Mayor Katy Mair says the City is “obligated” to pay for the upgrades through its lease agreement and had been working with Striker on the plan since 2023. 

“The City has previously replaced portions of the roof, including the performing arts and kindy areas in 2010, and there will be some remediation works in these areas as part of the upcoming roof and ventilation works project.”

Striker Indoor Sports and Fitness was contacted.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER