If you grew up in Canberra, you might have fond memories of the capital's only outdoor water park, Big Splash.
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you → grow → park
It had been a public swimming pool in Macquarie in Canberra's north before it was bought by a family in the 90s and transformed into an attraction of slides.
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it → buy → slides
That family sold up, and for the past couple of years the water park has been an increasingly dilapidated husk of its former self.
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park → sell → self
The state of the park, and several broken promises over its unrealised reopening, have caused frustration.
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state → cause → frustration
And anyone still hoping the water park will feature in their summer plans is likely to be left high and dry.
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park → hop → plans
Why isn't the government taking over?
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government → take → ?
The community has been frustrated by the lack of ACT government enforcement in relation to the site.
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community → frustrate → site
The government has been asked several times why it does not purchase, restore and publicly run the park.
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it → ask → park
It has never ruled that out, but said its strong preference was for the park to remain privately operated.
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park → rule → that
ACT government regulator Access Canberra has the capacity to issue a controlled activity order, which carries a penalty of up to $48,600, or to terminate the lease of the land completely.
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which → have → land
So far, the government has refused to be drawn on exactly what it would take to enact those processes.
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it → refuse → processes
Who owns Big Splash water park?
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Who → own → park
The original Big Splash operators ran the park for decades before the lease was sold during the pandemic for a reported $7.5 million.
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lease → run → million
Like much of the capital, Big Splash is on a 99-year crown lease, which was last renewed 20 years ago.
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which → renew → lease
The lease conditions for the 13,000-square-metre parcel of land stipulate that it must house either an aquatic facility, an indoor sports facility, or an unlicensed family restaurant.
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it → stipulate → facility
The lessee, Translink Management Group, signed the contract in 2021, with the clauses unchanged.
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clauses → sign → 2021
Why hasn't Big Splash reopened?
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Splash → reopen → ?
After closing in 2024, the site was slated to reopen in November 2025, but the lessee did not deliver and blamed rising repair costs.
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lessee → close → costs
That same month, the ACT government confirmed the lessee had ambitions for the site to be rezoned for residential use, but that desire was shot down by the government, which said it had no plans for the area to be used for anything but its recreational purpose.
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area → confirm → purpose
In April this year, Access Canberra decided against following through on a threat to terminate the lease, saying it was satisfied the owners had made moves to reopen the facility's 50-metre pool before next summer.
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owners → decide → summer
In June this year, the water park was put up for sale.
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park → put → sale
At the time, work to fix the main pool and ticketing facilities was set to continue, but recent images of the property tell a different story.
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images → fix → story
The ABC has been told no acceptable offer was received during the expressions of interest process and the property remains available for purchase.
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property → tell → purchase
Financiers have taken over decision-making
Labor MLA for Ginninderra Tara Cheyne recently confirmed the person behind Translink Management Group was no longer calling the shots.
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person → take → shots
"I've met with these people now who have taken over and they are different to the person who effectively let Big Splash go into disrepair,"Ms Cheyne said.
"
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Cheyne → meet → disrepair,"Ms
They are the people who lent the money to him ... basically a small financing business running out of Sydney."
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who → lend → Sydney
She described the group as "genuine".
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She → describe → group
On Wednesday, the ACT government said it feared its latest deadline for the pool to reopen would not be met.
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pool → say → Wednesday
And ACT Planning Minister Chris Steel announced a "comprehensive options analysis", which would ask for public feedback.
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which → announce → feedback
But that solution was criticised by the ACT Greens, who insisted it was already clear the community wanted a water park.
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community → criticise → park
Just a day later, on Thursday, the owners of Big Splash announced they would comply with their lease requirements by operating an unlicensed family restaurant at the site by November.
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they → announce → November
Head of Access Canberra Josh Rynehart confirmed a temporary way to do that could be to put a food van on the site.
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way → confirm → site
There are two possible outcomes as November approaches:
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November → be → ?
The first is that a food outlet pops up and authorities are temporarily satisfied.
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authorities → pop → ?
Though, many in the community will likely be unhappy, including the Save Big Splash group.
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many → include → group
The second is that the deadline comes and goes with inaction, leading to renewed questions over enforcement.
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deadline → come → enforcement
There is a third, wildcard option, which could see the property sold.
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property → be → ?
But that would not guarantee the buyer would be interested in restoring the water park.
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buyer → guarantee → park
The ABC has been told a builder has been engaged, with a deposit paid, in a bid to house a restaurant on the site by November.
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deposit → tell → November
The Aporia