Petition updateSupport Our Community Yoga – Secure Facilities for All SeasonsPetition Update: Advocating for Better Yoga Facilities-2
vikas parashuramHomebush, Australia
Feb 19, 2025

Progress so far 
Thank you, everyone. Our petition has been acknowledged by the council, and we have received a response its not positive yet but council is aware of the community ask

Additionally, two correspondences from our local MPs  Hon Michelle Rowland and Hon Warren Kirby have reached the council.

Moreover, our honorable councillors Moninder Singh, Mohit Kumar, Pradeep Prathi, and social worker Ahalya are in communication with the council's administration.

Here is the correspondence I received from the council and at the bottom you will find my response.


Council's Response : 

We are legally constrained from operating our community centres at the time requested by Mr Parashuram. The operating hours of our community centres are prescribed in their development consents. The operating hours of The Ponds Community Hub are from 8am to 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 8am to midnight on Friday and Saturday. We are unable to provide use of the facility outside of those hours.

Mr Parashuram’s request for access to the amenities at Jonas Bradly Reserve is not as straightforward as it sounds. We readily provide access to the amenities block as part of a booking of the reserve. Linking access to the toilets to a booking ensures hirers of the reserve have use of the amenities and can monitor the safety and security of people using those facilities. The linkage also ensures our cleaning crews are aware of when the facilities have been used, and can service them in a timely manner. You will appreciate that allowing the opening of toilets in a relatively secluded location, early in the morning and of an evening, raises considerable risks both of anti-social behaviour and to members of the public. If the reserve is hired by an appropriately insured hirer who acknowledges their responsibility for safety and security during the booking process, we readily support their application.

Council appreciates the value of the activities Yoga group provide and assure us Council’s policies and procedures are in place to support and protect people in his position, and the wider community. While at times those policies may seem restrictive, they are designed to ensure safety.

You are quite correct that indoor facilities available to the public in the area of The Ponds are difficult to identify. The only obvious infrastructure in the area with potential space at the times you are seeking are the schools, the shopping centre and the nursing homes. Each of these are locally controlled and approaches would need to be made to individual principals or managers.

Our Clarifications and Ask  

I'd like to clarify a few points so that you and team can reconsider our request, as it genuinely serves the needs of hundreds of people in the vicinity:

We understand the constraints on Ponds Community Hub's early opening hours. We are looking for any indoor facility around the vicinity that we can book for our free yoga sessions during winter at 6 AM. Kindly advise.

Requesting access to toilets and lights in the early hours is based on necessity. Many elderly individuals, pregnant women, and parents with young children walk around at that time, and as a community, they need access to these facilities , this is not just the yoga community ask its for the wider community who access the park 
If we are granted access to the toilets, please be assured that the keys will be held by instructors or coordinators like myself. The facilities will be opened and used only as needed and not left open 

If council could kindly outline the prerequisites, we are happy to supply the necessary paperwork and P&L insurance or any document  that would grant us basic access to lights and toilets.

I assure you that the individuals who participate in our yoga sessions are well-behaved, clean, and tidy. They will not misuse the public facilities, and we will ensure that the toilets are closed and the lights turned off as soon as the session concludes.

As a proud resident of the esteemed Blacktown Council, I and many of my yoga community members have reached out to many honorable elected members, who represent us at various levels.

What's next?

Let's keep up the momentum and continue to engage with our esteemed council and local representatives to support this wonderful initiative.

I encourage you to join our Yoga with your family and friends. Thank you for your support!




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