Painted Hills Recreation Reserve

Soccer has exploded in recent years as a result of the Socceroos’ success in recent World Cups, the development of the A-League and increased grassroots participation. With soccer well on its way to becoming Australia’s most popular sport, grounds are at a premium.

The City of Whittlesea recognised that it was time to redevelop Painted Hills Recreation Reserve from unusable swampland into a state-of-the-art FIFA-certified soccer ground and multipurpose pavilion to meet the needs of the area’s thriving soccer clubs and community at large.

The public tender for the work specified a company that not only could deliver on time and at the right price, but was also already listed as a preferred provider for the City of Whittlesea.

Enter Joslyn Group. We worked alongside our partners, Kendall Constructions – a leading builder – to provide a quality outcome for the natural and synthetic turf grounds.

Swamps, like those at Painted Hills, can cause a significant issue for sports fields if the drainage is not correctly completed from the outset. Poor drainage results in a variety of surface problems, such as a bumpy field, pooling water and an unpleasant experience underfoot. Part of Joslyn Group's underlying commitment was to get the surface absolutely spot on before any turf was laid. 

We began with the natural turf field. We had existing services running through the field that needed protection throughout the construction, such as existing drainage lines, so we shaped the subgrade to meet the design specification to have the drainage system working correctly. Next we imported 200mm of sandy loam material as the growing medium for the turf, and installed the irrigation system and the sub-surface drainage system. The health of the soil is key to the success of natural turf, so we augmented the soil with fertilisers, before installing the fencing and concrete kerbs, and laying the Santa Ana Couch turf.  

For the synthetic field, we stripped the topsoil from the site and imported a capping layer – a layer of soft rock – to the field. A drainage system was installed, along with kerbs and fencing. We applied two layers of PVC membrane for extra durability, before adding a 250mm layer of crushed rock underneath the Polytan synthetic turf system. The membrane is crucial as it protects the subgrade from moisture, which in turn minimises the swelling and shrinking of the ground and therefore further movement in the future.

The end result is natural and synthetic FIFA-certified sporting fields that, while beautiful to look at, also hold up against the rigour of regular soccer training and matches.

• End-to-end project management of civil works
• Civil construction and earthworks
• Natural and synthetic turf
• Concrete paths and kerbs
• Fencing
• Drainage
• Soil augmentation
• Irrigation system installation

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