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The Moorabool News – 8 March, 2022 Page 3
SHOVEL READY – (Left) Member for Melton Steve McGhie (middle) joined Moorabool Mayor Cr Tom Sullivan (left) and Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle, turnover the first shovel load for the new pavilion works at Darley Park. (Above) The site for the new pavilion at Darley Park. Photos – Helen Tatchell
New footings dug
By Lachlan Ellis The clubrooms at Darley Park have been knocked down, and Councillors have joined State MPs and local sporting club representatives to mark the beginning of the new long-awaited Darley Park Pavilion project. Mayor Cr Tom Sullivan joined Crs Dudzik, Berry and Edwards, alongside State MPs Steve McGhie (Melton) and Michaela Settle (Buninyong) and tenant club members, to turn the first sod on Wednesday 2 March. Council and the tenant clubs – Darley Football Netball Club (DFNC), Darley Junior Football Netball Club (DJFNC) and Darley Cricket Club – have advocated for State Government funding for years, culminating in a $2.5 million grant, awarded under the Growing Suburbs Fund (GSF). A further $1.1 million has been contributed by Council, while the DFNC provided $481,000 for the project. Cr Sullivan said it was wonderful to see the project finally getting off the ground. “This project has been a long time in the making, and we’re very grateful to have received funding from the State Government’s Growing Suburbs Fund to go with contributions from Council and the Darley Football Netball Club to give the club a state-of the art facility,” he said. “These collaborative-type ventures are the best kinds of projects; people have pride and ownership over the project itself…there’s a lot of buy-in from user groups.” The new multi-purpose pavilion will benefit not just the tenant clubs, but the whole community, with large community rooms and meeting rooms, technology to support learning opportunities, female-friendly change facilities, and upgraded change facilities for umpires in the pipeline. East Ward Councillor David Edwards played a major role in getting peri-urban councils, including Moorabool, eligible for funding under the GSF, during his time on the Peri Urban Group of Rural Councils (PUGRC). He told the Moorabool News it was rewarding to see the old clubrooms going down, and was looking forward to seeing the new pavilion later this year. “I think it’s fantastic, this is something the Peri Urban Group advocated for for ten years, and I was Chair for five of those years. Steve McGhie came along and had a bit of a vision of what it could do for our communities…he advocated strongly and finally convinced the Government,” Cr Edwards said. “This is the first of three projects that have already been approved in a short period of time. It’s a game changer for our communities, no longer do we have to wait until we’re way too many facilities short, we can start to build those facilities as the community grows.
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“It’s a really important fund I hope the Government continues to deliver.” Steve McGhie said he was thrilled to see Moorabool and other peri-urban councils added to the GSF, after his advocacy. “Two years ago, myself and Michaela advocated for the Growing Suburbs Fund to be provided to peri-urban councils such as Moorabool…up until then, they weren’t entitled to be in the Growing Suburbs Fund pool,” he said. “I put it in a budget bid back in 2020, that there either needs to be a separate fund for periurban councils, or they should be included in the Growing Suburbs Fund pool. I’m pleased to say that in the November 2020 budget, with the support of the Local Government Minister Shaun Leane and Treasurer Tim Pallas, peri-urban councils got included in the Growing Suburbs Fund. “Through the good work of Council, and through the support of State Government, these projects can be built.” The Darley Park Pavilion is expected to be completed this October.
FUTURE FUNDING PLANS Over an 18-month period, Moorabool has received $9.5 million from the State Government under the Growing Suburbs Fund – but Council CEO Derek Madden said there were still ideas that needed investment. “We have a list of projects that we see the Growing Suburbs Fund potentially adding to, one is the Racecourse Reserve, but also we have an exciting project at the Lawn Bowls Facility in Bacchus Marsh,” Mr Madden said. “Also, we have some smaller projects that aren’t the big-ticket items that we want to use funding for. We’ve been successful in some small projects such as Mill Park (Ballan), but in addition we want to spread the funding around the Shire as best we can, and ensure it’s spread evenly throughout the Shire which is dealing with growth in many areas, not just Bacchus Marsh and Ballan.” Mr Madden said the Moorabool Aquatic and Recreation Centre (MARC) could also potentially receive partial funding under the GSF. “It is a big project…we are hoping that both Federal and State Government will come to the party this year, and give $15 million each to Moorabool Shire for the development of the aquatics facility,” he said.
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