The North Central Real Estate Digital Edition
City of Outages
FOR SOME residents of Wallan, Hidden Valley and surrounding areas, just the sound of rain on the roof can send them on a trip around the house to make sure everything’s in order in case the lights go out.
A backup supply of batteries to keep torches lit is a must, and some have resorted to hanging fairy lights in preparation for the seemingly inevitable blackouts.
It’s the routine that many have learned as a result of a continual battle with power outages for years now.
But energy provider AusNet has confirmed with the Review that a new substation on Old Sydney Road to ease the stress on current energy supplies is now under construction.
According to local residents, outages in Wallan and the surrounding areas are nothing new. For Hidden Valley’s Gail (surname withheld), it’s something that has plagued her house since she moved there early in 2009.
She told the Review that although the outages cause problems, she has been affected more by the power surge that follows, with electricians attributing motherboard failures with her spa, evaporative cooler and fridge to this issue.
Electricity providers encourage households to unplug appliances to protect themselves from surges, but when outages hit at unexpected times, this fail-safe falls by the wayside.
“Those quick flick-off, flick-on outages are the ones that we just can’t do anything about, and we don’t know what’s causing them,” Gail said.
But the effects on local business are much more dire, losing prime operating hours to unplanned outages that have left some with no option but to close up until the lights came back on.
Last Sunday’s outage, which affected nearly 6000 customers in Wallan due to a broken overhead high-voltage powerline, took place during the mid-morning peak period for many food businesses.
Although an AusNet spokesperson said a majority of customers were back on within an hour or so, it still proved a headache with bakeries having to discard partially baked bread and dine-in venues forced to turn people away.
One of those affected was Open House Café, located on the High Street strip to the south of Wellington Square, Wallan.
“The recent power outages have become a significant concern for us,” a spokesperson for the café said.
“Experiencing disruptions on Sundays – one of our busiest trading days – and again on Mondays over the past few weeks has forced us to close the business on multiple occasions.”
The outages have proved to be a double blow for High Street businesses who are grappling with reduced trading as a result of the upgrades at the Northern Highway/Watson Street intersection.
A number of businesses visited by the Review shared stories of a reduction in customers. “The combination of reduced access and repeated power interruptions is placing considerable strain on our operations,” the Open House Café spokesperson said.
These issues were substantiated by other food providers in the same Wallan shopping precinct, including Le’s Bakery and Jamz Fish and Chips.
The AusNet spokesperson said the construction of the new power station will take six to 12 months to complete, but short term fixes are also in the works.
Mitchell Shire Council CEO Mary Agostino said: “Council has been working with AusNet to support temporary measures aimed at improving reliability while longer-term infrastructure upgrades are progressed.”
“This has included assisting with approvals for temporary generator banks located in Wallan to help support the local electricity network during periods of high demand.”
“We acknowledge that these outages are frustrating for residents and businesses.”
Current supply to Wallan comes from the Kalkallo Zone Substation with two feeders supplying more than 7,000 customers in the township.
The new substation, located near the sub-transmission line on the western side of Beveridge, will service the growing community in the northern growth corridor, including parts of Wallan, with planning documents showing that additional feeder networks will help ease the existing overload on current electricity sources well into the future.
The AusNet spokesperson told the Review that they are also currently doing further investigations into the reliability in the Wallan region.
“In our immediate plans we have identified 14 hazardous trees for removal in the coming months. These trees are located near the powerlines supplying Wallan.”
Ms Agostino said the council is aware of the plans for a new substation, which have been approved by the Victorian Minister for Planning and will take 6-12 months to be completed.
“Council will continue working collaboratively with AusNet and other relevant agencies to support long-term improvements to power reliability in Wallan and surrounding areas,” Ms Agostino said.
In the meantime, residents will have to continue to put up with their power-outage problem child.
Heat over RSL base
DEBATE has heated up over a home for the Doreen RSL.
Court of people power – that’s where the City of Whittlesea is heading for a verdict over the use of Doreen’s Brookwood Community Centre.
The council is seeking feedback from residents, regular hirers, and the wider community on a proposal to lease only a part of the centre to the Doreen RSL, and keeping the rest for community use, as decided at its April 21 meeting.
But in a tough message, Federal Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell last Friday called on the council to stop the delays and support the Doreen RSL.
“I am committed to delivering a proper home for the Doreen RSL, for its members and for our community,” Mr Mitchell said.
“I don’t want to see this important project go the way of the Mernda Pool, with endless consultation by the City of Whittlesea that ends up delivering nothing for our community.
“For over a decade since former Cr John Butler pushed the City of Whittlesea to provide assistance to the RSL to establish a home, the council have dragged their feet.”
In April last year, the Federal Government committed $1.6 million for the establishment of a permanent base for the Doreen RSL at the council-owned Brookwood Community Centre on Hazel Glen Drive.
The centre operates as a community facility, offering three spaces for casual and regular hire, with nine regular hirers at present.
Mr Mitchell said if the City of Whittlesea is serious about supporting the veterans, it would be spending more time delivering a real solution on this and less on forcing veterans to justify access to what the Royal Commission into Veteran Suicide has called an essential service.
“Through their preferred option, the council is deliberately setting the RSL up to fail,” Mr Mitchell said.
“The City of Whittlesea have been disingenuous in the way they have dealt with the RSL and it is beyond disappointing that council has decided at the eleventh hour to again abandon our veteran community who just want a place to call home.
“If the City of Whittlesea thinks they can act as an overbearing parent and prohibit veterans from watching sport socially in their own RSL, they misunderstand the freedoms our veterans have fought for. It’s beyond parody.
“Community assets must be for appropriate community use, and preferring use by a commercial business over providing a proper home to the RSL is not only misguided but also shows just how out of touch this council is. Ratepayers deserve much better.
“It has become typical of the City of Whittlesea to blame community groups for the council’s failure to ensure we have adequate facilities to support our growing community. Community groups shouldn’t be forced to fight over the scraps.”
Doreen RSL President Wes Wridgway told the Review: “Only being offered part of the premises is not ideal for the RSL. To be honest we have already outgrown a space that size, but let’s see what happens during the community consultation process.”
Mr Wridgway said the RSL would just like a premises of its own where the veterans can meet and socialise and feel safe.
“At the moment we only meet once a week at somebody else’s facility and have nowhere to go on any other day,” he said.
The Doreen RSL, formed in 2017, has 250 members, and meets at the Laurimar Sporting Club every Friday night. The 2021 census showed there were more than 600 veterans in the Doreen and Mernda areas, and they could benefit from the Doreen RSL facilities, Mr Wridgway said.
Mayor Lawrie Cox said the council’s preferred option for the Brookwood Community Centre aims to meet the needs of both the Doreen RSL and the wider community through a shared use arrangement of the centre.
Anyone providing feedback can also have their submission heard at a Hearing of Submissions Committee Meeting on June 11 in South Morang.
Following the consultation period, a report will be prepared and presented at the July 21 council meeting for a decision.
Community members can also provide feedback at engage.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/brookwoodleasing from now until May 31.
Romsey bested by Riddell rampage
AN eight goal to one second quarter blitz from Riddell’s senior men proved the difference in their Riddell District Football Netball League (RDFNL) matchup against Romsey on Saturday afternoon.
The Redbacks were looking to follow up their thrilling four-point win over Woodend-Hesket against the reigning premiers who have had a slow start to the season but finally got on the winner’s list last week with a 115-point drubbing of Lancefield.
It was the home side who jumped out of the gates thanks to two goals from Josh Crump and another to spearhead Jack Jedwab.
Jack added another late in the quarter to maintain some breathing room going into quarter time, but the game turned quickly in the second term.
Six unanswered goals and eight of the nine majors kicked for the quarter meant the Bombers held a handy 24-point advantage at half time.
A settler for the younger Jedwab, Charlie, was quickly matched by the visitors after a costly 50-metre penalty gave them an easy set shot.
Corey Pertzel channelled his inner Tim Cahill not long after, blasting a volley through from the goal square, however Romsey missed a number of opportunities in the middle of the quarter to drag themselves back into it.
Riddell tried to take the sting out of the game with two quick goals early in the last, and despite a late flash from Romsey’s forward line, ran out victors 119-87.
Crump and Pertzel were named among the best, and were joined by Ethan Beer who toiled hard in defense.
The tough year continued for the Romsey reserves side, falling to their fourth loss from four games. They went down 76-27, while the under-19.5s lost their matchup by 65 points.
Meanwhile, Lancefield’s own struggles are becoming worse following a six-goal loss to Melton Centrals.
It was an unusual week for Lancefield whose training facilities were hampered by copper thieves (story on page 2), and conceding a goal in the first minute of action in the seniors footy wouldn’t have provided any relief from the long trek to the city’s west.
The Tigers fired through three consecutive goals either side of the opening break to take the lead, and kept themselves within 12 points heading into the last with another burst of four unanswered goals late in the third term.
However the home side kicked the last four to seal their second win of the season and keep Lancefield firmly at the bottom of the RDFNL senior men’s football ladder.
The addition of lanky teenager Logan Collins provided another target, and his two-goal performance was an equal-best return for the Tigers alongside Leroy Ristevski.
Ristevski was in the best once again along with Tully Fattore, Ben Sankey and John Anstey.
Results didn’t fall in favour of the reserves or under-19.5s who were beaten by 79 and 48 points respectively.
On the netball courts, Lancefield swept the Centrals in all grades. It remains unbeaten in second-place on the ladder after a 48-goal shellacking in the A-grade, highlighted by another dominant display by Shanae Brundell.
She poured in a ridiculous 69 goals from just 80 attempts and now leads the competition in scoring through five rounds.
B-grade notched its fourth win in a row, and the D-grade side are now 5-0 after a 41-10 win.
Romsey couldn’t snare its first win of the year in the A-grade competition, losing by 13 against Riddell. It was a different story for the B-grade side who continued their unbeaten run, while the Redbacks’ D-grade team also got a win.
Heading into round 6 this weekend, Romsey will be looking to prove itself against an impressive Macedon outfit when the Cats come to town, while Lancefield will welcome Woodend-Hesket.
Wallan is back in action this week in a must-watch clash in the senior men’s footy against an undefeated Diggers Rest team.
The Burras thumped the Gisborne Giants by 179 points on Saturday thanks to a 15-goal haul from former Richmond and Carlton player Callum Moore.
The winner of that will cement themselves on top of the ladder, and push their case to be the outright favourite in the competition.
Mernda delivers big win on Life Members Day
IN FRONT OF Collingwood legend Tony Shaw and a big crowd at Waterview Reserve, Mernda produced a solid performance to deal with a struggling Kinglake outfit in division 3 of the Northern Football Netball League (NFNL).
The Demons entered the match with strong form this season, dropping only the one game to Laurimar in round 2 but they found themselves in a dogfight early with the Lakers taking a one-point quarter time lead.
A four-goal-to-one second quarter got them into a little bit of a lead at half time with the scoreboard reading 43-20, but inaccurate kicking was holding them back from pulling away properly.
Two goals each from James Sekulovski and Lincoln Coffey in the third term alongside singles to Bradyn Thomsett and Lachlan Taylor meant the game was wrapped up heading into the last but the home side made sure of it, kicking 7.7 in the final quarter.
An 80-point win probably didn’t paint the full picture of the day, with the Demons putting through 42 scoring shots to Kinglake’s 12.
The win takes Mernda to 3-1 for the year and it sits just below the ladder-leading duo of Ivanhoe and Laurimar.
More inaccurate kicking held the Demons back from an even bigger win against Kinglake in the reserves, running out winners 16.26 (122) to 1.6 (12).
Down the road in Laurimar, the Power once again showed their premiership credentials with a comfortable 67-point win over Heidelberg West.
Hosting the Hawks at Laurimar Reserve on Saturday, the home side slammed on three goals in the first six minutes to set the tone for the day, and already had five individual goalkickers going into the first break.
The game looked like it would get away from the Hawks during the second, but they clawed their way back with the final two goals of the quarter to keep the margin at 12 points.
Although Patrick Fitzgerald had already kicked three in the first half, his third quarter effort proved the difference in the game.
In a six-goal-to-one quarter, Fitzgerald nailed four of his own to take his tally for the day to seven, and he added another in the final term to take his yearly total to 35 in just five outings.
Hayden Trim added four to be named alongside Fitzgerald in the best, while Jesse Donaldson and Luke Wilson continued their streak of being named in the Power’s best.
In the reserves, Zac McMahon put on his best Fitzgerald impression to bag seven for himself as the Power surged to a 109-point win.
It wasn’t to be for the under-19.5s who fell to a powerful Whittlesea side by 19 points as the Eagles solidified themselves on top.
Up in division 2, Whittlesea’s senior men fought out a low-scoring battle with Panton Hill to win by eight points at AE Cracknells Reserve.
The visitors led at all breaks, but needed to hold on in the last quarter to keep a Panton Hill comeback at bay.
It was another inaccurate game with the first half offering a combined four goals to go with 18 behinds.
Caden Allen was brilliant once again and held on to his lead on top of the division 2 goalkicking leaderboard with another four goal performance, but it was Khaled El-Leissy’s performance that really caught the eye of onlookers.
The Eagles won a tight one in the reserves as well, out-pointing the Redbacks when it mattered most to win by five points.
A bag of five for Jarrod Lees and some clinical work from Mitch Taplin powered their side to a last quarter comeback which saw them kick four of the last five goals, including the final three on the trot.
South Morang sit just percentage behind Northcote Park at the top of the table after a solid outing in Thomastown to win 80-55.
The Lions took the lead after eight minutes but Thomastown scrapped together the only two goals of the second term to tied the scores at the half-time break.
The away side fought back hard in the third, pulling away thanks to five straight goals of their own.
They put another four goals on the Bears in the last quarter to hold them off, sealed by Ben Peterson’s second snag of the game.
Ben Power, Dean De Propertis and Christian Mardini were all standouts for South Morang, while Noah Cumberland continued his good form by kicking three and earning his spot alongside the others in the best.
It was an even more convincing result for the reserves side who knocked off Thomastown to move to 5-0 for the season, while the under-19.5s added another to the win column with a 71-31 win over Bundoora.
It will be a big day of footy this Saturday when the Lions host Fitzroy Stars in what should be a good matchup.
Whittlesea and Mernda will host Lower Plenty and Lalor respectively, and both sides will be looking to put some good footy together against lower ranked teams.
Laurimar will be hoping to continue their unbeaten start to the year when it heads to Reservoir to take on the Mustangs. But all eyes are on the upcoming round 8 clash with Ivanhoe to see who the true favourite of division 3 is.
In the netball, the season got properly underway across all grades with the conclusion of the grading rounds.
The top three grades have been set for a month now, so those competitions are starting to take shape.
Whittlesea 1 moved to 2-2 in division 1 with a 19-point win over the Heat, while down in division 3 their second team fell to North Heidelberg 35-17.
South Morang 1 couldn’t get over the top of Thomastown, but it was better news for Laurimar’s top two sides, winning by four in division 4 and 11 in division 6.
Wins were harder to come by in the lower grades, with South Morang 4 and Laurimar 4 the only of the remaining sides securing a win.
Sweeteners, but few lollies for region
WITH eyes set firmly on the November election, Treasurer Jaclyn Symes has delivered a budget full of sweeteners in the $13.8 billion spending, but very few lollies for Mitchell Shire and surrounding areas in that thick wad of cash handed out last Tuesday to woo voters.
Delivering an operating surplus of $1 billion for 2026-2027 in her second budget as Treasurer, and first since post-COVID, Ms Symes spruiked $1.04 billion as the State Government’s biggest roads investment and says 70 per cent of that will be spent on rebuilding, repairing, and resurfacing roads across northern Victoria. But the details are still not known.
The big-ticket items delivered as part of its cost-of-living package to Mitchell Shire and the rest of Victoria are free travel on public transport extended to this month, and half rates until the end of the year, and 20 per cent off car registrations, as part of the government’s $1 billion spending.
The free travel is claimed to save the average daily commuter in northern Victoria more than $1300.
Of the overall government spending splurge that is expected to reach $107.7 billion in 2026-27, another big spend is $29.85 million for more services on the Shepparton line, which includes Mitchell Shire.
Another budget goody is the $32.5 million commitment to extend a discount to April 21 next year on stamp duty for Victorians buying off-the-plan apartments, units and townhouses.
All this is spread on a platter in the presence of the big demon lurking as the state debt that is projected to hit $199.3 billion in 2029-30.
Other key items for Mitchell Shire and surrounding municipalities include:
• $250,000 for new cricket nets at Kilmore Cricket and Recreation Reserve.
• Additional classroom capacity with two modular classrooms for Broadford Secondary College.
• Funding to expand the Bring Your Bills program to the Mitchell LGA.
• $1.82 million for the Rural Financial Counselling Service, expanded to support geographical expansion to Mitchell Shire, offering free help to families doing it tough
• $2.3 million for land acquisition for a future, brand-new CFA station in Beveridge.
• $2 million for a new SES unit in Kalkallo, with new equipment, vehicles, volunteer recruitment and administration systems.
• Funding to deliver trains every 20 minutes on the Mernda Line all weekend. Bus services on Routes 589 and 525 will be improved with a $13.5 million package, alongside longer hours for Routes 386 and 387 on Monday to Thursday and Sunday.
• $1.8 million to improve pedestrian safety and bicycle parking at Donnybrook Station.
• $465,000 to convert the greens at Wallan Bowls Club from natural grass to synthetic turf
• $250,000 for a new playspace at Wallan East.
• $34 million for improving services at Craigieburn Community Hospital and $20.9 million to continue running nine Urgent Care Clinics, including Craigieburn Urgent Care Clinic.
• The budget also invests nearly $500 million to build and upgrade kinders and government-run childcare centres.
• $104 million to acquire land for future schools in high-growth areas, including a new primary school in the Mitchell LGA.
In the Macedon Ranges, Daylesford Primary School is receiving $6.7 million for an upgrade and modernisation, and Hesket Primary School gets $281,000 for capital improvements.
Ms Symes described the budget as ‘disciplined’ and said it will make life easier, safer and more affordable for families across the regional communities.
“We have invested more than $50 billion in regional Victoria, creating more jobs and services, while ensuring regional Victoria has the second lowest unemployment rate of anywhere in the country.”
Ms Symes, Member for Northern Victoria, said: “We know regional families in northern Victoria are feeling the pinch of higher transport and fuel costs.”
“This budget delivers direct relief for the household budget — slashing costs for those long drives with cheaper regional fares, and taking 20 per cent off car rego, saving a driver with one car up to $186, and a family with two cars up to $372.
“Regional Victoria is at the heart of this budget. We are investing $114 million in regional education. The $75 million Regional Health Infrastructure Fund will go towards supporting regional hospitals and health services. And we’re investing $20 million into the Future Regions Program to boost productivity, liveability and investment in Victoria’s regions.” Ms Symes said.
Member for Kalkallo Ros Spence said the budget delivers real cost-of-living relief for Kalkallo families with cheaper fares, rego rebate, and support for families with the cost of education.
“Only Labor is investing in Kalkallo’s future, upgrading Donnybrook Station, boosting local bus routes, and delivering a new SES unit and school upgrades.”
Member for Yan Yean Lauren Kathage said only Labor is delivering for Yan Yean families – with world-class health care and education for our growing community.
Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas said Labor is investing $1.1 million to continue the Healthy Loddon Campaspe program, helping people in Macedon stay active and eat well.
The budget delivers investment to upgrade Old Kyneton Primary School and open the space into a bold, inclusive community and creative hub.
But Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland described the budget as another bitter blow for regional Victoria, delivering more debt, more taxes and more broken promises.
“This is not a budget built on vision or accountability. It is a budget built on debt,” she said.
Ms Cleeland said planning for a Kilmore Secondary College has failed to progress, leaving families without certainty and reinforcing concerns that Labor has no real plan to deliver a public secondary school for one of Victoria’s fastest-growing regional communities.
At the same time, the Kilmore Bypass continues to symbolise Labor failure, with about $40 million spent since 2023 and still no meaningful work delivered on the ground.
Local schools across the electorate also missed out entirely, despite growing enrolments and increasing pressure on ageing infrastructure, while CFA volunteers were once again overlooked for critical upgrades and support.
Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said the Macedon electorate has missed out on funding for vital projects essential to supporting growth in the region, including Riddells Creek public infrastructure upgrades, and Lancefield Park Recreation Reserve redevelopment.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Acting President Peter Star said regional Victoria has been left wanting after the budget largely ignored much-needed critical funding and left unanswered questions for the state’s multi-billion dollar agriculture industry.
“For many this budget will be seen to kick the can down the road during an election year,” Mr Star said.
“The much-hyped $1.04 billion for road repairs and resurfacing is a step in the right direction, but fails to deliver the level of investment required to fix Victoria’s deteriorating road network.”
Mr Star said the budget has been sold as Victoria’s vision for the future, but is lacking when it comes to detail for regional Victoria.
Thieves cut key facilities
COPPER THIEVES left Lancefield Park in the dark after they stole more than 100 metres of cables from the recreation reserve’s power box last Monday, which also knocked out Telstra’s 4G mobile tower.
The outage, which was first reported on the Telstra Outages website at 6.40am on May 4, left the entire precinct without power and residents in the area experiencing reduced mobile coverage.
Crews were on the ground on Friday morning to begin restoration works, and were able to restore the park’s capabilities.
A spokesperson for the Lancefield Park Recreation Reserve Committee of Management told the Review that the theft had major impacts.
“Apart from the clubs not being able to use the lights or other training facilities, the toilets were needed to be closed because they’re septic and they need power to run,” they said.
Because Lancefield Park is one of 1500 Crown land reserves managed by voluntary committees of management, there were some initial concerns about where the funding to replace the cables would come from.
The committee told the Review it was in constant contact with a range of government and non-government organisations to ask for assistance, including the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), and the Macedon Ranges Shire Council.
On Wednesday afternoon, it received confirmation that DEECA would cover the costs of the repairs.
The committee spokesperson said they were thankful for the help from Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas to secure the funding.
“I appreciate DEECA working collaboratively with the Lancefield Park Committee to help support a positive outcome for the community,” Ms Thomas said.
According to the Telstra Outages website, a majority of Lancefield’s residents were impacted by reduced mobile phone coverage throughout the week, while full outages were experienced in the Cobaw area.
Telstra’s Regional Engagement Manager Marcus Swinburne said: “Unfortunately, without power cables, we (couldn’t) connect backup power either.”
“The impact of this sort of theft on customers can be significant, and despite our best efforts to repair and restore services quickly, businesses, individuals and critical community services can be disconnected for days.”
Lancefield Football Netball Club had to make some changes to run their training sessions in the lead-up to their away fixture against Melton Centrals, with the netball teams heading to Sunbury on Thursday to get their practice in.
The senior men’s team got a generator in to get an indoor session rolling in the newly upgraded Laurie Green Pavilion, while the women’s football team hit the streets for their cardio.
Condemnations of the thievery came through thick and fast, with the LPCoM calling it “a pretty low effort” while Macedon Ranges Shire Council Mayor Kate Kendall said she was disappointed to hear of another copper theft.
“We’ve unfortunately had to respond to a number of these instances ourselves at council-managed facilities in recent years,” she said.
Local police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Second stage of sports precinct under way
WHILE debate continues over the status of a new pool in Mernda, the next stage of Mernda’s regional sports precinct is getting under way.
The second stage of the project, located on Everton Drive, will see a modern indoor stadium built, which includes four multipurpose courts, as well as outdoor netball courts with lighting.
These facilities are designed to support a wide range of community sports and activities, creating more opportunities for people of all ages and abilities, particularly women and girls to participate.
The development will also include essential supporting infrastructure such as changerooms, a reception area, kiosk, outdoor pavilion, car parking, footpaths and landscaped open spaces, ensuring a welcoming and functional environment for players, families and visitors.
Stage two builds on significant early works already completed in stage one to prepare the site, including rock removal, land levelling, construction of retaining walls and the creation of a wetland to enhance the local environment and manage water on the site.
Stage three of the project includes aquatic and leisure facilities and the initial concept design work for this stage has been completed.
The City of Whittlesea said that from an overall business case budget of $180 million, $80 million from other levels of government had to be secured to help support the local investment into the precinct.
In total, the council has received $31.5 million in state and federal government co-contributions, with a promise of a further $10 million. This leaves a shortfall of $38.5 million from the required $80 million of co-contributions required in the initial business case.
City of Whittlesea Mayor Councillor Lawrie Cox said while the pool continues to be a subject of debate in Mernda, there needed to be a balance between what council could deliver.
Cr Cox said there were steps in place to make sure the precinct was viable.
“This project is council’s single biggest investment in a recreational facility in our history and we have had to take a staged approach to delivery to make it financially viable. Rising construction costs and the ongoing State Government rate cap have made it even more challenging to fully fund projects like this – that’s why our partnership approach with other levels of government is so important.
“This is not something we can deliver on our own … delivering this project in full will require substantial funding contributions from other levels of government.
“Council will soon consider the next stage of this project, and as always, our focus will be on making responsible decisions that delivers what matters most to our community.”
A report seeking council consideration of funding for the leisure and aquatic component of the project is scheduled to be presented before the end of the financial year.