THE Coonawarra Soldiers Memorial Community Hall will have a fresh look when it celebrates its centenary at the end of 2019 after it received a $77,545 federal funding windfall.
Announced yesterday by Member for Barker Tony Pasin, the Building Better Regions Fund third round grant will help the community facility realise its vision for a $168,000 stage one project to revitalise the hall.
Speaking to The Pennant yesterday afternoon, Coonawarra Soldiers Memorial Community Hall committee member Brian Smibert said the funding was welcome news.
“The hall has not had upgrades in a number of years so this funding will go an exceptionally long way,” he said.
“The $168,000 project is stage one of the overall concept, with a focus on upgrading the amenities and improving the recreation area.
“We will celebrate the centenary of the first stone laid at the hall this year so it is important we complete these upgrades for this purpose.”
The funding will go towards upgrading the men’s toilets, installing a disabled toilet and overall improvements to the hall.
Mr Smibert said the committee was grateful for Mr Pasin’s support, stating the hall held upwards of 100 functions a year and said the upgrade was much needed.
“It is great that Tony has recognised we really did need this money,” he said.
“On top of our functions we have monthly community dinners and we would struggle to meet what is required at these events without an upgrade.”
With planning under way, construction will start early next month but Mr Smibert believes there will be no impact on hall availability.
“I think we should be able to work around it so we will not have to close it at all during the work,” he said.
“Once the first stage is complete we hope to complete some other minor things like painting the interior and such, but this money will tackle the majority of the work needed.”
Mr Pasin said the Federal Government investment in local projects under round three would help grow the economy and build a strong future for Australia’s regions.
“It is projects such like this that make our regional communities even better places to live, work and raise a family and I’m excited to see the positive difference this funding will make to the community,” Mr Pasin said.
“We are supporting our regions through investing in important local infrastructure, as well as great community-building and planning initiatives under the Building Better Regions Fund and other government priorities such as the Regional Growth Fund and our decentralisation agenda.
“In this round we are also investing more than $70m in regional tourism infrastructure, to support those many regional communities that rely on tourism to bolster their economy.
“We have seen fantastic outcomes from the first two rounds and today’s announcement continues our commitment to unlocking the economic potential of regional Australia and ensuring our regions continue to thrive.”
