The Victorian Government has provided Colac Otway Shire Council with a grant of $40,000 to create a community activity centre for Cressy residents, the Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney MP announced today.
Ms Tierney said the grant, along with $20,000 from the Council, will fund the upgrade of the Cressy Bowling Club in Lyons Street to establish an activity centre which provides a community space where local people can celebrate and hold meetings, fundraising events and family activities.
“This centre will help the town, which is still struggling from the closure of the Cressy Hotel, football club and cricket club – and the local primary school is scheduled to close at the end of this year,” Ms Tierney said.
“This project will give them a centrally located place where they can get together, have fun and build a renewed sense of community.
“The funding will be used to provide a new sheltered outdoor area with barbecues, picnic tables and seating as well as upgrading the floor and toilets of the club and developing the kitchen facilities to cater for community events.”
Ms Tierney said the Victorian Government recognises the importance of social infrastructure and is committed to ensuring that local people have access to the facilities they need in the places they live, to reduce the need to travel outside their region.
Funding for the centre is provided through the $43 million Sustainable Small Towns Development Fund, part of the Victorian Government’s Ready for Tomorrow regional blueprint.
“This means that small towns will receive stronger support than ever before from the share of funding available for development initiatives under our regional blueprint over the next five years.
“Every regional council also had to approve, and have a say on, their region’s strategic plan presented to the Victorian Government.
“This ensures that as regions grow, so does the prosperity and the number of opportunities for people living in regional communities.”
Ready for Tomorrow: A Blueprint for Regional and Rural Victoria, is the Victorian Government’s $631 million policy to generate new opportunities and build a prosperous and sustainable future for regional and rural Victoria.
Ready for Tomorrow is all about new initiatives that are creating more jobs, improving tertiary education opportunities, boosting support for businesses and industries and securing the regional and rural way of life.
