Bellingen’s Memorial Hall will be at the top of council’s priority list in its application to the NSW government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund second round of grants.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Stronger Country Communities Fund is for infrastructure projects in regional NSW communities that improve the lives of residents and enhance the attractiveness of these areas as vibrant places to live and work.
At last night’s council meeting in Urunga, Mark Oliver from the Memorial Hall volunteer management committee described the heritage-listed building as “the most important cultural and arts venue in the shire”, able to host a huge range of festivals and events, from music and film to theatre and dancing.
He said it was taken for granted that Bellingen had a hall like this, but it did not magically come about, it was the result of decades of work by volunteers, and the age of the building and the heavy use it received meant ongoing effort was required to maintain and upgrade its facilities.
Things currently most in need of attention, he said, were the run-down toilets, which have no disabled access and the tired front facade and foyer area, which need repainting.
Council’s Deputy General Manager Operations Matt Fanning also noted that structural assessments currently underway may indicate other areas that need work.
In his address to council, Mark mentioned an unused resource – the upstairs, which could be renovated to offer three offices and a shared kitchen, with the revenue stream potentially being used to fund an administrative position and help with building maintenance.
One of the 20 attendees in the public gallery, Georgina Spinaze, later said she remembered visiting the dentist upstairs at the Memorial Hall when she was a child.
Applications to the Stronger Country Communities Fund for less than $1 million do not require a co-contribution from council, and for this round, half of the projects must be sports-related, which can include pathways and cycleways.
The list of projects that will be put forward, in priority order and with indicative amounts, are:
- Bellingen Memorial Hall Refurbishment ~ $500,000
- Mylestom pathway, accessible platform and North Beach Surf Club Rehabilitation project ~ $400,000
- Dorrigo Tennis Court ~ $50,000
- Dorrigo to Dangar Falls Shared Pathway (stage one) $200,000
- Urunga Boardwalk Stage 1 upgrade ~ $110,000
- Coronation Park Refurbishment project ~ $386,000
- Urunga Inclusive Pathways project ~ $500,000
Related content