$150,000 stage and rotunda for Tynwald Park

GRANTS of $242,000 have been approved for the Derwent Valley from the Federal Government’s $250 Million Community Infrastructure Program. Announcing the news today, Federal Lyons MHA Dick Adams described the funding as a shot in the arm for the local economy and local infrastructure. “The Rudd Government understands the importance of investing in community infrastructure in these tough economic times”, Mr Adams said.

The Derwent Valley Council will be asked to manage the $242,000 for local projects including: improvements to work on community halls at Granton, Molesworth, Westerway, Maydena, New Norfolk and Lachlan; refurbishment of the Bushy Park swimming pool; installation of barbecue facilities at the New Norfolk pool; stabilisation of the Lachlan riverbank and rehabilitation work to the Salmon Ponds ecosystem.

"Local projects like these are important in strengthening community bonds, and generating construction activity," Mr Adams said. "These projects will provide the community with better facilities and access to community infrastructure."

"The development of a rotunda and stage in Tynwald Park will provide a permanent space for the many outdoor functions that are held in the area. “Both tourists and the local community will benefit from many of the projects that are being funded. Work on these ready-to-go community projects will start in the near future. Without this important Federal funding, projects like these would have been kept in the too hard basket, and councils would not have been able to make these important infrastructure improvements," Mr Adams said.

The projects are as follows:

$150,000 Tynwald Park Stage and Rotunda: This project will build a stage facility and rotunda at Tynwald Park. The Derwent Valley Council holds numerous outdoor functions, some of which require a stage facility. Over the years it has met this need by hiring a stage or using the tray of a semi-trailer but this caused concern for some organisations, the elderly and disabled.

$25,000 Lighting Upgrade for Boyer Oval: Upgrading training lights at the oval will enable night football matches to be held. The work will be completed in stages and will be co-funded by the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program along with private and in-kind support. The project will involve contracting a lighting expert, the installation of light towers and the upgrading of the power supply as required.

$20,000 Bushy Park Memorial Swimming Pool Refurbishment: This project will undertake the refurbishment of the change rooms. It will remove the old internal partition and seating, strip the paint from the floor and walls and replace with tiles. There will be new electrical work for upgraded lighting.

$15,000 Salmon Ponds River Restoration: The aim of the project is to protect, enhance and restore key sections of the Plenty River to improve the health of the river, reduce downstream impacts and provide healthy habitats for native species including the platypus.

$5000 Derwent Valley Railway Preservation Society Storage Facilities: The proposal is to extend the current shed to enable restoration works to be undertaken under cover.

$5000 Upgrade of New Norfolk Tennis Club: The removal of asbestos roof cladding on the tennis clubhouse and replacing it with Colorbond steel. The northern end of the building will be re-stumped, and weatherboards removed and repainted.

$5000 New Norfolk Olympic Swimming Pool BBQ: This project will install a barbecue facility at the pool to encourage more family use of the pool.

$5000 Stabilisation of the Lachlan River Bank: The aim of the project is to protect, enhance and restore sections of the Lachlan River in order to improve the health of the river, reduce downstream impacts and provide healthy habitats for native species as well as widening parts of the adjacent walking track.

$2000 Westerway Hall Plumbing Upgrade: Usage of this hall is limited in the winter months due to freezing of the water line. The project will rectify this problem and upgrade plumbing fixtures in the toilets and kitchen.

$2000 Verandah Extension at Molesworth Hall: This project will contribute to the extension of the covered verandah area of the new hall.

$2000 Security Lighting at Granton Hall: This project will install security lighting to assist those leaving the hall at night.