BENDIGO council will join the Campaspe Shire council in a bid to build one of the largest equestrian centres outside of Melbourne on the Elmore Field Days site.
The project, driven by the Elmore Events Centre, recreational horse groups, and now local government, proposes to capitalise on the growing popularity of horse sports in the region, but avoid the large-scale costs of developing a facility from scratch.
Last night Bendigo council pledged $25,000 towards the project as part of the collaborative support to include the two councils, state and federal governments, totalling $250,000.
Stage one of the proposal includes two main arenas, including a one-hectare show arena for showjumping and other events, as well as six dressage areas and stables.
A further stage of the project anticipates developing a major indoor arena.
Cr Kevin Gibbins said the council’s recreational officers had been trying to develop a similar project since 2002, but had been impeded by the huge capital costs of a stand-alone facility so the shared project was an ideal opportunity.
He said the facility would cater for a huge and growing equine industry that provided up to 65 different occupations.
He said the demand on peak facilities such as Werribee showed how timely the decision was.
‘‘The sport at Werribee is booked out every week, people can’t get in there, so this opportunity is ripe for the picking,’’ he said.
Cr Gibbins said the Elmore Events Centre, over three major events including the Jamboree and Field Days, had netted $300,000 after costs.
‘‘One of the strengths of this project is Elmore Events has proven its capacity to run major events,’’ Cr Julie Rivendell said.
Mayor David Jones said although the field days site was in the Shire of Campaspe, the funding partnerships showed how councils and higher tiers of government could work together to benefit the whole region.
City Futures director Stan Liacos said the idea’s strength lay in building on existing infrastructure when for large parts of the year the facilities were underutilised.
He said Elmore’s central location would hold advantages for horse lovers across the north of Victoria and southern NSW wanting to attend fixtures, with the influx of events bringing a boon for tourism.