The recreation facilities are housed on the grounds of Marist College Bendigo and have been funded by both the school and the City of Greater Bendigo, which have contributed $4 million each to the project.

The facilities will be used by the school during school hours and available for community use at other times.

The facilities to be constructed include a community pavilion with a social room, meeting room, kiosk, commercial kitchen, change rooms, a single-court stadium and an oval.

A second oval, a car park and a set of basketball and netball courts have already been completed.

Mayor Rod Fyffe said the participation of both the council and the school in the project would maximise use of the facilities.

“Maiden Gully is one of the fastest growing residential areas in Bendigo and the community will need access to great facilities like this,” Cr Fyffe said.

He said the partnership also made financial sense for the council, reducing the cost it spent on providing such facilities.

“We get the facilities for half the price,” Cr Fyffe said.

Marist College Bendigo principal Darren McGregor said the project had been four years in the making, with the school and the council working in partnership from the start with the goal of providing shared facilities.

“Through all this work we will have fantastic facilities for learning and fantastic facilities for the community, so it’s a win-win,” Mr McGregor said.

He said the facilities would provide a gathering space for the school, which was looking at a population of about 600 students next year.

Mr McGregor said the school currently had no such space.

There was also room for future expansion as the community and demands for more facilities grew, he said.

Cr Fyffe said he believed this partnership was a model that would be used to deliver facilities and services in the future.

The project is on track for completion by the start of next year.