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THE Bendigo netball community has welcomed $80,000 of proposed funding for change rooms at the Queen Elizabeth Oval.
Having last year highlighted the “primitive” facilities for women at the city’s premier sporting venue, Cath Robertson was delighted the City of Greater Bendigo was intending to invest in their improvement.
Included in the council’s draft 2017/18 budget was $80,000 for the design of netball change rooms at the QEO.
Also listed was $680,000 for construction of a new entry, kiosk and public toilets, and $250,000 of additional funding for spectator shelters. Shelters were also funded in the current budget.
“It’s a fantastic outcome,” Mrs Robertson, of the Sandhurst Football Netball Club, said.
“We’re really proud of the council for getting on board and actioning what they’d promised in the master plan.”
The City of Greater Bendigo will seek to appoint an architect as soon as possible, once the budget is adopted, active and healthy communities manager Lincoln Fitzgerald said.
He expected the design process for the new netball change rooms to take about 12 months.
“The design process is likely to include consultation with user groups, peak sporting associations and local residents, Mr Fitzgerald said.
“The design will also include investigation of factors such as planning and building permit requirements, consolidation of buildings, sympathetic/complementary design and utilities/services, soil capacity and contamination, native vegetation and landscaping.”
The netball change rooms were listed in the Rosalind Park Recreation Reserve Precinct Master Plan and Management Framework as a high priority, to be completed within five years.
“The master plan was adopted approximately two years ago and this timing is consistent with the necessary timing to design, consult, obtain permits and build the facility,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
The city is hopeful a construction of the new change rooms will take place during the 2018/19 financial year.
“Once design is complete, a bid for funding for construction can be made and external funding can be sought,” Mr Fitzgerald said.