Today children checked out the new Strathfieldsaye Early Years Hub for the first time at its official opening.

The new building is just up the road from the old early years facility but it is one huge leap ahead, Strathfieldsaye Kindergarten Parent Committee president Kim Alexander said.

“The old kinder is really in a state of disrepair,” she said.

“The ladies have done a great job making it function every day but in the summer it is excessively hot and the cooling doesn’t really keep up. The facilities inside really are too small for the number of kids we’ve got there.”

The new facilities are certainly more spacious, with the City of Greater Bendigo’s Alicia O’Brien saying it would cater to people expected to settle nearby over the next 20 to 30 years.

“We’ve seen huge population growth over the past, probably, five years, which we expect to continue,” she said.

There are already hopes to expand four-year-old and three-year-old services in the new building, which also can cater to more maternal child health professionals.

Ms Alexander said it had taken 10 years’ worth of committee members’ hard work raising funds for equipment.

“I really came in towards the end of that, so those people should be recognised,” Ms Alexander said.

The committee, Shine Bright and the Strathfieldsaye Community Enterprise Foundation chipped in $60,000 for the new facility. Meanwhile, the council spent $650,000 and the state government $3,000,000.