City seeks cash for Eastwood overhaul

THE City of Ballarat has begun a push for State and Federal government funding for a planned overhaul of the Eastwood Leisure Complex.

The municipality is seeking a combined $13.7 million from both levels of government for works that would see the site, that’s 80 years old in parts, replaced with a new building.

“This is one of our busiest community facilities,” said mayor Cr Daniel Moloney. “Each year 60,000 users of all ages and from diverse backgrounds take part in activities across 14,000 programmed hours.

“While Eastwood is bustling with activity throughout the year, the original part of the building has been on the site since the 1940s and along with more recent extensions is reaching the end of its useful life.

“The reality is the layout is dated, inflexible and is not coping with increasing user numbers and changing community expectations.”

Located between Eastwood Street and Steinfeld Street North, the complex plays host to the Ballarat Wildcats Basketball Club, the University of the Third Age and more than 100 other groups and events.

A statement from the City of Ballarat said as part of the upgrade, “The new hub will be universally accessible and include flexible meeting spaces, a medium-sized conference or community space, and improved participation opportunities for women and girls through access to female-friendly facilities.”

Should the works go ahead the Ballarat City Senior Citizens Club, which is currently housed on Little Bridge Street, would move the redeveloped site.

“The reality is the layout is dated, inflexible and is not coping with increasing user numbers and changing community expectations,” Cr Moloney said.

“We want to make sure people who come here for a class or a meeting can keep doing that for years to come.

“That’s why we’ve worked extensively with user groups to develop a design for a new Eastwood Community Hub.”