New house, new name, new everything

A new ‘House’ is on the way for the people of Ballan and district.

Ballan Neighbourhood House will open in the Mechanics’ Institute building in Inglis Street on Monday 11 September.

With a new name, new management and a new roster of events and courses specially chosen for Ballan’s growing community, the new Neighbourhood House will replace the former Ballan and District Community House.

The opening of the new Neighbourhood House will see the phasing out of the requirement for memberships, opening up quick and easy access to programs for all.

Ballan Neighbourhood House Manager Mary Francis said she and the Committee had listened to the local community and worked hard to plan a Neighbourhood House that would really add value to the experience of living in Ballan.

“With the removal of memberships, easy online bookings and lots of new courses and events we’ve made it easy for all of our community to come in and enjoy their new Neighbourhood House,” she said.

“We’re also making changes to how we use the various spaces in the building to make it a more inviting place, where our community feels at home.”

There will also be a new line-up of exciting courses and events offered, chosen to suit the region’s growing and increasingly diverse population.

New offerings include cooking classes, a much-expanded suite of yoga and pilates sessions, a craft workshops, special events for Senior’s Month, Lego and YAMS (yoga, art, music and sand play) sessions for kids, first aid training and a two-day chemical users course.

Existing programs such as dance and singing classes, Chinese health, Tai Chi and more will continue on, with the added convenience of online bookings.

Connecting with the new Neighbourhood House will be easier than ever.
A new website will offer fast and easy online bookings and payments, while a monthly eNewsletter will keep the community informed of the latest programs and events.

A printed flyer outlining coming events will be delivered to houses in and around Ballan, and for those less comfortable in the online world, in-person bookings will be available at Ballan Neighbourhood House.

“Officially we will open as Ballan Neighbourhood House on September 11, but it’s business as usual until then, so I’d like to welcome everyone in our community to drop in anytime and enjoy a cuppa, check out our amazing building and see what we have on offer,” Ms Francis said.

Ballan Neighbourhood House is located at 143 Inglis street with rear access available off Steiglitz street. Enquiries can be made via email
[email protected] or by phoning 5368 1934.