General News
18 March, 2020
Garvoc Hall receives $400,000 in funding
ROARING applause reverberated through the dilapidated Garvoc Hall last week when Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes announced funding towards a new hub.
ROARING applause reverberated through the dilapidated Garvoc Hall last week when Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes announced funding towards a new hub.
Ms Symes announced $400,000 from the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund to begin construction of a brand new facility on Farrell Street beside the CFA facility and community tennis courts.
Moyne Shire mayor Daniel Meade was also in attendance to announce Moyne Shire Council would provide an additional $230,000 to ensure the facilities would be high quality.
“This result is terrific, we’re pumped,”he said.
“Minister Symes understands and appreciates the needs of a rural community like Garvoc.
“This is a community result, led by the Garvoc and District Residents Association, which undertook the enormous job of putting this together and they should be proud.”
Ms Symes said the response from the community solidified the occasion as “one of my favourite announcements.”
“These are the good days,” she said.
“We know how important creating modern meeting spaces are and we’re proud to play our part in delivering this for Garvoc – this is something the community will enjoy, celebrate and use for decades to come.
“The Victorian Government’s record investment in rural and regional communities is delivering infrastructure and services to create jobs and make our towns and regional cities even better places to live, work and invest.”
Garvoc and District Residents Association president Leo Campbell said the result was “bloody good” for Garvoc.
“We have been pushing for this for six years, and 17 years if you count our predecessors who have been pushing for it,” he said.
“This really is a great result for the community.”
The hub will provide facilities including a meeting space for community events, the Garvoc Country Fire Authority and the Garvoc Residents Group, as well as providing appropriate amenities for in-venue family day care services to be managed by Moyne Shire Council.
The family day care facilities include a secured playground and bathroom and shower facilities.
Member for Western Victoria Gayle Tierney said it was a point of pride to deliver what the community had asked for.
“Communities like Garvoc deserve modern and upgraded facilities that can serve the region for years to come,” she said.
Funding from the Regional Infrastructure Fund was advertised through a competitive round-based process to ensure that projects received the support needed to deliver key infrastructure to regional towns, with grants of up to $500,000 made available to councils and council-sponsored projects.
The Regional Infrastructure Fund is part of the Labor Government’s flagship Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, which aims to help businesses create more jobs in regional Victoria, supports community projects and assists councils to build the infrastructure that locals need.
The Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund is part of the Victorian Government’s $2.6 billion ‘Delivering for Regional and Rural Victoria Program’ which was unveiled in the 2019 Victorian budget.
Information and guidelines for the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund are available at rdv.vic.gov.au.