$4m Community Services Centre gets the green light
After almost eight years of planning, Ballina Shire Council has given the green light to the construction of the Ballina Community Services Centre at Treelands Reserve, Ballina.
Treelands Reserve, Bangalow Road - next to Ballina Central Shopping Centre
The approval to proceed was resolved by Council at an extraordinary meeting held on Wednesday.
Acting Mayor, Cr David Wright, said he was excited and relieved that after many years of hard work by Council and a number of community groups, the construction of the building was about to start.
“This is an excellent outcome for the community in that Council will now be constructing a contemporary facility from which a range of community-based services will be provided,” he said.
“The centre will cater primarily for aged, dementia and disability related services.
“Other facilities included in the centre are meeting rooms for community groups and office accommodation for the delivery of other community-based services.”
Cr Wright also made special mention of the tireless work of local community-minded people who were involved in this project.
“There have been a number of people involved in this project and everyone’s efforts have been tremendous. However, I wish to make a special mention of Doug Stinson and Mary Guthrie,” he said.
“Doug and Mary are retired, however, they have still made a huge contribution to this project and on behalf of Council I would like to say a special thanks for their efforts.”
The total cost of the facility is estimated at approximately $4 million. The sources of funding include all levels government (Federal, State and local) plus the private sector through developer contributions and an anonymous donation. Full details of the funding are as follows:
NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC) 720,000
Anonymous Donation 520,000
Ballina Shire Developer Contributions 665,000
Ballina Shire Council 1,331,000
Federal Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) 800,000
Total 4,036,000.
Work is expected to commence on site early next week.
