West Warrnambool will have its own dedicated Neighbourhood House following the awarding of a construction contract at last night’s Council meeting.
Council selected Melton-based company, Modular Spaces, to construct and install the new Neighbourhood House building.
The modern, modular building will be installed in Pecten Avenue Park and is expected to be operational before the end of the year.
Mayor Cr Ben Blain said Council was expecting an amazing building and had set aside an extra funding allocation to ensure that the Neighbourhood House is safe, secure and will be a complementary addition to the popular neighbourhood park.
Deputy Mayor Cr Vicki Jellie said the West Warrnambool community would benefit greatly from having a dedicated home.
“The West Warrnambool Neighbourhood House has been operating since 2019 and because of restrictions on space, they have been without a proper home,” Cr Jellie said.
“This will be a great, fit-for-purpose building for our community.”
The West Warrnambool Neighbourhood House runs school holiday programs, playgroup for children, meditation and mindfulness classes, art and craft, music and information webinars.
It also offers programs in life skills, health and fitness, digital literacy and provides help for those needing to complete online forms.
The Neighbourhood House is a registered distribution agency for Food Share and in recent years has provided residents experiencing financial hardship and food insecurity with FoodShare hampers.
The value of the construction contract is $631,430 excluding GST with Council setting aside a further allocation of up to $400,000 for other project elements including lighting, security, fencing, landscaping, parking, fixtures/fittings and service connections.
