Community
30 August, 2024
New Neighbourhood House a step closer
FIVE years after its establishment, the West Warrnambool Neighbourhood House will soon have a permanent home.
A dedicated modular building was recently craned into position within Pecten Avenue Park.
The building will be finished later this year and begin offering programs and services in early 2025.
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.
“It’s great, it’s really exciting to see it was delivered here on Friday (August 23). It’s been long awaited and it’s going to be a huge asset to the whole of West Warrnambool community and the extended city so we’re really excited that this is coming to fruition.”
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 was safe, secure and would be a complementary addition to the popular neighbourhood park.
West Warrnambool Neighbourhood House coordinator Jill Bourke said programs and services offered would respond to community needs.
“Whatever the community is feeling a need for, we’ll look in to providing that for them,” Ms Bourke said.
“We’re hoping to run some cooking and budgeting classes as well as digital literacy. It’s also a space where people can come and meet and have a chat, cup of coffee and talk about what’s going on in their day.
“We’ll run craft activities, have special guests talking about current issues and run programs for children and young people.”
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.
Council selected Melton-based company, Modular Spaces, to construct and install the new Neighbourhood House building.
The value of the construction contract is $631,430 excluding GST.
Council set aside a further allocation of up to $400,000 for other project elements including lighting, security, fencing, landscaping, parking, fixtures/fittings and service connections.
