AFTER years of hard work and planning, a big wish of Leeton Shire Council’s has finally been granted.
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On Thursday, Member for Murray Austin Evans announced the Leeton pool would be receiving $3 million from the state government to upgrade the facility.
Council initially put in a proposal last year in the hopes of receiving the money, but was knocked back.
However, after a bigger push and concerted effort from staff and mayor Paul Maytom, the proposal was reconsidered and the funding is now there to be spent on the upgrade.
The pool will now be widened to go from eight swimming lanes to 10, which will increase capacity for individuals and user groups, as well as having a new water slide and water play items installed.
It is expected the work will begin once the pool closes at the end of the summer and will take six or so months to complete, with the aim to have it up and running by the time the hot weather rolls around again at the end of 2019.
It may mean the opening of the pool is delayed by a week or two, but it will be a new-look facility that greets residents.
Mr Evans was pleased council was able to be get the project moving with the announcement of the funding.
“We’ve had trips to Sydney, meetings with ministers and all sorts of things to find the finances,” he said. Council will also tip in more than $1 million of its own money towards the upgrade.
The plans and design work have already been prepared, meaning it can now officially go out to tender.
Councillor Paul Maytom labelled the project as a win for the community. “Considering initially we were knocked back … this is fantastic news,” he said.
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“We were very upset when we didn’t get the funding to start with, but full credit to the government for this now.
“This was one of our highest priorities. This isn’t a bad facility how it is now, but we need to upgrade it to ensure it’s viable for the next 50 years.”
The upgrade will also include disabled access into the water, which is currently doesn’t have.
Thanks to the funding it should also mean entry prices into the pool shouldn’t vary too much once the upgrade is complete.
“It’s just going to be sensational when it’s all complete,” councillor Maytom said.
“It will be less of a drain on the taxpayer as well.”
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