Yea’s soon-to-be redeveloped Railway Reserve playground was this morning destroyed by fire.
Murrindindi Shire Council stated today at 8.30am that “The Railway Park playground in Yea has been destroyed by fire. The redeveloped play space was originally due for completion by June 2019.
“The area is now closed to the public and has been fenced off to ensure everyone’s safety.”
“The Yea community’s main play space at the historic Yea Railways Station Reserve will be redeveloped. Council saw the opportunity to partner with the State Government to enliven the space and broaden its appeal to everyone in our community, Bisset said.
“We will replace the existing equipment with nature-based play elements and install new playground equipment. We will also create a central socialising area which is set to be a key feature of the area, with seating and picnic tables.
“The current play equipment was built in 2001-2002 for children under 10 years old to enjoy. But both the equipment itself and the concept of having a play space which only appeals to a single age group are quite outdated.
“We want to promote active living across the whole of our community. We want it to belong to all age groups – children, young people, adults and our senior community members.
“We’ll be calling on our community to provide us with feedback to help us finalise the design over the next few months and we’ll hope to have our fabulous new play space open for business by June 2019.”
Bisset said the combined total for this play space is $190,000 with the State Government grant funding $95,000 and the rest being funded by Council.
“Under the same State Government grant funding, Council has also received $68,000 to allow resurfacing of the Alexandra Lawn Tennis Club’s two hard courts.
“These courts were originally surfaced 25 years ago and while the Tennis Club has worked hard to maintain them over this time, they have deteriorated to the point where they’re unsafe – the surface is uneven with cracks opening up,” Cr Bisset said.
“So we’re pleased to say these courts will also be renewed over the 2018/2019 financial year with a great new surface that should last in our harsh conditions.”
The combined project value with Council, State Government and Tennis Club funding is $102,000.
Over the next twelve months Council will also be commencing a review of other play spaces in Alexandra and Eildon and seeking community views as we plan for their replacement and revitalisation.
More to come.
