Last stage of Heatherbrae delivered as pavilion opens

Published: 28 March 2017

Cardinia Shire’s new $6 million recreation facility is now available to the community having been officially opened on Friday 24 March.

Cardinia Shire Mayor Cr Brett Owen opened the pavilion at Heatherbrae Recreation Reserve – completing the final piece in the reserve’s development – with Member for Eastern Victoria Daniel Mulino MLC.

The pavilion, constructed at a cost of $2.76 million, was jointly funded with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s 2015–16 Interface Growth Fund ($2 million) and Council’s capital works budget ($767,000).

Cr Brett Owen said the new pavilion would provide much greater comfort for the many players and spectators who use the reserve.

“I am proud to be working with a Council that genuinely values the role sport plays in our community, from providing opportunities for social engagement and mateship, to encouraging young people to take up physical activity and set goals.”

The building provides new change rooms, umpires’ rooms social and storage spaces in both the netball and main pavilions. The main pavilion also includes kitchen, office, umpires’ room, gym, meeting and storage spaces and the netball pavilion includes an office space.

Heatherbrae Recreation Reserve now has a full suite of sporting facilities including football and cricket ovals with flood lights, two netball courts, two cricket nets, a half-court basketball court and a tennis hit-up wall, plus car parking and a wetlands area.

The reserve also features local artist Mark Bernard’s public artwork ‘Cow Over the Moon’ on a public outdoor ping pong table. The concept behind this piece references the renowned dairy farm ‘Heatherbrae herd’ once occupying this site, as well as sporting themes associated with its current use.

Twenty-three Arena Jetz netball teams and 19 Officer Kangaroos junior football teams are based at the reserve. It will also be used as an overflow venue for both junior and senior football and cricket clubs from Beaconsfield, Officer and Pakenham.

Securing a grant of $500,000 from Sport and Recreation Victoria’s Community Facility Funding Program, Council invested almost $6.12 million to complete the development of the pavilion and sporting facilities at Heatherbrae Recreation Reserve.

Cr Brett Owen thanked the Victorian Government for its generous contribution to this project on behalf of Council and all the sporting enthusiasts who use this reserve.

“The new pavilion will be a fantastic facility for the many teams and individuals who are already using the reserve and for generations to come.”

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