CLOSER: Nowra-Culburra Surf Life Saving Club member Natalie Brown pictured during the first stage of club renovations last year.
IT has been nine years in the making but this week’s funding announcement signals the Nowra-Culburra Surf Life Saving Club renovations are nearing completion.
The state government has allocated $150,000 to the club under the Surf Club Facility Grant program.
The money brings the funding provided from all levels of government and funds raised by the club over the course of the renovation to about $1 million.
Club secretary Peter Adlington said this latest round of money would be used to replace the existing balcony.
“Part of our development application required wheelchair access out to the balcony.
“All the work we have done on the building until now has made it accessible by wheelchair, the verandah however remains inaccessible.
“This funding will give us a wider balcony, with new openings from the hall out onto it.
“By building it from suspended concrete it will also give us a balcony that will last 50 to 60 years as opposed to one built from wood that would last about 20 years.” he said.
“The larger balcony will also give us better coverage underneath.”
Mr Adlington said the club would try to get the work completed in the off season, as the front of the club would need to be fenced off.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Graham Annesley and South Coast MP Shelley Hancock, who announced the funding, will visit the club next week.
Mr Annesley said the government had committed to providing $2 million in funding each year for surf club facilities up to 2014.
Mrs Hancock said the Nowra-Culburra Surf Club was an integral part of the local community, providing an invaluable contribution to water safety in NSW.
“The dedicated volunteers of the surf lifesaving movement deserve our support and I hope the funding announced today will be of long term benefit to the club and the community,” Mrs Hancock said.