WATER VIEWS: Nowra-Culburra Surf President Roger Mearns (left) and Secretary Peter Adlington (right) show Minister for Sport and Recreation Graham Annesley and Member for South Coast Shelley Hancock the improvements to the surf club.
A NINE-YEAR project to complete upgrades to Nowra-Culburra Surf Lifesaving clubhouse has moved a step closer with the state government presenting $150,000 to club officials yesterday.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Graham Annesley and Member for South Coast Shelley Hancock joined club members and South Coast Branch president Steve Jones, to present the grant as part of 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 more than $1 million.
Club secretary Peter Adlington said this latest round of money would be used to replace the existing balcony.
“All the work we have done on the building until now has made it accessible by wheelchair, the verandah however remains inaccessible,” he said.
“This funding will give us a wider balcony, with new openings from the hall out onto it.”
The larger balcony will also provide the club with better coverage underneath.
The club aims to get the work completed in the off season, as the front of the club would need to be fenced off.
Member for South Coast Shelley Hancock said this latest round of money would ensure the long-awaited upgrades to the surf club were completed.
“The conditions of the club’s development application are to ensure wheelchair access is available to the balcony and this grant will ensure those conditions are met and make the entire building wheelchair friendly,” she said.
“The Nowra-Culburra Surf Lifesaving Club is a fantastic organisation with about 310 members.
“I congratulate them on their continued hard work over many years in securing more than $1 million in government assistance to upgrade and maintain the clubhouse and provide an invaluable service to our local community.”
Minister for Sport and Recreation, Graham Annesley said the NSW Government is committed to Surf Lifesaving NSW having upgraded facilities to support the hard work of surf lifesavers and provide valued community assets.
“There are over 120 surf clubs along the NSW coastline patrolling more than 200 beaches during the surf season and each and every one of them is a credit to their community,” he said.