Funding for Heritage House in Bangalow and the Sandhills Early Childhood Centre in Byron Bay was announced yesterday with both the Mayor Simon Richardson and Nationals Parliamentary Secretary for Northern NSW Ben Franklin in attendance.
The funding is part of the NSW Government’s $200 million Stronger Country Communities Fund. The Fund supports infrastructure projects such as refurbishing or building new community facilities including kitchens, libraries, parks, walking and cycle pathways, health centres, halls and playgrounds.
Heritage House in Bangalow will receive a grant of $320,154 and the Sandhills Early Childhood Centre in Byron Bay will receive $255,763.
The grant for Heritage House will enable Council to extend the building, creating a new display and reading room which will become a cultural hub for the exploration of family history and boost the use of local history collections.
‘This significant funding [for the Heritage House in Bangalow] will see the creation of a new hub which will allow for exploration of family history. The hub will include a new display and reading room which will give the public digital access capabilities to link them to family history records held by the NSW Government,’ said Mr Franklin.
Mr Franklin and Mayor Richardson also joined staff from Byron Bay’s Sandhills Early Childhood Centre to announce funding to upgrade the centre to create a healthier environment for both children and staff.
‘Sandhills Early Childhood Centre is a not-for-profit service in the heart of Byron Bay,’ said Danielle Layton, Children’s Services Coordinator.
‘On behalf of the committee, the staff and the children, we are absolutely thrilled to have won a grant which enable us to refurbish our learning spaces kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and staff areas for the children and allow us to create the green and clean spaces that 21st century families expect,’ she said.
A second round of funding is available to community groups who have infrastructure projects that need to be funded. Applications for Round Two of the Fund are currently open until 4 May 2018.
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