Wednesday, September 2, 2020

A major expansion of the Longwarry Early Learning Centre in Baw Baw Shire has been made possible through the Andrews Labor Government’s Growing Suburbs Fund.

Local Government Minister Shaun Leane and Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing have announced that the Longwarry Early Learning Centre expansion will receive $500,000 from the Growing Suburbs Fund.

To be completed by 2022, the new centre will cater for Longwarry’s growing number of young families, providing more kindergarten places in a rejuvenated facility that will also be available for community use.

The Early Learning Centre is the first Baw Baw Shire Council project to benefit from the fund since its expansion to include peri-urban councils in June as part of the Government’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Through support for a wide variety of different projects like the early learning facility, the $25 million expansion to the fund will continue its strong record of job creation and investment in communities – an important contribution to recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The GSF investment complements the Victorian $2.7 billion Building Works Package, which includes over $278 million in shovel-ready infrastructure projects across the state to be delivered through councils.

Since its establishment in 2015, the Growing Suburbs Fund has invested $275 million in funding 221 community projects. This has created more than 7470 jobs and leveraged more than $755 million in investment.

A full list of the successful projects is available at localgovernment.vic.gov.au/grants/growing-suburbs-fund.

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“This is great news for Longwarry. We’ve got more and more young families moving into the area and this investment is all about making sure everyone can access early childhood and kindergarten as the community grows.”

“The expanded centre will be a huge asset for Longwarry – a much needed meeting space and place for people to come together. I can’t wait to see it up and running.”

 Quotes attributable to Minister for Local Government Shaun Leane

“I’m really pleased the Longwarry Early Learning Centre is the first project in Baw Baw to get support from the expanded Growing Suburbs Fund. It’s a great example of a facility that’s going to make a big difference for kids and young families in this growing community.”

“The Growing Suburbs Fund has built a legacy of investment in our fastest-growing communities – creating jobs and delivering the facilities communities need to thrive. This is going to be more crucial than ever as we recover from the impact of coronavirus.”