SOUTHERN Grampians Shire Council has ratified the 2024-2025 budget on Wednesday morning at its unscheduled council meeting and Pedrina Park will see some much-needed upgrades to the facility.

The SGSC gave approval for the removal of the current cricket practice nets and the building of new three-net complex at a total cost of $168,551.00 and will be approximately 30m x 12m.

Work on this project must wait until summer, even though the district is having a very dry winter, as the large concrete slab that the nets will be built upon needs time to cure before the synthetic surface can be applied.

As well as the replacement of the cricket nets, SGSC will also install two new unsealed car parks that have been requested by the facility users for several years due to the nature of the area currently in use being very wet and boggy during the winter months.

This project includes the construction of two gravel car parks, one to be located to the east of the soccer pitch and the second one between the cricket field and soccer pitch to the north and a concrete footpath connecting the southern soccer pitch to the pavilion facilities is also included.

By constructing this new unsealed car park, vehicle access will be manageable during the playing winter season in the area which is known to retain water causing vehicle access issues.

The provision of the concrete footpath will also enable access for players and spectators to the pavilion facilities.

The two new car parks will be covered with gravel and be free draining to eliminate the boggy conditions of times past.

The SGSC has already awarded the contract for the car parks/pathway to Grampians Excavations who put in a bid for $235,229.00 to win the contract from six other tenderers.

Work on these carparks will start in July (next month) and the contractor has stated that weather permitting the works will be completed by the end of July which ties in perfectly for the Hamilton Soccer Club which will start playing home games at Pedrina Park this weekend after all refurbishment works have ben completed on the playing surface.

SGSC Mayor, David Robertson said, “this year we had a tremendous number of submissions from the community, something we were delighted to see.”

“It’s always better to have community direction than to simply assume we have all the answers.

“We had some great suggestions make it over the line.

“The cricket nets at Pedrina Park have been on the books for a long time and they are now finally getting up.”

The $403,780.00 that the SGSC has approved for these projects was well received by both the Hamilton Soccer Club and the St Andrews Cricket Club.

Hamilton Soccer Club president, Rod Perry said “We are very thankful for the work being undertaken by the council to help us become a premier soccer club.”

“Hamilton Soccer Club has been lobbying for new facilities at the soccer ground since well before COVID.”

“We have played the first half of this season away from home while much needed drainage works was undertaken, and we are very thankful for this work as last season we had to forfeit games due to the pitch being under water.

“The concrete path to the public toilets is also much appreciated, but I have been told by council that a case for funding for a change room and toilets between the soccer pitch and PP3 has gone to the budget committee.

“We will continue to push for this as Pedrina Park is a big facility and desperately needs extra toilets but also because players change in their cars now, and that is unacceptable.

“Works on the car park are also much needed, as last year several visitors’ cars got bogged and had to be towed.

“The original plans were for a bitumen car park, but council have said that they will upgrade the gravel car park so that it is usable 12 months a year.

“The club is happy to go along with that if the excess funds budgeted can go to a changeroom/toilets and it must be noted that the drainage works also came in well under budget so hopefully those savings can be redirected.”

St Andrews cricket club spokesman, Scott Keatley has been working on the nets project for the past 10 years and he was very happy that funding for the project is finally here.

“The proposed nets replacement project has been on the Pedrina Park Master Plan for close to 10 years now whilst other higher priority developments proceeded at Pedrina Park,” he said.

“New practice facility will be at least three nets, and this will dramatically improve capacity for our junior and senior cricket training sessions to be conducted in a more efficient and safer manner with the quality of training will be enhanced greatly.”

Keatley paid tribute to all the assistance the club received over the years from council too,

“Roger Rhook and Sarah Cassidy have worked tirelessly on this proposal and St Andrew’s CC is greatly appreciative of their efforts,” Keatley said.