By Jed Lanyon
Yarra Ranges Council accepted the tenders for several community infrastructure projects at their 24 August meeting that will see improvements to sporting clubs and the tourism industry.
Lilydale Road
Upgrades to Lilydale Road in Healesville are one step closer as Yarra Ranges Council accepted the tender for the road improvement works at their 24 August meeting.
Mayor Fiona McAllister was strong in her advocacy for the project.
“Councillors, Lilydale Road, I’m sure we’ve all driven up it from many a time, is a pretty crappy road,” she said.
Recently, business owners and local stakeholders pushed to see the road upgraded, but Cr McAllister said the conversations started many years before that campaign.
“Most people travelling, certainly from Yarra Glen into Healesville, come up that way. It’s a bus route and yes, increasingly it has become a very different type of business community with very successful larger businesses, a busy church, a number of wineries, all sorts of things popping up and the tourist visitation in that part of town is huge.
“So we started with a road that really needed a bit of love and we’ve been trying to find a way to make that happen and we have funding from the Federal Government. Because of that we’re able to not only improve the road, but also improve the experience of that precinct with a bit of seating, some improved drainage and certainly most importantly, better parking.
“For those of you who have been there on busy days whether it’s when church services are at the Liberty or simply on the weekends or warm summer nights, parking is atrocious So i’m thrilled to have this coming before us… It’s a great project that’s needed on so many levels and the fact that it’s funded through federal grants is wonderful.”
The bustling road is now home to some Yarra Valley tourist hotspots including: the soon-to-be upgraded Four Pillars gin distillery, Payton and Jones Winery and No.7 Healesville.
Millgrove Sporting Pavillion
Another tender for a major infrastructure project was approved as the Millgrove Sporting Pavillion is set for the construction of a new building.
The construction of a new building will see a new facility that will optimise the use of the existing recreation space, sporting fields and other public facilities, and provide a central meeting and social space for the community.
The new building will be a modern facility which fits in with the surrounding setting of the reserve and is physically and functionally aligned to the playing fields.
O’Shannassy Ward Councillor, Jim Child, said the project was “a long time coming”.
The Millgrove Sports Pavilion project has been on the books for some time with great community support,” he said. “The cricket and also the soccer fraternity have supported this project over a number of years and if you’ve ever seen the existing pavilion that sits there on the Millgrove Reserve, you’ll probably see why it sits at the top spot on our asset renewal at the moment or pretty close to the top position.
It’s a project that’s really required, it’ll be so well received from the primary school kids, the pre school kids who are in close proximity but above all those two sporting clubs.
Seville Oval upgrades
Seville Football Club’s home ground, infamously nicknamed ‘The Chip’ for it’s uneven surface, is set to be flattened as Yarra Ranges Council awarded the tender to a construction business.
The ground at Seville Recreation Reserve is situated on a large slope, meaning football and cricket players are either running up or downhill when in action.
The redevelopment of the sports field will optimise its use, improve the playing surface and provide for modern drainage and irrigation systems to improve the ongoing maintenance within and around the oval.
Seville’s oval recently had light towers installed, but due to the uneven ground levels, some light towers are five to six metres taller than those on the opposite end of the ground.
Both the football and cricket teams had struggled to convince their league to host finals at the venue.
Council Eastham said the “Level Seville” project was one of passion from local community members.
“This was one of the first projects the community reached out to me about during my campaign and it is definitely something that the local community in Seville are extremely passionate about.”
Councillor Richard Higgins made a “tongue-in-cheek” comment against the ground’s redevelopment, having played on the surface during his local football career.
“I’ve actually played on the ground, the potato chip. I actually find it very hard to see why we’re removing it from our oval. I think it’s got a lot of character for the area and it actually defines Seville football oval.
“I just wish I could be young enough to play on it when it’s actually levelled. It’s a great outcome for the community and I won’t be opposing the motion.”
