By Bonny Burrows
Stage one works on the long-awaited Lang Lang Community and Recreation Precinct are on track to be completed by April.
At Cardinia Shire Council’s January general meeting, councillors were briefed with an update on the precinct, located in Lang Lang on land bordered by Soldiers Road to the east and Caldermeade Road to the north, as part of the major projects and strategies activity report.
The 25-hectare parcel of land in Caldermeade was purchased in 2014 through Community Bank funding for a sporting precinct and was handed over to the council for development.
However, it wasn’t until last year that construction on the “much-needed” reserve began, frustrating locals who had long been campaigning for works to kick off.
But progress appears to have been made, with councillors being told at the January council meeting that a number of key items had been completed including the construction of concrete cricket practice nets, the installation of players’ shelters for netball, the development of netball courts – excluding asphalt and acrylic overlays and drainage works.
Earthworks for the future pavilion, internal access roads, carparks, footpaths and flood lighting, and wetlands will also be constructed by April as part of stage one.
If work continues to run to schedule, the council predicts the two ovals – to be used for football and cricket – will be ready for the middle of the 2018-19 cricket season.
A long-term vision for the recreation and community precinct, to be developed in 10 to 20 years, includes soccer pitches, tennis courts, a lawn bowls green, playgrounds and extra clubrooms.
Councillors said they were excited to see the project progress forward and on schedule.
The project is being funded through a $3.2 million contribution from Lang Lang Community Bank, $1.5 million from the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund, and in excess $10 million over five years from Cardinia Shire Council and its partners.
