Australian government sets aside $7 million for children’s swimming pool
A federal government fund has set aside $8 million for a children’s pool, with a $7.5 million loan from the National Children’s Foundation, which is responsible for the project.
The pool, which will be built at a community pool in Southland, will have a capacity of 20,000 and will be accessible to all children.
The grant will come from the Children’s Health Research Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council, which jointly fund the project with the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The Southland community pool is part of the $20 million Southland Family Health and Development Project.
Southland Mayor Stephen Tullock said he was excited about the pool, but hoped it would become a permanent fixture in Southlands.
“It’s really exciting that we’re able to build a pool that’s going to be a permanent part of Southland,” he said.
“The community wants it.
It’s a fantastic opportunity for Southland to have a pool.”
Tullocks said he had already been told by Southland council that the pool was needed for a new water facility that was being built on the site of the old Southland Health Centre.
“I think we’ve had a lot of interest from other people,” he added.
“We’ve been asked to provide a guarantee to the council that if the water gets contaminated, it’s going back to Southland.”
A pool in a Southland family home.
Photo: Supplied Mr Tullons hopes the project would be completed by the end of 2018, and he said the pool would be “quite significant”.
“We’re going to have some really good, large swimming facilities in Southlanders,” he told the ABC.
“There’s a lot to do.”
The Southlands Family Health & Development Project was developed by the Southland Community Health & Health Care Trust and funded by the Commonwealth and Southland Families.
Mr Tulsons said he hoped to attract investment from private investors, and had been contacted by a number of private investors.
Southlands Mayor Stephen Taylor said the project was a welcome change from Southland’s past, and the Southlanders Community Health Care and Health Centre, which was closed in 2014, was “a real disappointment”.
“I don’t think we have had a pool like this in South Londonderry since the early 1990s,” he explained.
“If you look at the numbers, we have over 70,000 people in SouthLondondry.”
The pool is due to open later this year.