News - Bega Merimbula Eden Bermagui Tathra Pambula

Bega Valley Shire Council is seeking expressions of interest from experienced and enthusiastic people to be appointed to a new General Sportsgrounds and Recreation Committee.

Council resolved to form the new committee to make recommendations on the future development and delivery of sporting and recreational facilities and opportunities in the Shire after six community meetings held in September and October.

Mayor Tony Allen, who has been a strong advocate for improvements to sporting and recreational facilities, describes the new committee as a “lynch pin” between Council and the broader community.

“Sporting and recreational participation in the Shire is massive,” he said.

“Our recent community meetings clearly demonstrated the demand for sporting and recreational facilities; the need to deliver priority projects; and the need to improve communication and relationships between all stakeholders. The new committee can play a big role in all these areas.”

One of the committee’s main tasks will be to make recommendations to Council regarding how proceeds from the rate increase approved by the Minister in July to improve sporting and recreational facilities in the Shire should be spent.

The Minister approved an increase of $450,000 for each of the next five years, specifically to address sporting and recreational needs.

“I expect this committee to work with Council to ensure that the base amount is used to leverage additional funds from other levels of government, peak sporting bodies, local clubs and associations,” Cr Allen said

“In doing so the committee will be providing the best return on the community’s investment.”

Cr Allen said another product of the community meetings was the development of a considerable list of sporting and recreational projects.

“These projects ranged from a few thousand to many hundreds of thousands of dollars and were spread throughout the Shire.

“Representatives at each meeting were given four red dots to allocate to the project or projects they felt had highest priority.

“The committee won’t need to start from a blank sheet. They can use the list of projects that was generated by the community representatives as a basis for their discussion on projects and where the priorities lie.”

The committee, to be selected by resolution of the Council in December, will be chaired by a Councillor and be supported by an officer secretariat.

Cr Allen said it was critical that people who nominated for this committee could look at the sporting and recreational needs of the whole Shire and work with a dozen or so other people from across the Shire.

“They need to appreciate all codes and forms of recreation and have a real passion for encouraging people of all ages to participate in healthy physical activity,” he said.

“They aren’t doing it for themselves they are doing for everyone else.”

Expressions of interest forms are available on Council’s website at www.begavalley.nsw.gov.au or by phoning Council on 6499 2222.

For more information about the General Sportsground and Recreation Committee contact Council’s corporate planner, Adrian Weedon on 6499 2379 or by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Completed forms must be received by Council by 4pm on Wednesday, December 9, 2009.