Council, in its capacity as Corporate Manager of the Coffs Coast State Park Trust, has approved an allocation of $600,000 towards the cost of moving Marine Rescue Woolgoolga’s operations to Arrawarra Headland as part of an overall strategy of improving the Woolgoolga Beach Reserve.
“The relocation of Marine Rescue Woolgoolga and Woolgoolga Surf Life Saving Club to the vacated Marine Rescue site at Woolgoolga Beach Reserve will have far reaching benefits, not only for the volunteer rescue organisations, but for the wider community as it will free up space for improvements that both the community and visitors can enjoy,” said Coffs Harbour Mayor, Councillor Denise Knight.
“It’s a complex project, and involves a lot of negotiation between the various stakeholders, but it will ultimately have very positive outcomes for the Woolgoolga community and all the organisations involved.”
The Surf Club project is heavily reliant upon grant funding, including a pledge of $1m from the Australian Government, made at the last Federal election.
To ensure the Surf Club project is ‘spade ready’ by June 30 2017 there are several issues that need to be resolved – primarily a commitment to funding for the relocation of Marine Rescue to a former University of New England (UNE) property at Arrawarra Headland.
“The financial requirements of the project had been a key impediment, but the $600,000 funding commitment from the Trust will go a long way to ensuring the project can continue to move forward to meet the required timelines,” said Jason Bailey, Council’s Manager Holiday Parks and Reserves.
