Excitement is building in the Red Cliffs community with construction officially underway on the new Red Cliffs Early Years Hub.
A sod turning event held on Tuesday was attended by Mildura Rural City Council and Department of Education representatives, and members of the local community who have helped drive the project.
The project will see the existing kindergarten and Maternal and Child Health buildings replaced with a modern facility to meet the demand of the growing Red Cliffs community.
The new building will include four kindergarten rooms which will allow twice as many local children to attend kindergarten programs in Red Cliffs.
It will also house Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and allied health consulting rooms, Toy Library facilities, a multi-use community space, breastfeeding room and a large foyer area.
Red Cliffs Families Project Group Member Rebecca Fagan said the new facility would provide a major boost for the community once completed.
“This project was identified through some collaborative work with community, Council and Hands Up Mallee, with the Early Years Census data indicating that Red Cliffs children were behind the rest of the Mildura LGA in almost all key developmental areas when they started school,” she said.
“We worked with families to find out what it was like to raise children in Red Cliffs, and why this trend was occurring.
“It became apparent that we didn’t have the right services and facilities in place for early years, so the idea behind the Early Years Hub was born.
“It’s exciting to see the project become a reality. Once complete it’s going to be a tremendous asset for our community and give our young people the best possible start in life.”
Rebecca said the Red Cliffs Early Years Hub was the most important infrastructure project currently underway in the township.
“The most important thing this Hub will achieve is helping us get the Early Years foundation in Red Cliffs right,” she said.
“From there, we can then extend our look and reach into youth services and develop better youth initiatives so that families are more supported within the community.”
This project is supported by the Victorian Government thanks to a $6million grant from the Victorian School Building Authority’s Building Blocks program and is being constructed by Mildura-based company CPM Building Contractors.
Mayor Cr Liam Wood thanked the Victorian Government and the wider community for their support of the project.
“The Hub has been a long time coming and will fill a very important need in the community,” Cr Wood said.
“Providing better access to early years services is a key component of the recently endorsed Red Cliffs Community Plan, and it’s really exciting that we are in a position to deliver an asset that is going to benefit the Red Cliffs community for generations to come.”
Demolition and site preparation works have been completed, with main works now underway.
Construction is expected to be completed late this year in time for the start of the 2025 school year.
Red Cliffs families will continue to have access to kindergarten, MCH and toy library services throughout the build – temporary locations and operating times for these services are available on Council’s website at www.mildura.vic.gov.au/RCEYH
