Families in Moorabool and surrounding areas will benefit from a new multimillion-dollar children’s hub.
State Children and Early Childhood Development Minister Wendy Lovell and the Liberal candidate for Melton, Daryl Lang, joined Moorabool council and families in Bacchus Marsh last week to announce the Napthine government’s $1.6 million investment in the new children’s hub.
The investment adds to the funding of $2.75 million from Moorabool council.
The Darley Early Years Hub, to be built next to Pentland Primary School, will provide 154 kindergarten places for three and four-year-olds’ kinder programs, as well as family support programs and more community space.
“It will be a one-stop shop for families to access the necessary services that children need in the vital years before school,” Mr Lang said.
The hub will also offer occasional care; playgroups; a toy library; maternal, child and family health services; and early childhood intervention.
Ms Lovell said the development was great news for current and future generations of Bacchus Marsh families and a great investment for the community.
“Building early-learning services close to primary schools makes sense because it’s more convenient for those families with children attending both preschool and primary school,” she said. “It also allows children to transition better from preschool to primary school.”
Moorabool mayor Paul Tatchell said the funding announcement brought the project much closer to reality.
“[It] is welcomed as a commitment to the children and families in the east of Moorabool shire,” he said. “These facilities are among the most important things we can have in a town that’s growing as quickly as Bacchus Marsh.
“The rapid population growth in Moorabool shire is producing above-average demand for local early-years services, and progressing this children’s hub is vital.”
Cr Tatchell congratulated the early-years and engineering services staff for bringing the project to fruition. “It’s a tremendous achievement,” he said.
