Two of Creswick's community groups have combined their energies in an effort to have the town's 70-year-old scout hall upgraded and expanded for the 21st Century.
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The 1st Creswick Scout Group and Creswick University of the Third Age (U3A) are working to foster support for the renovation and extension of the hall, which had its foundations laid in 1954 and was opened in 1957.
First Creswick scout troop leader Tony Clark says the scout hall facilities are badly run down, and the hall needs updating for community use.
"The toilets especially are very bad, but it needs to be lit properly and made suitable for wider use," he said.
The groups say the vision of the redevelopment is to provide facilities to be utilised every day, night and on weekends. The U3A, which has over 500 members, is seeking to use the facilities Monday-to-Friday for courses and 1st Creswick using the hall every evening.
Mr Clark says 1st Creswick is the only scout group in Hepburn Shire and offers membership to the surrounding community of Daylesford.
The planned redevelopment will cost around $800,000 and will involve the demolition of existing dilapidated buildings and the construction of two new meeting areas. The existing hall will be retained and refurbished.
"The hall extension is the key component of the redevelopment and will provide two flexible meeting spaces, one formal and one informal, a commercial kitchen, much needed storage space, accessible toilets, alternative entry and an office," the plans note.
"This will enable a range of courses to be delivered by U3A and increased space for youth... particularly the senior sections of Venturers and Rovers. It will allow efficient and modern cooking facilities and the ability for additional community groups to utilise the space through a booking system to maximise the use of the facilities."
Creswick U3A member Bill Morrison says the extension will give the U3A an opportunity to have their own storage and meeting space, as everything is currently done from member's homes.
"We would also be able to have access to the facility during the day because the scouts don't use it then," Mr Morrison says.
"We're older people and so we don't have nighttime activities. When the scouts and cubs are not using it, it would be available for our use or for other community groups."
Mr Morrison says the existing facilities are far too run down for modern standards.
"They're not fit for purpose, and they wouldn't make code. The other thing is it was a community project (originally in 1954), and now it's a community-driven project again, which I think is a really good thing."
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