HOPPERS Crossing’s plaza library will not move to a new home any time soon after it was dropped from Wyndham Council’s leisure and events centre project.
Councillors voted on Monday night to exclude plans for a community learning centre, which would house the relocated library, from redevelopment work at 80 Derrimut Road.
The decision was made after the council missed out on $15million in funding from Regional Development Australia.
The $61million project was dependent on the council sourcing $20million in external funding.
By dropping the library from the project, the cost of development was reduced to $52.7million. Other options put to councillors included deferring the project until $15million could be found, the council funding the gap, or reducing the scope of works in all buildings and removing waterslides from the aquatic centre.
Councillors felt it would be too difficult to find the extra money in the council’s budget and that deferring the project could jeopardise funding already received.
Cr Shane Bourke said removing waterslides was not a realistic option. “It wouldn’t be right to take away the waterslides and you may as well not do [the redevelopment] in the first place.”
He said the council needed to proceed with the project to accommodate new residents moving into Wyndham.
He said that if the council included the library in the project, it would need to redirect about 25per cent of residential rates to cover the shortfall.
Cr Bob Fairclough, who is on the project’s steering committee, said it was disappointing work had to be scaled back, but it was important the council upgraded the aquatic facilities.
“We need to do all we can to stop accidental drownings and support swimming schools.”
A planning permit for the redevelopment was approved by the council on Monday night, allowing for work to start on the project.
