Improved sport and recreation amenities for Broke in bicentenary
Published on 12 February 2024
Works will soon begin on an important upgrade to Broke Recreation Ground to deliver improved sport and recreation amenities as the village celebrates its bicentenary this year.
Singleton Council has secured over $750,000 to reconstruct three deteriorated asphalt courts, the amenities and flood lights on the site, with the project to commence on Tuesday 13 February.
The project has been funded by the NSW Government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund and a Severe Weather and Flood grant.
Justin Fitzpatrick-Barr, Council’s Director Infrastructure and Planning Services, said these much-needed improvements to this well-used community asset could not have come at a better time.
“What a fantastic project to be able to deliver to the village of Broke during its bicentenary year, one that will support the health and wellbeing of this community for years to come,” he said.
“The condition of the courts has declined over the years, made worse by the severe flooding and wet weather events the village experienced in 2021 and 2022.
“After consulting with the community on what they want their recreation ground to look like, we’re pleased to get to the construction phase and begin delivering that vision.
“Council recognises the value sport and recreation play in supporting the wellbeing of our community, which is why we are dedicated to upgrading and building sporting infrastructure and facilities across our local government area.”
The project will include the reconstruction of the former multipurpose court into a new tennis court, complete with a practice wall, and the former netball court into a full-sized multi-court for basketball and netball.
The existing tennis court will be refurbished and complete with new posts, net and line marking.
The amenities block will be demolished and replaced with a large outdoor BBQ and seating area to match the existing shelter while the flood lights will be upgraded to a new LED system.
Not only will upgrading the lighting to LED have greater efficiency outcomes in terms of power usage and emissions, but the previously coin operated lights will move to a system that will allow users to control them using a mobile phone app, making hiring the courts easier than ever.
Council has awarded the tender for this project to Court Craft, the same company that delivered Singleton’s first full-sized, outdoor basketball court last year.
Works at Broke Recreation Ground will begin on 13 February and are expected to be completed by June, weather depending.
The recreation ground upgrade comes on top of a huge program of Council works in and around Broke in the past 12 months including the $1.8million repair of extensive flood damage to Broke Road, funded by Transport for NSW’s Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement, almost $1million in repairs to flood damaged streets in the Broke village and a $800,000 upgrade to a section of Broke Road at Mount Thorley, funded by the NSW Government’s Resources for Regions program.