An exciting chapter for Busselton youth and families has begun with the official opening of the Youth and Community Activities Building.
City of Busselton mayor Grant Henley declared the facility open at Saturday’s celebration event, which included the Battle of the Bands competition and a performance from Drapht.
Mayor Henley told the crowd few local governments could boast such a functional and aesthetically pleasing building, which was specifically designed to meet the needs of young people and families.
“This is quite a groundbreaking delivery for any local government, and one that we are immensely proud of,” he said.
Mr Henley praised Lotterywest for its $2.881 million support of the facility, and the $2.1 million grant for the development of the skatepark.
The official opening marked the completion of the Busselton Youth Precinct, a key feature of the community driven Busselton foreshore masterplan.
Mr Henley said the vision of council was to ensure the foreshore maintained a strong youth and community focus.
“Where many other local governments choose to tuck youth precincts away in less high profile locations, we actively sought to keep our young people here at the foreshore where they can enjoy all the facilities and remain highly visual and engaged with the broad community,” he said.
The recreation area will be used to host events, competitions, workshops and programs for youth and families.
The City of Busselton’s youth services team, Shift, will operate from the builiding and run regular Friday night youth activities.
The facilities include meeting rooms, function space and kitchen facilities, which can be hired out for community use.
The D’Agostino and Luff designed building will also act as the permanent home for Busselton Life Saving Club.
The City of Busselton worked collaboratively with Surf Life Saving Western Australia and Busselton Life Saving Club to design the building, which boasts dedicated areas for training, communications and storage as well as administration and first aid facilities.
