The Busselton Senior Citzen Centre is about to receive a $1.2 million revamp after it received funding to upgrade its amenities.
With the number of members close to 1000 and the population set to increase, the need to upgrade and expand the centre has long-been recognised.
The upgrade has been made possible through a $600,000 Lotterywest grant, $350,000 from the City of Busselton, $250,000 from the Busselton Senior Citizens Centre and $40,000 from the Busselton Lions Club.
South West MLC Adele Farina said Busselton seniors would benefit from the upgrade to the centre, when she made the announcement today, along with City of Busselton mayor Grant Henley.
The centre was first established almost 40 years ago, and will now be expanded to include an additional hall, more dining space and improvements to the roof, library, storage and toilet areas.
Ms Farina said senior citizen centres played a vital role as social hubs and brought people together to engage in a range of activities on offer.
"They contribute to improved mental and physical wellbeing and fulfilled lifestyle of seniors in our community," she said.
Ms Farina said the Busselton Senior Citizen Centre was one of the most active and successful centres in WA, which was evident from its rapidly growing membership and range of activities offered all year round.
"It has long been recognised the centre was in need of attention and expansion if it is to continue to serve its growing membership into the future, a membership which has grown by 25 per cent over the last two years," she said.
"Mobility impaired users will welcome upgrades making access to the centre easier."
City of Busselton mayor Grant Henley said around 20 per cent of Busselton's population was aged over 65 and over 10 per cent of this demographic were members of the centre.
"Population projections see the number of senior citizens potentially trebling by 2026 and we need to plan with these increased membership numbers in mind," he said.
Busselton Senior Citizens Centre person Margaret Browne said they were over the moon about the funding announcement.
"We're very excited about the future of the centre and while we acknowledge there will be some disruption during the upgrade, the end result will provide enormous benefit," she said.
"We are thankful to the State Government for supporting our grant application through Lotterywest and we are thankful to the City of Busselton for providing additional funding and spearheading the project."
The project is expected be completed in late 2020.
