Works have commenced on a multi-million redevelopment of the Morwell Central Business District (CBD) to bring more people into the town and support small business owners.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said the Federal Government was contributing $1.75 million toward the Morwell CBD revitalisation project, which will improve lighting and create new garden areas to make the CBD greener and more pedestrian friendly.
Mr Chester said the project would support business owners who had invested their own resources into Morwell by making the CBD more attractive to customers.
The project will create 12 jobs during the construction phase. Local company Ace Earthmoving has been successful in receiving the tender for the first stage of works, starting with the north side in front of the Latrobe City Council offices in Commercial Road.
“Governments at all levels need to work together to build up the small business sector – it is the key to strengthening the local economy and creating more jobs in the Latrobe Valley,” Mr Chester said.
“In order to encourage more investment into the Morwell CBD, we need to make the town’s central commercial area more attractive as a place to do business, shop and socialise.”
Mr Chester said the Federal Government recently funded new CCTV cameras in Morwell CBD which provide real-time feeds into the Morwell Police Station.
Other federally-funded projects under construction include Morwell Recreation Reserve upgrades ($5 million from the Federal Government), Morwell-Traralgon Shared Pathway ($1.6 million), the Traralgon West clubrooms ($300,000), Churchill hockey pavilion ($200,000) and Rosedale streetscape and road safety improvements ($2 million).
“There are many construction projects underway cross the Latrobe valley will deliver long-lasting benefits to our community to make the region more attractive to live and visit,” Mr Chester said.
“The closure of Hazelwood has thrown us some challenges, but we must remain positive and work together to find a way forward to create a vibrant future for our community.”
