Rec centre demolition begins

Pingelly has started swinging the hammer to bring down its old Recreation Centre in preparation for the construction of a new building next year.

Demolition began recently at the Pingelly sporting ground, with the removal of internal fittings.

Pingelly Shire chief executive Gavin Pollock said the demolition of the building itself would begin towards the end of the month.

“We’ve gone through removing the ceiling and floorboards and our demolition contractor has been issued a purchase order,” he said.

“So they should start towards the end of this month on the actual structure and be finished by early to mid-December.”

Mr Pollock said the building materials were being recycled as much as possible, with materials being saved for the new building or sold to other projects.

“Only about 15 per cent of all this will actually go in a landfill,” he said.

Events normally held at the Recreational Centre have been moved to the Town Hall during the project.

Shire president Shirley Lange said sport being held on the adjacent oval would not be affected by the demolition. “It’s worked out really well, we only had to shift one light,” she said.

One of the primary functions of the new building is to be a community venue for events, with acoustics incorporated into its design.

The new $8.5 million facility will include a cultural function centre, a sports hall, gymnasium, bowlers bar, lounge/crèche, netball/tennis clubrooms and a multi-purpose pavilion.

The new building is part of the wider upgrading of the sporting precinct in Pingelly, with the football oval and cricket pitch realigned and the opening of new tennis courts in March.

“All that’s left is the building to do,” Mr Pollock said.

Planning for the project began 12 years ago, with the wheels starting to turn only two years ago.

Ms Lange said this project had been a long haul, with a focus on involving the community.

“It’s been quite a long process, getting the community on board and being really diligent about that,” she said.

“We started a sport and recreation focus group, which has been a powerful group getting word out and working with community groups.”

Mr Pollock said expressions of interest for construction of the new building have been called for, and a tender is expected to be awarded in early January.

Construction on the new building is set to begin in mid to late January.