League club set to lose $500,000 grant to build women’s changerooms after Shoalhaven Council withdraws support

The Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs Rugby League Football Club is poised to lose a half a million-dollar government grant to build women’s changerooms because Shoalhaven City Council won’t support the project.

Club secretary Sally Stewart says the decision put the club’s future and women’s rugby league in the area in peril.

“We desperately need new amenities at Bill Andriske Oval,” she said. “We currently have faeces coming up from the drains in our toilets … we have girls using the same changeroom as the men; our facilities are in a dreadful state.”

Ms Stewart said she thought she’d be able to fix this when the club was awarded a State Government grant of $520,000 to build new changerooms in 2021.

“We got the plans done, met with council, everything was tracking along fine.

“However, council then decided they can’t support it, because they don’t want a new asset being a burden on their books.

“We don’t even need any council funds, but they still won’t support us. If we can’t build this facility, we lose the money, it goes back to the government.”

In a statement, Shoalhaven City Council explained why it won’t support the development, which is on council land.

“In April, council resolved to place all projects on hold and that ‘no new or increased services or infrastructure be taken on without a full business case being in place, including full assessment of lifecycle costs of the service or asset.’ The construction of any council-owned facility requires detailed planning, evaluation and costs for it to be considered as part of council’s long-term financial and asset management plans for it to be prioritised and ultimately, proceed.

“The two-storey building and amenities proposed for Bill Andriske Oval are based on concept designs and do not yet have the level of detail necessary for it to be assessed against the financial implications and needs of the community. In the meantime, it has been suggested to the Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs RLFC that they request a scope change with the funding body to refurbish the existing building.

“Any new assets, whether acquired by council funds or government grants, has a depreciation value that needs to be accounted for in the annual budget.”

However, Shoalhaven Councillor Patricia White, expressing her own personal opinion, said the council should be working with the club to get this done.

“Everyone knows this building needs renovating; it’s a third-rate facility.

“It was built at the end of the 1970s, when girls didn’t play football. We haven’t moved with the times. There is a great need for this facility for the four women’s teams.

“This council has had to hand back $60 million worth of grant funding because we can’t get our act together to do the projects.

“Clubs have to go through far too much bureaucracy … I’m standing for the mayor position because we need to tidy these things up.”

Ms Stewart has also appealed to council to come to the table.

“Builders have told us that it would cost more to refurbish the facilities than to build something new. Council tells us they’re broke, but we don’t want council’s money, we just want them to work with us.

“It’s our four women’s teams who are being disadvantaged … it’s going to get to the point where we won’t have a club, because we won’t have the facilities to coach the players who are there.”