Murray Bridge council watch: Gymnastics academy gets a $20,000 lifeline

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Gymnastics academy gets a $20,000 lifeline

The Murraylands Gymnastics Academy has received a bail-out from the Murray Bridge council as it continues to search for a new home.

The academy has been without a venue since December 1, when rain damage and mould forced it out of premises on Thomas Street.

But Murray Bridge’s councillors this month voted to extend the club an immediate $20,000 lifeline as it prepares to refit a new venue for its purposes.

Cr Airlie Keen said it was vital that the academy’s participants – nearly 400 of them – have somewhere they could maintain their connection to the sport.

“This is … core business of council to support this club,” she said.

“If we can show any level of support, it would go a long way.”

The problem?

The academy is still not quite sure where it will end up yet.

Two potential venues were suggested to councillors at their March meeting: a shed at Kookaburra Homes on Brinkley Road, and another at MBP Australasia at the top of Thomas Street.

The problem will be not only preparing any new building for use, but getting development approval to do so – something determined by state planning regulations, and which could take weeks or months.

Councillors agreed to put up up to $2500 to help with the cost of a development application.

“We are doing our best, and all feeling incredibly frustrated and sad that gymnastics has not yet restarted,” the academy’s committee said in a statement on its Facebook page.

“In the meantime, if anyone out there knows of any venues that are large enough – with a 20 by 20-metre floor space and six-metre roof height – to house the club, we would love to hear from you.”

The academy has also launched an online fundraiser as it attempts to find the tens of thousands of dollars it will eventually need to establish a long-term home.

• Donate, more information: www.gofundme.com.
• Contact the Murraylands Gymnastics Academy: Call 0466 674 849, email murraylandsgym@yahoo.com.au or message Murraylands Gymnastics Academy on Facebook.

Mannum Road, Old Princes Highway need some love

Two of the main entrances to Murray Bridge have been neatened up in recent years, a councillor says – so what about the other two?

Cr Andrew Baltensperger went in to bat for Mannum Road, to the north, and the Old Princes Highway, to the east, at the council’s March meeting.

Both needed better street lighting and landscaping, he argued – particularly Carey’s Park on Mannum Road.

Road resurfacing was also needed on Mannum Road near Bigmore Road, and Swanport Road near the freeway interchange, he said.

To the amusement of all present, he even brought to the council meeting two bagged examples of plants he believed would go well along the town entrances: creeping boobialla and native pigface.

Council staff committed to reporting back with some options on the two main roads, and to raising the street lighting issue with the state Department for Infrastructure and Transport.

DIT was already planning resurfacing works on Mannum Road, they said, but did not plan to do anything on Swanport Road in the near future.

Too much rubbish on Murray Bridge’s streets

Murray Bridge needs to clean up its act, says Paul Scragg.

The west side resident told councillors this month he’d been unimpressed with the amount of rubbish in the streets since moving to the city in 2021.

He’d found syringes and broken bottles among three bags of rubbish he picked up during a recent walk along Adelaide Road, he said.

He suggested the council install more bins, and support initiatives like Clean Up Australia Day – but he also called on every resident to do their part in terms of picking up rubbish.

“It’s everybody’s problem,” he said.

“I think we should be proud of Murray Bridge … (the council) have cleaned the place up, turned it into something really great.

“But you can just flatline (if you’re not careful) and keep it an also-ran town.”

McQuarrie Street would make good hospital site, councillor suggests

A vacant block on McQuarrie Street would be ideal if a new hospital were needed in Murray Bridge, a councillor has suggested.

Undaunted by advice that the city didn’t need a new hospital at the moment, Cr Clem Schubert argued that the site was a good size and well located.

Other councillors commended him for his foresight, but pointed out that building hospitals was not a job for the council.

“The state government, if they decide to invest in their asset, they’ll have their own process to determine which plot of land they’ll look at or not,” Cr Airlie Keen said.

Council staff said the future of the McQuarrie Street site would be considered as part of an ongoing review of council-owned properties.