Pinnaroo and Lameroo are set to be boosted by a Federal Government grant helping to aid town centre redevelopment projects.
The $2.25 million funding boost forms part of the Building Better Regions Funding (BBRF) grant, and adds to the existing $1m in Drought Communities Funding already committed for the two projects from the Government earlier this year..
In addition, the Southern Mallee District Council has committed $750,000 to the projects, taking the overall investment to $4m for the two towns.
The Pinnaroo Village Green Masterplan and the Lameroo Town Centre Plan Project - have gained strong support from their communities during development and consultation in the past year, with both plans aiming to create places for recreation, tourism, culture, social connection and economic growth.
Highlights of the planned redevelopments includes a 'big' attraction for the Pinnaroo, a nature play space, improved walking and cycling trails, a refurbished war memorial, landscaping, plaza redevelopments and shelters.
The first three stages of each plan will be completed by Christmas, while stages two and three must be completed by the end the end of 2022. Both projects are now in the hand's of committees within each community.
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Southern Mallee mayor Andrew Grieger said the latest funding announcement was a major boost in confidence for locals and community business owners alike.
"Our communities are buzzing with news of this funding," Mr Grieger said.
"Not only does it mean all members of our community will have these incredible public spaces to use every day, but that our economy will prosper because of the visitor numbers which will grow dramatically once upgrades are complete.
"Even if we can get 5 per cent more of that Mallee Highway traffic stopping here, it will make a major difference to our economy, help create jobs and sustain our towns long term.
"Primarily, these spaces will create more opportunity for social interactions and civic pride amongst our two Southern Mallee towns. Where many small rural towns are rolling over in the wake of the drought and shrinking populations, we've bucked the trend and are creating our own way forward.
"We hope both projects will bring local people together more often, strengthen ties across generations, and provide places for more unstructured physical activity which has flow-on effects for health and wellbeing," he said.
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