Approximately 2,700m2 of land is being purchased from Templeton Group following strong community support for the lakeside location.

General Manager of Community and Recreation, Chris Brown says Council is pleased to have reached an agreement for the purchase of the land.

“This is a significant step in the process and once the purchase of the land is completed, we can begin to move forward on the design,” says Chris.

The proposed 400m2 multi-use facility includes provisions for a car park, a future building extension, as well as a potential passive youth space, and is on track for completion in 2026.

“We obviously still have to develop a detailed design for the centre and a project steering group has been created to ensure we’re keeping the community’s views at the forefront.”

Council consulted on two potential locations for the new community centre in October 2023 with over three quarters of respondents preferring the now acquired land.

Council leases the current Pegasus Community Centre on Tahuna Street, and the Pegasus Residents Association has been successfully managing and operating this centre since 2017. The lease for this property is due to expire in June 2025.

The Centre is widely used by a variety of groups and people from the community, and it’s expected that a new facility would bring a greater variety of users.

The Woodend/ Pegasus area is expected to grow to a community of over 12,000 residents by 2048, and new community facilities will be needed to accommodate the increase in population.

Funding was set aside in the 2021-31 Long Term plan to purchase land for community facilities.