There was relief and excitement when numerous projects received funding from the Stage Two Bushfire Local Economic Fund In July 2021.
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More than 30 months on, where are they at?
All up, 25 projects in the Bega electorate initially received $61.25million from the Stage Two Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, jointly funded by the federal and state governments.
Andrew Constance, then member for Bega, said the fund was intended to drive local economic and social recovery.
The ten largest projects initially received $52.5million but a number had to apply for top-up funding and time extensions as global supply chain issues led to escalating costs and shortages of building materials.
Community members involved with the projects often had to work with several federal and state government agencies, plus consultants and council, to get their projects over the line.
Mountain bike trails early successes
During 2021 and 2022 Campbell Page received $2.1million to help fund EcoCrews to plant native trees and shrubs across the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla shires.
Of the three mountain bike trail projects that received funding, the $4.5million Eden Mountain Bike Hub opened in November 2023 and the $3.9million Narooma Mountain Bike Hub opened to the public in December 2023.
Work on the $5million Stage 2 of the Mogo Adventure Trails Hub began in January 2023 and is scheduled to be complete in late 2024.
It will host the world's largest mountain bike festival, Sea Otter, in October 2025.
The event draws more than 80,000 participants in California each year.
A Eurobodalla Shire Council spokesperson said the trails would inject $12 million into the local economy in the first year alone.
Construction of some buildings underway
The largest of the projects is the new evacuation centre and community space at Bega Showground.
It initially received $9.8million in funding but ended up needing more than $15million.
Earthworks were being finalised in February 2024 ahead of construction kicking off in March.
Work on the rebuild of the Mogo Local Aboriginal Land Council office began in July 2023 and was said to be progressing quickly.
It received $2.1million of government funding, plus money from insurance and the land council.
The $9.6million rebuild of Cobargo's CBD received a top-up of $6.2million in March 2023 so it could proceed.
A builder was appointed in December 2023, with enabling works to begin in January 2024 and the rebuild slated for completion in mid-2025.
Others yet to start construction
The development applications (DA) for both the Narooma Arts and Community Centre (NACC) and Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre have been approved.
NACC received initial funding of $7.3million and received top-up funding in July 2023.
However, it was not enough money for NACC to go ahead as originally designed.
In October 2023 it appointed Congo-based Takt Studio for Architecture to design the centre to equate with the funds available.
The DA for the Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre was approved in June 2023.
Like the Cobargo CBD rebuild, it received top-up funding to its initial $4.9million in March 2023.
The last of the ten largest projects is the Muliyaan Cultural and Wildlife Centre in Narooma.
The DA is still with Eurobodalla Shire Council.