Armidale PCYC was funded to the tune of $30,194 to spruce up its signage, which will not only make it easier for people to find the place but also hide the fact that the premises are old and have become too small for the number of people who use them.
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The funding came from the NSW 2018 Community Building Partnership Fund and Member for Northern Tablelands said it was the fourth consecutive year Armidale PCYC had received funding from the program.
“And rightly so too, the Armidale PCYC is very well used, it’s one of the best and most utilised PCYCs anywhere in the New England North West and it is growing in popularity,” Mr Marshall said.
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“This funding will really allow the team to redo the whole facade. Give it a new paint job in the PCYC colours to make this building and this place stand out.”
Manager of the PCYC Sam Davis welcomed the funding and said it would make the building stand out on such a busy road as Rusden Street.
“We’re in a prime location here and we’ll finally have a building that is the billboard for the club,” he said.
When a building begins to show its age on a busy road with now somewhat restricted parking, it begs the question whether Armidale needs a new, purpose built PCYC building on a different site.
“That’s going to be our overall goal in the future, is look for a location where we can expand and meet the growing needs of the Armidale community,” Mr Davis said.
Especially only having one basketball court, we miss miss out on some very good programs.
- Sam Davis
“We do have the numbers, we are at capacity at the moment. Our basketball court is completely booked out after school until six to seven to eight every single night.
“There is that possibility for us to expand and go into activities and meet kid’s needs that we couldn’t in this building.”
Mr Davis said the PCYC was not directly turning people away, but he said he could not operate some things he would like to, like dance programs and fitness based programs, for the kids.
“A new building is a necessity. Looking at this building now, I am sure it has served its purpose since it was built, but it is time now to move into a new building at a new location for sure,” Mr Davis said.
I think the time has come for Armidale to have a new PCYC.
- Adam Marshall
Mr Marshall said for a new club building to be considered the PCYC peak body (PCYC NSW) had to prioritise the Armidale club up in the top two or three redevelopments needed.
“We’ve taken the first step by inviting the CEO of PCYC NSW to Armidale to inspect the club and the facilities,” he said.
“The government will fund it. We saw this year the government allocate $6 million to either upgrade or rebuild clubs in the state, and they took the advice of PCYC NSW for the clubs that needed that injection.
“So, we need to make sure that PCYC NSW get behind this and make it a priority for NSW as well as for Armidale.”
