Cleeland to advocate for Thoona community

By Contributed

Apr 21, 2023

State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has met with residents of Thoona to discuss a lingering land ownership misunderstanding between government departments.

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The Thoona community recently received a $50,000 grant to expand the town hall, funding which had to be returned due to discrepancies over the boundary between Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action land, on which the hall is situated, and adjacent Department of Education land, where the old primary school was located.

Ms Cleeland said the Thoona Town Hall was an important meeting place for the community.

“While Thoona is only a small town, everyone here is incredibly driven and passionate about the future of the town,” Ms Cleeland said.

“Everyone is behind plans to expand the hall and more efficiently use the land of the old primary school.

“To have to hand back grant funding because of a misunderstanding of where two parcels of government land end and start is absurd.

“The community simply wants to have a centralised meeting place which is fit for purpose.”

Ms Cleeland said she would be making representations to relevant ministers over the matter.

“This should be a fairly straightforward matter if government departments are prepared to use common sense,” Ms Cleeland said.

“The fence line and planning documents show different boundaries between the two blocks of land.

“We need to get this right to ensure the town hall can access and use grant funding, and find out what is planned for the Department of Education land.

“I will be raising this with ministers and seeking a resolution for the community.”