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The Voice of Penrith
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BEST IN BUSINESS
Dozens of businesses were honoured at last week’s Local Business Awards in Penrith. Special feature starts Page 51 Truracks claims Business of the Year.
EXTRAORDINARY TIME IT’S TAKING TO BUILD NEW MULTI-SPORTS ARENA
THE LONG GAME EMILY CHATE
M
ajor concerns were raised at Monday night’s Ordinary Council Meeting regarding the delivery of the Penrith Indoor Multi-Sport Arena (PIMSA) in Claremont Meadows, after it was revealed it may not open until 2031. While Council is hopeful it will be operational by 2029, that would still be an extraor-
dinary seven years from when the facility was first announced. The project will include 10 multi-sport courts, squash courts with movable walls, multi-use rooms, a covered outdoor roller sports rink, a kiosk, a lounge area, a car park, outdoor recreation spaces and facilities and a shared pathway along South Creek. It sits adjacent to the Gipps Street Recreation Precinct.
The project was first announced in 2022 by the then Liberal Government as part of the WestInvest program, later re-branded to the Western Sydney Infrastructure Grants Program (WSIG). $106.7 million has been allocated under that program to the project. It remained in limbo for two years while waiting for the Labor Government to transfer the land title to Penrith Council, which is responsible for delivering the project.
But with revelations it won’t open until at least 2029 – seven years after it was first announced – questions are being raised over the overall project timeline. “We need this facility, but I’m concerned about how long it’s going to take, and how we’re managing oversight,” Councillor Reece Nuttall said. Story continues on » p. 3
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