At an Extraordinary Meeting of Council on Tuesday 24 November 2020, elected members agreed to loan the Stratford A&P Association $7.18m towards their vision of a multi-use facility in Stratford known as the ‘Stratford Park Project’.

More than 50 people were in attendance to hear the decision which was received with applause around the room.

As part of the loan decision, elected members also discussed conditions on the loan contract, voting to include two conditions as outlined below:

· If Council needs to obtain a credit rating in the future due to the increase in debt, the A&P Association will need to contribute $25K per annum towards the cost of this.

· In the first five years of the loan only interest repayments will be required to allow the association to focus on the development of the project.

District Mayor Neil Volzke says approval of this loan enables the project to grow from an idea to something tangible and supports a development that is expected to benefit the whole district and wider region.

“Collectively we’ve pored over the information available to us and gone through multiple meetings to reach this outcome,” he says. “Throughout the process our ratepayers have been front of mind. We’ve been careful to ensure there is no financial burden on our ratepayers.”

“As a Council we have a broader responsibility when considering our support for this project. We looked at the wider community outcomes and wellbeing of those in our district, taking into account job creation, social enjoyment and economic development benefits,” says Mayor Volzke.

Details of the loan contract will be finalised between the two parties in the coming weeks and the Stratford A&P Association will then be able to move forward with the land purchase and the wider project.

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