Marangaroo Family Centre will be rebuilt and ready in seven months

12/8/97

The Marangaroo Family Centre will be rebuilt and should be ready for occupancy within seven months, Family and Children's Services Minister Rhonda Parker said today.

The original centre on Highclere Boulevard was destroyed by fire on June 19 this year.

"The fire not only destroyed a building but also took away a valuable and well-utilised focal point for a wide range of vital community activities," the Minister said.

"In particular, the centre had been the venue for a four-year-old program and also for a playgroup."

Mrs Parker said she was aware that the loss of the centre had been unsettling for the relevant children and their families but community support had been outstanding.

"I congratulate all the people in the community who have assisted since the fire, especially staff from the Mirrabooka District Office of Family and Children's Services," she said.

"They have provided extensive, on-going support and have worked closely with the centre's management committee to ensure that services were relocated and that plans for a new centre were started immediately."

Mrs Parker said an architect had been commissioned to design the new centre, which was likely to be similar to its predecessor. The replacement cost was estimated to be about $450,000.

"There is no doubt that a community centre is an essential service in the Marangaroo area," the Minister said.

About 9,000 people live in the area and, with the growing population in the surrounding suburbs of Landsdale and Alexander Heights, the region's numbers are expected to swell to 1,200 within the next four years. This increase, together with the redevelopment of Koondoola, Balga and Girrawheen, should attract more families to the area."

Mrs Parker said that with a lack of similar facilities in the area, the Marangaroo Family Centre would be even more utilised and valued by the community than previously.

Media contact: Kaye Hopkins 9481 7810