The Southern Highlands Hockey Association is currently trying to secure funds to expand the Hockey Centre in Welby from one to two turf playing fields.

The purpose of their petition is to ask the community to make representations on behalf of Southern Highlands Hockey Association to the Clubs NSW in support of the local hockey association’s Club Grant application. 

The Southern Highland Hockey Association’s grant application is one of the final short-listed applications that is currently before the Club Grants assessment panel for consideration.  

The petition stated that the Southern Highlands Hockey Association “wholeheartedly supports the grant application to enable an elite-competition standard field with state-of-the-art accessibility to be constructed at the Welby Hockey Centre.”

Southern Highlands Hockey Association representatives said the additional synthetic surface would remove capacity constraints, as the current single field usage is at maximum capacity. 

The petition stated the hockey association said the approval of the grant would expand sporting participation across multiple sporting codes. 

“This project will greatly enhance our community sports hub in the Southern Highlands, and allow the Hockey Centre to double its capacity and be accessed by 2500 people per week.”

The project has an estimated cost of $1.3 million and, so far, $650,000 for the build has been secured. 

Wingecarribee Shire Council approved an interest free loan of $650,000 to be repayed over 10 years. 

The loan was first approved on November 27, 2013. 

The terms of the loan were later amended in 2014. 

The loan was issued to the Southern Highlands Hockey Association “to construct a second synthetic hockey field at Welby, with funds to be provided from the Capital Projects Reserve.”

About $700,000 was still needed for the project, which is why an application for a grant was submitted to Clubs NSW.

The application is classified as a Category 3, which is “a state-wide fund that supports large-scale community infrastructure projects.”

Category 3 grants are available for sport, emergency and disaster relief, and arts and culture infrastructure.

The Association said that with the Club Grant the project would be completed by early 2018. 

“It will provide more opportunities for people from across the district to enjoy a healthy, active life with stronger social connection and create new jobs.”

Petition creator and Mittagong Hockey Club president Glenn Fleming said the association would suffer without the grant. 

“Without this push for this sports grant, our local sport will continue to fade in numbers and clubs will disappear,” he said. 

The petition has a goal of 500 signatures, and it currently has 262 signatures.

Once this goal is reached, it will be passed on to Clubs NSW Chairman Peter Newell OAM to indicate the public support of the Category 3 application.

The petition can be accessed online at https://www.change.org/p/southern-highlands-hockey-centre-sports-grant/u/20316548.