Another chapter of the Batemans Bay education revolution began yesterday with the launch of construction of the second stage of the Batemans Bay Library and Education Centre.
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Dignitaries gathered at the facility at Hanging Rock to enthusiastically endorse the project and pay tribute to those who are making it happen.
The $2.5 million project will see the construction of new seminar rooms, new office space for staff and the creation of a more open plan and inviting library space.
The tertiary education facility began in 2000 with 25 students, and now has 250 students studying with the University of Wollongong and TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute.
“It is a tribute to the vision of former mayor Chris Vardon,” Eurobodalla Mayor Fergus Thomson said.
“He wanted students to be able to study and work in the shire, and to bring education to the people.”
The contract was signed with construction firm Camarda and Cantrill. It is expected that the project will be complete in around 22 weeks, and be ready for the start of the 2012 educational year.
Wollongong University deputy vice-chancellor Rob Castle said the Batemans Bay campus, and others like it, had been a greater success than predicted.
“Its personal, small scale community atmosphere helps make it more successful,” he said.
Complex manager Gayl Vidgen said the new technology that would be added in the new stage would further increase the career options of students.
“We plan to introduce a nursing program and a creative visual arts course down the track,” she said.
Batemans Bay Library community connections manager Deb Nolan said the library would nearly double in size when the new stage was complete.
“We plan to add a children’s area and an open space for people to relax,” she said.