Motel rooms may soon make way for playrooms with an early childhood education centre in Cromwell set to expand into a commercial property next door, thanks in part to a $30,000 community grant. 

Cromwell Early Learning Centre Inc (CELCI) secured the largest share of funding in the Cromwell Community Board’s (CCB) first round of community grants for the 2025/26 year at a meeting on Tuesday (September 16). 

The grant will help cover professional fees and consenting costs tied to converting the neighbouring motel into additional childcare space to meet increasing demand - a close to $1.5M project. 

In response to a question from board member Neil Gillespie on the appropriateness of ratepayer funds being put towards an early childhood education project, centre manager Lisa Lowrey said she believed the facility was “a Cromwell community asset”, often used as a “hub” by other groups. 

The remaining $20,000 available for the community board to divvy up went to the Cromwell Bike Park, which will put the funding towards installing shade sails and an irrigation system.  

Bike park president Dylan Rushbrook told the CCB a new push-button system will allow the park’s jumps to be dampened before use, while shade sails will replace natural cover lost when trees along the northern edge of the reserve were felled for safety reasons. 

He said the bike park is seeing plenty of use, not just by Cromwellians but visitors from further afield too.

While approving the grant, the CCB instructed council staff to investigate if the Reserves Contributions account was a more appropriate source of funding for the project, as the bike park sits on council reserve land. 

If yes, the community grants pool would be reimbursed. 

Referring to both CELCI and Cromwell Bike Park’s successful applications, CCB chair Anna Harrison said: “These are both worthy projects and things that you know will be used for the benefit of those organisations and their communities”. 

Each year the Cromwell Community Board has $50,000 to allocate in community grants, alongside more than $100,000 for promotions and events.  

The CCB also provided Carrick Winery $2,500 to help run its Pedal and Pour cycling event this weekend – the only applicant this round to seek funding from the promotions and events pool. 

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