THE federal government has approved Mornington Peninsula Shire’s application to redirect $5m in funding towards further upgrades at Emil Madsen Recreation Reserve.
In 2022, the shire received a $15m grant from the federal government to deliver Stage 1 of the Emil Madsen Reserve Master Plan.
The shire completed the works with money to spare and decided to spend the excess funds on redevelopment of the Emil Madsen Reserve Western Pavilion (“Mt Eliza set for ramped-up pavilion”, The News, 23/02/26).
In May, councillors voted to scale back the design of the upgrades as costs escalated and submitted a request to extend the project timeframe (“Council scales back Emil Madsen pavilion as costs rise”, The News, 19/05/26).
In July, the federal government rejected the bid and said all works must be completed by 30 June 2027 in line with the original grant conditions.
The shire decided to submit a request to redirect the funds into other upgrades which can be completed by June 2027 (“Council backs revised Emil Madsen funding plan after pavilion setback”, The News, 16/07/26).
The application has now been approved and any remaining funds will be used to deliver a range of upgrades including improvements to netball facilities, playing surfaces, site access, and parking.
Mayor Cr Stephen Batty said he welcomed the federal government’s decision.
“We have delivered Stage 1 of this Master Plan on time and under budget,” said Batty.
“That’s a credit to our project team and a great result for ratepayers. We are grateful that the federal government backs that success and lets us reinvest the savings into more upgrades for our community.”
Councillor Bruce Ranken said the completed works are already in use.
“We are just about to hand over the brand-new Eastern Pavilion to the user groups,” said Ranken.
“We’re ready to keep building.”
The Emil Madsen Reserve supports around 5000 active club members across its various user groups.
The shire said it appreciates the ongoing support and patience of the reserve user groups and the local community as they carry out these works.
The shire will now work with contractors to progress the additional works, with planning and delivery arrangements being finalised and scheduled for completion by end of February 2027.
First published in the Mornington News – 10 November 2026
