The electorate of Blue Mountains has secured $450,000 in funding for a total of 18 infrastructure projects through the NSW Government’s 2025 Community Building Partnership Program (CBP).
The $41 million program ensures local organisations and councils across the state have the facilities to support more vibrant and inclusive communities.
This year, the CBP grants will help bring to life a variety of projects across the Blue Mountains electorate, including helping feed the underprivileged, helping local public schools with air conditioning/heating and improving Elder access at an Indigenous resource centre among many more.
Member for Blue Mountains, Trish Doyle said:
“The State Government funds will deliver much-needed improvements to local facilities, including a desperately needed food van for the Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre.
“There has also been funding to assist local public schools replace outdated gas heating systems with environmentally friendly air conditioning units.
“It’s great to see this grassroots funding supporting local projects that make a real difference in the Blue Mountains.
“I congratulate all the organisations that were successful in their application and look forward to seeing the positive social outcomes in our community.”
Ms Doyle said the grants were “very popular”.
“For those who were unsuccessful this time I encourage them to reapply, possibly breaking down a project into smaller components.”
The biggest amount of funding went to the Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre [WNC].
The centre’s general manager Morna Colbran will be able to finally retire their ageing van and upgrade to a new $56,600 model.
“It’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful,” Ms Colbran said. “We will have a van we can be confident in.”
Their food delivery van has 400,000 kilometres on the clock, she added.
“We are so grateful to be able to use this funding to deliver food to vulnerable families and individuals throughout the Blue Mountains and beyond.
She has noticed an increase in demand since 2023 when more than 2300 individuals were accessing the service annually.
“We have noticed an increase in need. Everyone has a right to have access to fresh nutritional food. The cost of fresh food has increased.”
Ms Colbran said they had only been able to keep their ageing vehicle on the road due to the generosity and support of Mountain Autos in Blaxland who “only charge for parts, not costs”.
Ms Colbran has been the WNC’s general manager since 2008. She is the 2023 Blue Mountains Citizen of the Year and in 2024 was a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). The Centre has been going for 35 years and has continued to support the community through poverty and tragedy, as well as bushfires and floods. The service also assists those in the Hawkesbury, Lithgow and the Central West.
Other successful applicants included a school library project at Leura Public, a ramp and refurbishment for the Cancer Wellness Centre and installation of a stair chair system at the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Culture and Resource Centre.
About the Community Building Partnership Program
Since 2009, the Community Building Partnership (CBP) program has awarded more than $505 million to more than 22,400 projects.
Local not-for-profit community organisations and councils were eligible to apply for grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, with up to $450,000 allocated per electorate.
To see the full list of successful projects in the Blue Mountains for 2025, or to learn more, go to the CBP website at: nsw.gov.au/cbp
MEDIA: Brenda Cunningham Lewis | Trish Doyle MP 4751 3298
