Woombye works provide better access & drainage for venues

Safer access and improved stormwater drainage are on the way for two key Woombye community venues through a $70,000 passageway upgrade now under way.

The Woombye School of Arts and Woombye Bowls Club have joined forces to repair and resurface the badly deteriorated 22-metre passageway between their buildings, while redirecting stormwater that previously flowed through the area and into the Woombye Pub carpark.

Work began on June 1 and is expected to take three to four weeks.

Woombye School of Arts vice-president Milo Frawley said the passageway had fallen into serious disrepair, largely because stormwater from the roofs of the School of Arts Lower Hall and bowls club flowed directly through the area.

“The water then discharged into the Woombye Pub carpark, which has also been undergoing major external renovations during the past year,” he said.

Under the project, stormwater from both buildings will be directed into underground drainage pits and carried through underground pipes to a legal discharge point in Campbell Street.

Once the drainage work is completed, asphalt will be laid along the passageway from Hill Street to the boundary of the pub carpark.

Mr Frawley said the improved surface would provide a significant safety boost for people using the Lower Hall, particularly those with limited mobility or who relied on mobility devices.

Tradespeople and delivery drivers accessing the bowls club would also benefit.

The project is being funded primarily through grants, with almost two-thirds of the cost provided through the Queensland Government’s Gambling Community Benefit Fund.

Further funding was received from Sunshine Coast Council and Community Bank Woombye Bendigo Bank, while the School of Arts and bowls club also made cash contributions.

The work will complement Sunshine Coast Council plans to upgrade the public toilet block at the site during the 2026-27 financial year.

The existing toilet block has limited access for people with mobility challenges, with the planned improvements intended to make the facility fully accessible to people of all abilities.

Woombye Bowls Club Chairman Elliott Mitchell, Woombye School of Arts vice-president Milo Frawley , Cr Winston Johnston, Marty Hunt MP and Hayley Saunders & Jill Kuramoto from Community Bank Woombye Bendigo Bank.