Western Downs Regional Council has joined forces with some of Tara’s proudest community groups to deliver a refurbishment to the Tara Showgrounds grandstand. Tara’s much-loved grandstand has seated thousands of Western Downs visitors and residents alike and now thanks to Council funding and the help of Tara citizens, the structure has received a much-needed makeover.

Council Spokesperson for Facilities Councillor Ray Brown said he was happy to see this joint initiative brought to life. “The grandstand was becoming quite unsafe so it became very important to both Council and the community to make this renovation a priority,” Ray said. “The Tara community are really happy about this upgrade and it’s projects like this that highlight the community pride that people on the Western Downs have in their towns,” said Councillor Brown. “I’m excited to see this new and improved grandstand be put to use at the Tara Races in October.”

President of the Tara Show Society and member of the Showgrounds User Group Jim Moran is very proud of the project too and excited about the continuous improvement of the grounds and the town. “This is one of those projects where we were a bit unsure of the cost but thanks to Council funding we got what we wanted for a lot less. It was a great project to get up and running, so I’m over the moon about it,” said Jim.

As part of Council’s project plan the grandstand received a structure reinforcement, new timber decking and dual access staircase, concrete pathways and new powder coated stairs, handrails and balustrades.  Council completed this project in partnership with the Tara Showgrounds Improvements Group, Tara Show Society, Tara Polocrosse Club, Tara Race Club, Tara Festival of Culture and Camel Races Committee, Tara Fish Restocking Association and local contractor Terry Collins of Hencol Constructions.

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