ULLADULLA’S Marine Rescue base is about to be resurrected from the ashes.
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The base was destroyed by fire in October last year, forcing the dedicated Marine Rescue volunteers into a sheds on Wason Street hastily erected as a temporary measure.
After months of debate about the future of the Marine Rescue site adjacent to the Ulladulla Wharf, Crown Lands last week gave the go-ahead for the base to be rebuilt.
Marine Rescue Ulladulla Commander Ken Lambert said his members were “over the moon” at the news.
He hoped building work would start late June, with the potential to be finished before Christmas.
The unit’s executive recently drew up a list of what members wanted to have in the new base including extra space, an operations room which could be used by fishing club members during the Jess Sams tournament, and facilities for updated technology.
The wish list had been passed on to government architects, Mr Lambert said, and he hoped to see a final plan within days.
He said he had already seen a drawing of the building’s façade, and it was “very impressive”.
Mr Lambert said his members were looking forward to offering the community better service from the new building.
From the relocatable sheds “we’re not really working at 100 per cent efficiency,” he said.
“Our service to the community should improve out of sight in the new base.”
However that new base would not have come about so quickly had it not been for State Member for South Coast, Shelley Hancock, reading the riot act to Crown Lands bureaucrats.
Mrs Hancock said all the approvals for rebuilding were obtained months ago, but Crown Lands was taking its time, looking at a range of options and alternatives for commercial development on the site.
She told the bureaucrats, “You have got to realise how important Marine Rescue is to the Ulladulla community; in many ways it is the heart of the community.”
She even threatened to criticise her own government if the department took too long before giving approval.
That was not needed, and Mrs Hancock applauded “a great result for local volunteers of Marine Rescue Ulladulla”.
“The loss of the Marine Rescue Ulladulla headquarters impacted the entire community, with the service essential for those who utilise our local waterways significantly downsized while waiting for the go ahead to replace their headquarters,” she said.
“This lengthy process came to an end after I met with the Minister for Lands and expressed my concern that this essential service needed to be rebuilt on its current site as a matter of priority.
“Following a tough internal battle, this is a pleasing result for Marine Rescue Ulladulla,” she said.
Mrs Hancock congratulated Marine Rescue Ulladulla’s volunteers, particularly Commander Ken
Lambert, “who have diligently soldiered on and provided their efficient their service over
the busy holiday period since last October, in temporary premises”.
“With the red tape overcome and approvals given, I look forward to construction commencing as soon as possible with the building ready for use by the end of the year,” Mrs Hancock said.