A LOCAL hotel will soon begin a $7 million expansion of its accommodation facilities after receiving $1.5 million in funding from the State Government.
The Berri Hotel will proceed with a project to build 20 additional rooms for “luxury accommodation” on vacant land adjacent to the hotel along Riverview Drive.
Berri Hotel board chairperson Paul Stewart said the board were “very grateful” for the “critical” funding provided by the State Government and for the support of Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone.
“As COVID began to hit, we were a couple of weeks away from starting the project,” he said.
“We were not in the position to provide the funding through our own cash flow like we were planning on, so we put it on hold.
“This State Government grant has enabled us to make the decision to put that money in and now go ahead with the project.
“Without the grant, the project would have remained on hold for a reasonable period of time while we worked our way through life after COVID.”
Mr Stewart said it had taken four to five years since the purchase of the vacant land to get to this point.
“It’s been a while and it had taken some time to go through the justifications for what would be the best use of the land and the best type of accommodation,” he said.
“We certainly didn’t want to replicate what is already accommodated for at our hotel/motel accommodation, nor did we want to duplicate what the guys at the Berri Riverside Holiday Park do, so it has taken a bit of work to get that all done.”
Mr Stewart said benefits from the project will flow on to the wider Riverland community.
“It’s always hard to know, but we’re estimating that there could be 7000 more people coming to Berri in a year because of this development,” he said.
“That doesn’t just help Berri, because people who come to the Riverland and stay for three days will not only go to Berri, but to Loxton, Barmera, Renmark and Waikerie, so there is definitely that wider benefit that comes from doing this.
“The funds that come in not only benefit our staff and local builders and tradies, but once that money does flow through we put it back into the community through sporting groups or events or other organisations.”
Torrens Valley Orchards, who operate two cherry orchards in Barmera, also received $170,000 in funding through the State Government’s Regional Growth Fund.
Mr Whetstone said the new projects would be welcome news for the Riverland.
“This is another great example of our government working collaboratively with industry to deliver positive outcomes for those in regional South Australia,” he said.
Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister David Basham said the $12 million in funding provided by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund would help the state’s economy bounce back from COVID-19.
“2020 has been a tough year for South Australians and our regions have been hit particularly hard firstly with drought, then bushfires and now the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.
“This $12 million from the Regional Growth Fund will unlock nearly $70 million of investment in South Australia’s economy – creating more than 1000 jobs across the state.
“Our regions are a key driver for the South Australian economy and this will provide a much-needed shot in the arm to help business bounce back as quickly as possible.”
For more information on the Regional Growth Fund visit www.pir.sa.gov.au/regionalgrowthfund.