Broken Hill Sturt Club’s Patient Wait for Construction Project

Broken Hill Sturt Club’s longstanding plans to replace toilet facilities dating back to the 1950s highlight the challenges some regional clubs face when trying to secure trade workers for major construction projects.

While the Club has had funding set aside and plans ready, Secretary Manager Doug Coff says the biggest hurdle has been finding available builders and navigating approvals in a town where trades are in high demand.

“That’s just part of being an outback town,” says Doug.

“We don’t have builders coming from Sydney for a $400,000 job — you’ve got to work with what you’ve got here.”

The Club is planning to build a new, consolidated amenities block to replace multiple ageing men’s, ladies’ and accessible toilets scattered throughout the venue. Many of the existing facilities date back more than 70 years and still rely on basic infrastructure.

“We’ve got multiple sets of toilets spread around the Club and even now it’s just cold water. It shows how overdue this upgrade really is,” says Doug.

Despite the need for modernisation, competition for local trades has made progress slow, with other industries such as mining, local government and health projects all vying for availability.

Doug says approvals, compliance requirements and construction certificates can also take longer in remote areas, further delaying projects that are otherwise ready to go.

“We’ve got the plans and concepts done, but the paperwork side of things drags on,” he says.

“Until that’s finalised, it’s hard to even get accurate quotes.”

To reduce disruption, once the build finally gets underway, the Club plans to construct the new amenities block on an adjoining property it owns, before connecting it to the main building once complete. All plumbing, electrical and fire safety systems will be installed new as part of the build.

“Everything will be brand new,” says Doug. “Plumbing, electrical, fire suppression — it’s a full rebuild from scratch.”

Despite the delays, the Club has committed to funding the project internally, setting aside approximately $700,000 from cash flow.

“We’ve been putting money away each week and we’re ready to pay for this ourselves,” says Doug.

“The money’s there — we’re just waiting on the right time and the right people to get started.”

Construction is hoped to begin early this year, subject to approvals and trade availability. Once the amenities project is underway, the Club also plans to progress a much-needed kitchen upgrade to support high-volume service.

For Doug, the experience reflects a broader issue facing many regional clubs trying to maintain ageing infrastructure.

“It’s not that clubs don’t want to invest,” he says.

“It’s that getting projects off the ground in some regional areas is a real challenge — and that’s something a lot of people don’t see.”