General News
1 July, 2025
Wait ends as sod turned
By CHRIS EARL AN “UNANNOUNCED” sod turning by Premier Jacinta Allan in Serpentine on Friday ended the four-year wait of fire brigade volunteers for work to start on the promised new station. Media was not invited to the sod turning at the new...
By CHRIS EARL
AN “UNANNOUNCED” sod turning by Premier Jacinta Allan in Serpentine on Friday ended the four-year wait of fire brigade volunteers for work to start on the promised new station.
Media was not invited to the sod turning at the new station’s Treloar Street site as volunteers speculated that it would be their local MP doing the honours.
The new station had been promised by the State Government in the 2021 Budget and has since been estimated to have a price tag of $3.2 million.
Ms Allan was reluctant to speak with the Loddon Herald after breaking ground with brigade captain Neville Cockerell.
She said the official sod-turning had not been planned as a media event.
However, in a media release issued an hour after Ms Allan headed to Ballarat for the next meeting of her drought taskforce, she said: “The Serpentine Fire Brigade has protected the community for decades and we’re making sure they have the facility they need to keep doing this important work.
“We will always make sure our hardworking volunteer firefighters here in Serpentine have what they need to keep themselves and the community safe.”
The sod-turning with the brigade’s 32-year-old tanker as the backdrop was attended by CFA district and regional officials, Terrick group captain Richard Hicks and brigade members.
Mr Cockerell said: “This new station will give us the space and facilities we need to modernise and grow.
“We trained seven new members last year, and having a modern, fit-for-purpose base will help us attract even more people to join.
“It’ll also give us a place to come together socially, this will help us build an even stronger, more connected brigade.”
The new station will feature two appliance bays, a brigade office, a multi-purpose training room with an integrated kitchen and separate male and female turnout areas.
Mr Cockerell said he hoped the facility could also serve as a staging area for any large-scale incidents in the region. “We’re a practical brigade that’s always been here to serve our community, from fires and floods to road accidents,” he said.
“These facilities will help us continue doing that.”
The brigade has 46 members with almost half operational.
Serpentine’s station was one of just two from the CFA’s 2022- 2023 forward procurement activity plan waiting for work to start before last Friday.
Work on a new station for Riddells Creek is still to start. A Government spokesperson said: “Riddells Creek CFA is in the design and planning stage, with the Cultural Heritage Management Plan and access plans currently being finalised.”
“The Community Safety Building Authority submitted a planning permit application to Macedon Ranges Shire Council in April 2025 and will release the tender for the construction contract in coming months.”
Bowden Corp is building the Serpentine station and expects work to be completed by February.