KINGSTON Council has approved spending $60,000 to restore an old sign in Mentone.
The Nylex sign at 29 Nepean Highway is in line to be restored. In addition to approving the allocation of $60,000 in ratepayer funding in the 2020/2021 budget for the project, council has also agreed to “make an annual allocation in future operating budgets to support the operational expenses associated with the costs associated with maintaining the sign”.
The funding will be reallocated from savings from other capital works projects in the budget.
A summary provided to Kingston councillors by council officers reads that the sign is “heritage listed in the Kingston Planning Scheme and presents an important signifier of the former industrial use of the subject land.”
“First constructed in 1944, the Nylex factory was a significant contributor to the regional economy and reinforced the relationship the area had post the Second World War to the manufacturing sector. The Nylex sign at the front of the site has had a digital display featuring the time and temperature visible to those travelling along the Nepean Highway.
“The Mordialloc and District Historical Society Inc. and other interested members of the community have maintained a strong interest in working with the private land owner, its tenant and council to have the sign restored to its former glory by activating its display once again. Officers, through recent discussions with Bunnings Group Limited who are the tenant of the site, are optimistic that through a partnership approach between the owner, Bunnings and council the sign can now be restored.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 24 February 2021