Equine students at Telford Rural Polytechnic are a step closer towards getting an indoor riding arena after budgets for the project were tabled at a meeting of the polytechnic's council last week.
The equine unit has been talking for some time about its hopes for the arena and more land to extend its popular course.
The idea was included in Telford's investment plan document and details released at the meeting.
The equine development would be broken into two stages.
The first stage, expected to cost about $120,000, would involve converting six of the nine bays in the old piggery to functional horse boxes to accommodate the extra horses brought on site by the increasing number of students.
A storage shed for course equipment was also needed, and an upgrade of the area's drainage was planned.
Another key aspect of the first stage would be buying extra land in the area from the Telford Farm Board and buying a late-model horse truck.
The second stage, which involves the actual construction, could cost about $700,000.
More details are expected to be released once key decisions have been made by the council.
