The $17,599 from the government will be used by the Ilumba Gardens Residents Committee to buy armchairs and lounge chairs and make kitchen improvements at the village's Osbourne Hall.

With the refurbishment complete, the hall will be set up to provide for a wider range of social activities, including lunches, indoor games, exercise classes, movies and meetings, according to Member for Bathurst Paul Toole.

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"Osbourne Hall is an important community asset, benefiting not only the residents of the Ilumba Gardens Village but also the residents of Whiddon Kelso Hostel and the many Bathurstians supported by Whiddon Community Care," Ilumba Gardens Residents Committee chairman Steve Buckley said.

"This grant allows the Residents Committee to develop and implement an extensive range of programs that would not have otherwise been possible."

Mr Toole said elderly members of the community "have significantly felt the impact of isolation and lockdowns and now it is time to reconnect in person and this refurbishment will allow residents and members of The Whiddon Group to do so in comfort".

"The many senior residents of Bathurst in the Whiddon Kelso family have made, and in many cases continue to make, a powerful contribution to the social infrastructure and life of our city and region," he said.

"The refurbished hall will give them a place to come together to socialise and relax."

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