At their ordinary meeting last week at Creswick, Hepburn Shire councillors voted to apply for funding and to earmark it for the sports grounds at Trentham.

President of the Trentham Sports Ground Reserve Committee of Management's Vin Cowell said most of the facilities at the reserve were more than 60 years old and they were badly rundown.

"The last money we had spent on it was in the 1980s," he said.

The reserve is used by many groups in the Trentham community including the local football club and the Trentham Fun Run.

Mr Cowell said because the reserve was not a council run ground, the community had battled along on its own for years.

He said visitors from other clubs had been horrified by the condition of the facilities.

"The visitors don't like it at all. The way football is now, you've got to cater for everyone and you've got to have decent showers, toilets and disabled access," he said.

The council has been invited to submit projects for the Federal Government's second round of Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program.

Coliban Ward councillor Sebastian Klein said the funds would be very welcome in Trentham.

"There's a long history in Trentham of feeling missed out on their rates worth," he said.

"Sports grounds are an integral part of any country community and I welcome the funding.

"It is great for the young people of the community."

The council will find out in March 2010 if their funding application is successful.

Mr Cowell said rather than refurbishing the change rooms, it would cost about the same to build new ones.

He said the committee's long-term strategic plan was was to build an indoor training facility, so local netballers could train indoors during wet and cold weather.

"If we can get the change rooms up and running, that's a big step in the right direction," he said.

"Even though it's taken a long time to happen we're really glad it's happening."