DEAR News of the Area,

RECENT letters about the colours and materials of Yarrila Place are ridiculous.

These are matters of taste, let’s focus instead on the essential services within the building.

The standard of Coffs’ cultural facilities badly needed to be addressed: the regional gallery is the second smallest in NSW and has no loading dock; the museum was in a domestic-scaled building and could only display about 5-10 percent of its collection and; the library performed poorly against state library benchmarks such as floor area and collection items per head of population.

Council workers are located inefficiently across a number of locations, many without access to natural light and I can’t be the first person shocked by the notices in the public toilets in the current Council building to make sure the toilet has flushed as they don’t work properly!

Not a good look for potential investors I wouldn’t think!

Cultural facilities are critical to 21st-century skills such as digital and visual literacy and our children and young people are currently missing out on opportunities available as a matter of course elsewhere.

The new library will have greatly increased digital opportunities and facilities including an audio booth for sound recording, filming and editing equipment, a hands-on maker space for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), as well as children and youth spaces where young people can study and gather safely.

The gallery and museum will have a hands-on workshop space as well as more exhibition space for local talent, touring exhibitions and celebrating and learning about our local history, including Gumbaynggirr culture.

Plus the pure pleasure of viewing art, borrowing books, audio books, magazines and more.

It’s also a place for tourists and visitors, which will be an attractor to the central business district, especially post-bypass. What’s not to like?

But if you don’t like the design of the building, perhaps it’s just worth celebrating that it was designed by architect Matthew Blair, raised and educated in Coffs Harbour, who now has an international career.

Yarrila Place is somewhere for Coffs to be proud of.

Regards,
Jo BESLEY,
Karangi.