OPINION: Some questions about the Cultural and Civic Space MidCoast LGA (overall news) by News Of The Area - Modern Media - May 20, 2021 DEAR News of the Area, WHAT a wonderful asset the Cultural Centre will be for Coffs Harbour when completed. This new $76m building will put Coffs Coast on the map as a Regional Tourist Attraction. Congratulations to the anonymous committee who decided on the design of the building and secretly rushed it through to the DA approval and tendering stage. Now the first sod has been turned without any fanfare for such an historical event. My questions to Council are – . Who decided on the final design? . Why weren’t a number of designs put forward for public scrutiny, input and approval? . What part does Council play in Culture? . Why isn’t Council on the ground floor, giving street level access to the public, as at present? . Is Council building new premises for themselves at ratepayers’ expense? . Will Council now be opening all of it’s offices to the general public or will a third of the building be inaccessible to the public? . What provision has Council made for extra public parking anywhere in Coffs to comply with all new build DA’s? . Why does the Art Gallery and Museum still have to store valuable artefacts off-site in rented premises (ongoing costs)? . What consultation was made with 18-30 year olds to ascertain their needs for evening/weekend entertainment other than football and alcohol, e.g. weekly held dancing/concerts.? Young people are the ones who will inherit the debt. Yes, we do need a Cultural Centre – one that creates its own income and is fully accessible to the public. One that is adequate (1000 seats), undercover, with the right acoustics for Opera, local/overseas artists, eisteddfods, theatre performance, etc. You could even open Coffs first ‘fine dining’ restaurant on the rooftop for before/after performance dining. Do it once and do it right. Regardless of what the Mayor says the rates are guaranteed to rise dramatically, but what do I know? I lived through the Port Macquarie Glasshouse debacle of $6.7m blowing out to $67m+ (final figures never declared), the sacking of the Council for mishandling a multimillion dollar project, Administration for 4 years, re-election of new Council. Port Council did not have the gaul to include themselves in the build. By the way – Port Council Chambers and Library are a 15 minute walk out of town. Regards, Freda PATTERSON, Boambee East.
Great questions Freda, but unfortunately with this councils attitude, you will never get an answer. Bring on the council elections, can’t wait to finally get rid of them. Reply
Gee Freda . You must live under a rock. I have lived in Coffs for 7.5 years and knew about this from the get go. The initial designs were thrown out to the public for comment. There were public meetings with the architect ( a Coffs High boy). There was public consultation from the get go. Maybe you were never really interested so didn’t bother to find out? I can’t understand how you find it galling to provide good working conditions for local community members!! It makes perfect sense to not have staff spread across 3 buildings, not only is it cost saving but it is efficient.. it is also more convenient for anyone who had to go between the 3 buildings. As for access of course there will be a lift, we have many disabled in the community who will have access. Your opening statement is the only thing I find relevant. Reply
It’s a great asset for the community. Something that is needed from the old dated infrastructure. There always seems to be opposition to anything that will propel Coffs forward. Let’s all work together rather than being negative nellies on everything. Reply
The first thing to acknowledge is that the council and its employees do not respond directly to newspaper opinion pieces or social media posts, but I suspect that you know that and have used this platform to have another attack at the council. Virtually everything you question can be answered simply by researching the council website. Here’s a quick response for those who can’t be bothered doing the search themselves: Q1 Who decided on the final design? A1 The final design was arrived at by a committee established specifically for that purpose. BVM Architecture are the Architects for this project and will continue in this role until the project is complete. Q2 Why weren’t a number of designs put forward for public scrutiny, input and approval? A2 See above. A committee representative of the community decided on the final design from a number of options. Q3 What part does Council play in Culture? A3 One primary function of any council is to promote cultural interests, and where necessary, to undertake the development of cultural infrastructure for the benefit of the whole of society, that is not limited to providing a site-specific dollar profit – rather a social benefit and a broader dollar profit across the LGA through accommodation, food, retail, etc. Additionally, some of the economic and social value provided by museums and galleries to regional towns are outlined in the ‘Adding Value’ report from Museums and Galleries NSW. Q4 Why isn’t Council on the ground floor, giving street level access to the public, as at present? A4 So more people can obtain ready access to the primary purposes of the building, which is the library, museum, and art gallery. Q5 Is Council building new premises for themselves at ratepayers’ expense? A5 No, there are greater efficiencies in amalgamating the services currently located in two other older buildings. To fully appreciate this requires an understanding of the long term costs associated with maintaining ageing infrastructure. Q6 Will Council now be opening all of its offices to the general public or will a third of the building be inaccessible to the public? A6 The actual offices are required to be separate from the public for security reasons. The spaces available to the public include a 200 seat multi-purpose event space; a co-working space to support small and micro-business with workstations and meeting places; public meeting rooms and training facilities, informal gathering spaces, a café and retail. Q7 What provision has Council made for extra public parking anywhere in Coffs to comply with all new build DA’s? A7 Parking will be available both around the new building and in the multi-storey car park behind the precinct. Coffs Harbour CBD currently contains about 4,000 public car parking spaces – about 75% of this total is on the east side of the highway, 25% on the west. About half of the supply are on-street spaces and half are off-street. Some of the main off-street car parks include: Coffs Central (900 spaces), Woolworths (250 spaces), Lyster St (180 spaces), Elbow St (140 spaces). Council is currently working on a Transport Strategy in alignment with the City Centre Masterplan to review all parking and transport needs in the city centre, both now and into the future. These reviews will include parking and traffic studies and future plans for more parking, footpath and road crossing improvements. This strategy will also incorporate the planned Riding Lane upgrades. Some of the upgrades under consideration include universal (accessible) parking alongside the building, a covered drop off adjacent to the car park and building, and installation of available parking space indicators to encourage people to use the upper parking levels. Q8 Why does the Art Gallery and Museum still have to store valuable artifacts off-site in rented premises (ongoing costs)? A8 The Gordon Street site is not large enough. Q9 What consultation was made with 18-30-year-olds to ascertain their needs for evening/weekend entertainment other than football and alcohol, e.g. weekly held dancing/concerts.? Young people are the ones who will inherit the debt. A9 Consultation was open to all ages. Opinion 1 Yes, we do need a Cultural Centre – one that creates its own income and is fully accessible to the public. One that is adequate (1000 seats), undercover, with the right acoustics for Opera, local/overseas artists, eisteddfods, theatre performance, etc. Response 1 The Cultural & Civic Space does not include a large performing arts or entertainment centre. It does, however, contain a large multipurpose room that will be able to host events, performances and civic functions that would normally take place in a town hall. This room would also serve as a Chambers for Council meetings approximately every fortnight and will hold approximately 200 people. An outdoor rooftop area and other spaces through the building will also be available for events and workshops. Your desire for a larger specifically designed event centre will be addressed by the proposed CHEV if it is derailed by negativity. Opinion 2 I lived through the Port Macquarie Glasshouse debacle….. Response 2 This project is not another Glasshouse at Port Macquarie. The purpose of the building is very different as it consists of a Library, Museum and Regional Gallery. The Council Civic functions and administration offices will also be included. This building is not a theatre or performance studio. I don’t expect that you may take much from my response, but I am hoping that the broader reading public may. Reply
I also attended the public meetings over the last two years or more, and was excited right from the start to have such a wonderful asset in the city to match the world class sporting complexes and great natural beauty. Bring it on. Reply
