Richard Jackson-Hope

Notes on Springwood Community Cultural Development Presentation

15 May 2010

Briefing by

• Nigel Bell Independent local architect
• Janne Jardy Council representative

Architects: ECO Design - Nigel Bell. Engaged by council to develop concepts.

Consultants engaged by Nigel Bell to assist in the process:

• RTM International - designers of many theatres
• Sustainability engineers
• Civil and structural engineers
• Air conditioning engineers

This briefing was an early briefing to representatives of facility users prior to sending out an information pack to the public to gain ideas and to see if the concepts presented have a wide appeal to the gathered forum.

There is wide community support for the present character of Springwood to be retained and to build on the present street space and local environment.

The options presented were;

1. Upgrade the existing facilities and have a community focus for the existing precincts involving the Springwood Civic Centre the Council Library and the Neighbourhood Centre.
2. Or build new facilities to house the Performance Space, City Library, Baby Centre and the Neighbourhood Centre on the Southern Car Park.

It is a matter of planning for a better future with a vision for the future.
In any proposal there is a requirement to maintain the quality of place and the needs of the residents within the community.

To achieve a consensus within the community there needs to be an agreed direction which is a collective vision of stake holders.
Consultants have looked at the existing buildings with in the Springwood Civic precincts and there are a number of issues which need to be resolved.

1. Air conditioning the existing Civic Centre building is not an option as the cost of running the air conditioning out weighed any benefits that may be achieved due to the design and structure of the building. As the building is currently "thermally unsuitable". Note that in explaining the Option 1 (refurbish) it was stated the building could be externally thermally coated and the existing brickwork could be used as thermal mass for any "climate management" system.
2. There may be problems with the foundation of the present structure for both for the Civic Centre and Neighbourhood Centre. This requires further investigation.
3. How to integrate the existing buildings to make then more functional for the community and environmentally sustainable.
4. Will the Civic Centre become a performance space only or remain multi use.
5. The relocation of the Local Studies out of Braemar into any redevelopment of the Library.
6. The size and the future roll of the library facilities need to be considered.
7. What is an affordable option? There was no discussion about finance.
8. Any development or change to existing buildings must comply with the Australian Standards.
9. Implementing a landscape plan for the Braemar site.
10. There is a requirement for more space for all the users of the facilities with in the Civic Centre precinct.
11. The needs of the general population require consideration there is an aging population with reduced mobility plus there is a growth in the younger population whose future needs require long term planning.
12. Energy is a finite resource and the future trend will be for higher energy costs for both the facilities and travel.

During the workshop session of the presentations it became apparent there was an indication by participants that:

1. The library facilities need to be enlarged and the Social Studies section should be integrated into any changed configuration of the library.
2. All the community facilities remain in the present location with the addition of the Baby Health Centre.
3. There was a feeling that the present multi purpose hall be redeveloped as a performance space only. In line with the proposed design (option 1) presented at the meeting.
4. The main theatrical users (BMMS & BMCS) felt the seating size of both indicated options was inadequate, even compared to the existing Civic Centre (600?) capacity now versus 440 in the refurbished Civic Centre or 500 at the Southern Car park site), let alone allowing for growth over the next 50 years.
5. It was also pointed out that the existing civic centre hall could not compete with the Joan Southerland Centre in Penrith for seating capacity.
6. The present Civic Centre area to remain the cultural hub of Springwood
7. A multi level car park developed at the rear of the library
8. Braemar to remain as a gallery and display centre
9. The Southern Car Park site was not a preferred option
10. It was also felt that any residential development with in the proposed Southern Car Park site would not be an option due to the performance space and other associated noise factors.
11. The Southern Car Park would restrict any future development of community facilities due to restrictions of available land.
12. Environmentally refurbishing the existing buildings would be a positive step in meeting the council's obligation to reduce the carbon foot print within the city.
13. The present Civic Centre lends it's self to better integration within the surrounding environment as it also utilises ascetic appearance of Buckland Park
14. The consultant architect indicated the costs of a new development verses a refurbishment of existing facilities were about the same.
15. The present Civic Centre site is not restricted for future development
16. The present Civic Centre site presented the best option to undertake any redevelopment and the integration of the present facilities it also allows for future expansion of community facilities.

There was minimal discussion on where the funding may come for any redevelopment there was talk about grants both state and federal plus council contribution.

There were no fact's presented about the value of the land under consideration for development as this was not an agenda item

Then there was the idea put at the end of the meeting about the possibility of a rating levy for a ten year period.

Another issue canvassed briefly was the involvement of the commercial owners of the existing retail sites.

There is a feeling that council has not yet connected with the commercial retail owners in a meaningful way throughout the three or more years during the course of this process.

There was a brief discussion about engaging the owner of retail sites on how best to improve the ascetics of the main commercial area.

Comment on community input into the process.

The section of the last consultants report to council dealing with the cultural and community facility requirements for Springwood Town Centre are basically in line with the with what was discussed at the 15.04.2010 meeting.

There is agreement that the existing facilities should be upgraded and refurbished and additional space be provided in any make over of the existing facilities to cater for present and future demands.

There is also agreement between the council consultants and the community members present at the 15.04.2010 meeting that existing community facilities and the Baby Health Centre should be located within what is presently known as the Springwood Civic Centre precincts.

This would mean the relocation of the Baby Health Centre from its present site into any future expansion of the Civic Centre site for community use.

Richard Jackson-Hope
0409 644 210
aro@pnc.com.au