Local News
Community centre gets the go ahead
By The Black Opal Advocate
Dec 16, 2003, 09:22

Glen Murcutt’s model for  the Lightning Ridge Community Centre. The first stage will be the right hand side of the top wing. The left hand side will include the aged daycare centre with a covered walkway to the hospital. The lower wing fronts Pandora Street and will contain a community centre, cafe and commercial offices.

LIGHTNING Ridge is to get its Glen Murcutt designed community centre and a park in the centre of town - but only bit by bit.
Council agreed to stage one at its meeting on Monday - the HACC services centre and amenities block behind the hospital on Pandora street.
Council’s decision only came after a plea by Yvonne Muller, senior project officer, Community Options and Tracey Wright, area manager Dubbo based home care and co-ordinator for HACC and disability services in the area, that they get on with it.
“I know the community has done a lot of work with the Glen Murcutt building but I want to say that we have a tight timeline and the money for this project has been with council for eight years,” Ms Wright said.
 “This issue has gone on too long and needs resolution.
“We have an absolute deadline of January 2005 for it to be built.
“We have outgrown our buildings in Lightning Ridge and desperately need to co-ordinate our services.”
Council also adopted Murcutt’s design and although the $479,000 will not be enough to build an aged daycare centre Ms Wright said HACC would apply for Commonwealth aged care funding for a co-located service.
A major benefit of the Murcutt design was that construction would involve CDEP participants, mayor Peter Waterford said.
With indigenous unemployment running at over 90 percent that factor alone was an important consideration, he said.
Equally important was that Lightning Ridge had no public park, no public amenities and nowhere to relax except at clubs and hotels, councillor David Lane said.
“A community centre with access for the whole community is what the community seeks and I urge you to bear that in mind when casting a vote,” he said.
Councillor Robert Greenaway said he didn’t believe it could be built within the budget.
“It’s ludicrous to think we can build a building by Murcutt for anything like the HACC centre in Coonamble, at $1500/sqm - including air conditioning,” he said.
Councillor Charlie Mitchell said since council was finding new auspicing bodies for so many community services - like Meals on Wheels - maybe it should continue the trend and give the money back to HACC to do what it wanted.

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