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Proposed Cowes Cultural Centre, view towards the main entry. Illustration: Perkins Architects
By Catherine Watson
COWES is to get a new $19 million cultural centre incorporating a theatre/cinema, function room, library and meeting rooms.
At yesterday’s council meeting, councillors voted to demolish the current cultural centre and build a new none, rather than renovate and extend the current one. There was applause from the gallery as the new build was approved.
COWES is to get a new $19 million cultural centre incorporating a theatre/cinema, function room, library and meeting rooms.
At yesterday’s council meeting, councillors voted to demolish the current cultural centre and build a new none, rather than renovate and extend the current one. There was applause from the gallery as the new build was approved.
The decision to allocate the funds in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 budgets was the culmination of years of debate, false hopes and broken dreams.
At $19 million, it’s the costliest project undertaken by the council. The council is prepared to
fund $15 million from borrowings and $4 million from council reserves, although it will continue to seek state and federal government funding to reduce its overall costs.
The project was supported by seven councillors, with two – Cr Les Larke and Cr Julian Brown – abstaining on the grounds that they believed the project should be part of the normal budget process.
The costs for the retrofit and the new build were about the same, but councillors agreed that building a new centre would make better use of space and result in a more environmentally sustainable building requiring less maintenance.
The new design is two storeys, which also reduces the building footprint, saving several significant trees from the axe and enlarging the green space around the centre.
The previous council unsuccessfully sought state and federal funding to refurbish the centre but one of the first decisions of the incoming council, in December 2016, was to shelve the then $17 million refurbishment project.
Moving the motion to build a new centre, Cr Stephen Fullarton said the Phillip Island community had been pushing for decades for a new cultural centre.
Plans by Perkins Architects show a theatre/cinema with seating for 200, a multi-purpose community hall that can seat up to 400 or be divided into three smaller meeting spaces and a central “great hall”.
On the second floor, there are a large library, rooms for the historical and genealogy societies, and a small commercial gallery.
The architects noted a smaller footprint allows substantial open public space to the north of the site to be retained and made available for civic use “creating a true focus for events and activity”.
At $19 million, it’s the costliest project undertaken by the council. The council is prepared to
fund $15 million from borrowings and $4 million from council reserves, although it will continue to seek state and federal government funding to reduce its overall costs.
The project was supported by seven councillors, with two – Cr Les Larke and Cr Julian Brown – abstaining on the grounds that they believed the project should be part of the normal budget process.
The costs for the retrofit and the new build were about the same, but councillors agreed that building a new centre would make better use of space and result in a more environmentally sustainable building requiring less maintenance.
The new design is two storeys, which also reduces the building footprint, saving several significant trees from the axe and enlarging the green space around the centre.
The previous council unsuccessfully sought state and federal funding to refurbish the centre but one of the first decisions of the incoming council, in December 2016, was to shelve the then $17 million refurbishment project.
Moving the motion to build a new centre, Cr Stephen Fullarton said the Phillip Island community had been pushing for decades for a new cultural centre.
Plans by Perkins Architects show a theatre/cinema with seating for 200, a multi-purpose community hall that can seat up to 400 or be divided into three smaller meeting spaces and a central “great hall”.
On the second floor, there are a large library, rooms for the historical and genealogy societies, and a small commercial gallery.
The architects noted a smaller footprint allows substantial open public space to the north of the site to be retained and made available for civic use “creating a true focus for events and activity”.
Cr Stephen Fullarton
“It will be a massive benefit for our community. We’ve been pushing for it for so long and I’m thrilled to support it.”
“It will be a massive benefit for our community. We’ve been pushing for it for so long and I’m thrilled to support it.”
Cr Clare Le Serve
“It’s very hard to retrofit a new building around an old building. You only have to watch The Block to see how many tears are in that. I think this is an intergenerational building. It’s going to be there for generations to enjoy.”
“It’s very hard to retrofit a new building around an old building. You only have to watch The Block to see how many tears are in that. I think this is an intergenerational building. It’s going to be there for generations to enjoy.”
Cr Julian Brown
“This is the single most expensive item we’ve had before us in this term. If the proper process is to put all this discussion into our budget process then surely it’s consistent to hold this one over until next year as well.”
“This is the single most expensive item we’ve had before us in this term. If the proper process is to put all this discussion into our budget process then surely it’s consistent to hold this one over until next year as well.”
Cr Bruce Kent
“I’ve been looking at this process for the past couple of years knowing that once we get our act together on the right building – and I believe this is the right building – that we’ll move ahead. I see this as a great achievement for the whole of Bass Coast.”
“I’ve been looking at this process for the past couple of years knowing that once we get our act together on the right building – and I believe this is the right building – that we’ll move ahead. I see this as a great achievement for the whole of Bass Coast.”
Pamela Rothfield
“I think it’s excellent and I’m so excited. There is room for more green space, which is so important to our community. The library can continue operating in its current space until the project is finished, which will save money.”
“I think it’s excellent and I’m so excited. There is room for more green space, which is so important to our community. The library can continue operating in its current space until the project is finished, which will save money.”
Cr Michael Whelan
“It’s a good time to be going to the market for funding. We’re getting encouragement from governments to bring that major infrastructure spending forward. It’s going to help the economy of Bass Coast. It’s exciting and let’s get the hell on with it.”
“It’s a good time to be going to the market for funding. We’re getting encouragement from governments to bring that major infrastructure spending forward. It’s going to help the economy of Bass Coast. It’s exciting and let’s get the hell on with it.”
Cr Geoff Ellis
“We are finally going to get the building we deserve there that will blend in with the historic and the indigenous nature of Cowes. And we will finally get a library in Cowes that the people of Phillip island deserve rather than the little shoebox it is now.”
“We are finally going to get the building we deserve there that will blend in with the historic and the indigenous nature of Cowes. And we will finally get a library in Cowes that the people of Phillip island deserve rather than the little shoebox it is now.”
Proposed Cowes Cultural Centre, ground floor plan. Design: Perkins Architects
Proposed Cowes Cultural Centre, first floor plan. Design: Perkins Architects
Comments are closed.
Population 4500, loses its mobile library service, replaced by an inferior $30,000/35 square metre library, as follows:
Library Floor Space (replacement) = 0.0077 square metres/per capita
BCSC Investment = $6.66 per capita.
(all bar one of the Waterline towns lose their library service. The replacement floor space is less than the mobile library, with just 1000-1500 items compared with 4000 items currently available from the mobile library).
The Upgrade - Phillip Island Region:
Population 11,000, $19 million/650 square metre library, etc
Library Floor Space = 0.06 sq metres/per capita (780% higher than Waterline)
BCSC Investment = $1727 per capita (2,590 % higher than Waterline. Say, 1300% given the library is one half of the building).
Spot the difference?
If the Waterline were to obtain per-capita equivalence with Phillip Island (heaven forbid), it would be the 244 (not 35) square metre Waterline Library. This can mean only one thing. Waterline rates will be be underwriting the operation of the Cowes (and Inverloch) regional libraries, not the Waterline Regional Library.
Whilst our Waterline (Westernport) Councillors (Ellis, Le Serve, Kent) have enthusiastically delivered an almighty upgrade to Phillip Island, they have also been party to an almighty downgrade of the Waterline library services. The region they supposedly represent. Whats the old saying, 'charity begins at home'?
But i fully support the project, it's actually something for all the community and floor plans look great.
Us ratepayers on the Island always whinge the island doest get money spent here and rightly so, so i cant believe people here would not support this project.