Springwood Community and Cultural Facilities Upgrade
“Council is currently preparing plans for the upgrade community and cultural facilities in the Civic Centre precinct, 104-108 Macquarie Road, Springwood. This work is enabled by a grant from the Australian Government of $9.5 million. This grant funding is being administered through the Community Organisation Infrastructure Grant Program. A condition of the $9.5 million grant is for all work to be completed and the grant spent by the end of June 2014. A tight time frame is required in order for Council to meet this condition.
In February 2011 Council went to tender for the master plan and detailed design for this project and in April 2011 Council awarded the tender to architects Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (FJMT). FJMT were engaged by the Council to prepare a draft master plan for the upgrade of community and cultural facilities on the Civic Centre site located in Macquarie Road Springwood. The draft Masterplan process included the investigation of options available, and then the development of the preferred option to a final master plan including a staging plan for implementation, feasibility assessments and a business plan for both construction and continued operation and maintenance of the facilities.
The draft Masterplan was placed on public exhibition in October- November 2011. Public submissions were received during this time and these submissions were reviewed before presentation to the Council seeking adoption.
A report was presented to the Council on Tuesday 13 December 2011 outlining the outcomes of the public exhibition period with consideration of all public submissions received. The following outcomes were resolved:
1. That the Council notes the content of the submissions and the responses to these submissions received on the draft Masterplan Report for the Springwood Community and Cultural Facilities Upgrade, and notes that no amendments have been made to the draft Masterplan Report in response to the submissions;
2. That the Council adopts as the final Masterplan Report the “Draft Masterplan Report for the Springwood Community and Cultural Facilities Upgrade” as placed on public exhibition;
3. That, subject to securing a staged financial approval from the Department of Regional Australia - Community Infrastructure Grant Program that provides for the fees associated with this process, the Council approves Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp to proceed to Phase 2, the detailed design and construction documentation for Stage 1 of the Springwood Community and Cultural Facilities Upgrade and notes and approves the increased estimated construction cost of Stage 1 of the project and commensurate increase in architectural and approval fees for this work;
4. That the Council report to the NSW Government on the proposed project in accordance with the requirements of the Capital Expenditure Guidelines; and
5. That the General Manager be delegated authority to commence negotiations with the Department of Land & Property Management Authority, Crown Lands to bring about the transfer of Crown Land at the Early Childhood Centre site to the Council, as operational land for the purposes of future commercial development.
Submissions received during the public exhibition process generally referred to issues involving detailed design solutions. Such issues and their resolution will occur at the detailed design stages and these comments will be useful as the project progresses to these stages.
Therefore, no amendments were made to the draft Masterplan as exhibited and this report has now been adopted by the Council as the final Masterplan.
The Council is currently awaiting confirmation of the Australian Government grant funding. Following this, the project will move into the detailed design and construction certification stages. This will include the preparation of construction drawings of the first stage of construction; obtaining the necessary approvals for staged development; and provision of detailed tender documentation for the construction of Stage 1, to the value of approximately $15.5m less design and approval fees incurred.
You can download various information on the project from http://bluemountainshaveyoursay.com.au/springwoodfacilitiesupgrade including newsletters updating progress on the project, the brief for the project and other information on the project.
Register for the regular newsletter by emailing subscribe to to swdfacilitiesupgrade@bmcc.nsw.gov.au
N.B. Please note that the Springwood Town Centre Project, which involved potential sale or lease of public land, has been discontinued. However the results from the community consultation undertaken preliminary concepts for the upgrade of community and cultural facilities informed the architect brief for the Masterplan and detailed design of facilities.