'Some people are going to love it, some people are not'

Residents of the 2508 area have shown great interest in Wollongong City Council’s plans for the new Helensburgh Community Centre and Library, with a booked-out presentation at Tradies Helensburgh in February followed by a busy Let’s Talk session with council staff on March 12.

A young couple who bought a home in Helensburgh about 18 months ago, Maddison and Khris Guru stopped by with their five-week-old baby and told the Flame they were keen for a new library to be built.

“The new library would be awesome,” Maddison said. “It’ll be nice to have more resources and amenities and space. It looks super-modern and big, maybe a little bit incongruous with the rest of Helensburgh, but something new and fresh would be nice."

“We’re big fans of libraries,” Khris said, “we travel and we end up in libraries all over the coast because of my work, reading books, or if it's just getting another vibe. We want to see Helensburgh grow. If it stays super, super-old school, it’s hard for us to get the services we need, what the kids need as well.

"We want the balance of a small town, but we are also excited that it is growing and changing.”

Mixed response to council's concept

About 40 people dropped into Helensburgh Community Rooms to learn about local projects. While the main attraction was the new community centre and library, council’s recreational planning team also took questions about playground upgrades at Otford and Helensburgh’s Norm O'Brien Park. Staff from customer services, land use planning and the green team also attended.

After speaking to staff, Charlie Truscott of Burgh Healthy Hub, said: “I think it's going to be a wonderful library, but I just don't think it services all the needs of the town. Obviously there’s not enough parking, and then people are concerned that it backs onto a fire zone.” She suggested a change to the flooring in the multi-purpose room, saying: “No one wants to do exercise on a carpet.”

Ross McLean, a structural design draftsman, said: “Basically, the concept is upside down. The community space should really be on the bottom because of vibration issues; you need a firm surface for that.”

Ross said the library should be on the second floor so activities like ballet or gymnastics don't “disturb the peace” of readers below. He’d like to see the new centre spread over four blocks – the two empty blocks at 53-55 Walker St, plus the two blocks where the current demountable library has stood for five decades. To help fund the new centre, Council plans to sell these two blocks once the new building is complete, but Ross thinks they should be kept for car parking.

“Helensburgh businesses that we've spoken to at the chamber of commerce have all said, please help us solve the issue with parking in Helensburgh, in the commercial area – not remotely, but in town.”

Visiting from Lake Macquarie, Paul de Bono was part of the Helensburgh Land Pooling group that bought bushland in the town’s east then spent decades campaigning for a residential rezoning of the environmental conservation lots. He had hoped to speak to council’s land planning use manager but was “disappointed” in that regard. 

“I bought my land in land pooling in 1981 to build ... because of my love for the area,” Paul said. “I believe the new centre will be good for the town. There’s a lot of empty shops and it could help spruik the town's commercial area, and encourage a bit more development in the area that it's been calling out for, for almost half a century.”

Retired architect and lawyer Peter Sarlos, a regular at Neighbourhood Forum 1 meetings, said he had “a number of issues” with the design process. “The scheme was ill presented. There's no scale. So there's no way that the community was able to determine how big the spaces were and we're still relying on little or no information that came from council. They are very jealous of the process.”

Parking had not been addressed, Peter added. “The number of car spaces would appear to be more or less suitable for a library, but they're not suitable for what is termed a community hall. I think the old building is capable of being saved, and that would reduce the cost of the proposed development.”

Stanwell Park parent Georgina Coase liked the design. “I was surprised to see the community hall will fit over 200 people. I think that's a reasonable size for the size of our community. We can use that space in many different ways. 

“The building itself – some people are going to love it, some people are not. It's a very specific style. My main suggestion is, if they don't want all the concrete walls graffitied within seconds, they could replicate some of the local artists’ murals. That would soften the building and prevent graffiti. 

“Otherwise, I think it's a huge investment for Helensburgh. Not every community gets a brand new community hall and library, so I feel pretty grateful. Things can always be bigger and better, but we've got to be realistic too. We've got a lot of resource challenges on council budgets, and I think what we're getting is pretty good.”

Greens city councillor Jess Whittaker backed the idea of murals for the building. “Using local artists to decorate concrete instead of graffiti artists is a great idea,” she said. “Looking at something on paper is very different to looking at something in real life. I think when we see all the landscaping and public art built into the concrete and people using it, it will feel very unique and like a real asset to the town.”

Labor councillor Dan Hayes also liked the concept, describing it as “pretty good”.

“The feedback that I've got from lots of the community has been that they certainly want something more than the demountables that are there – a permanent place for the library is what people are after.” He acknowledged changes may be needed. “That's what those plans being out for review is all about… but I'm pretty committed as this council to delivering a library and community centre.”

Overall, Warwick Erwin, the long-time volunteer convenor of Neighbourhood Forum 1, described the event as “constructive”.

“It was good to see council up here with the different divisions.”

Time to make a bushfire plan

Rural Fire Service volunteers seized the chance to chat to locals about bushfire risk management plans at the Let's Talk event.

Multiple agencies will be involved in hazard reductions in the cooler seasons, said group captain Craig Robertson. His message to residents: “Go home, look around their properties. Yes, we are going into winter, but from what we are hearing, it could be a dry winter. For the northern part of the Illawarra, it's probably 2001 when we last had our big bushfire season up here. So we are aware that the growth and the fuels are there. It's just probably a matter of time when that [next bushfire] happens.”