Kiah Community Hall Rebuild Project
Rebuilding Kiah Community Hall destroyed during the 2019-20 fires.
Project Summary/background
For generations, the Kiah Community Hall has been a much loved and used community asset for the community of Kiah and its surrounding remote areas. This historic Community Hall and the adjoining Our Lady of the Princes Highway Church were destroyed during the devastating Black Summer bushfires.
Bega Valley Shire Council is working with the Kiah community to rebuild its much-loved hall. This project is being managed in parallel with the rebuild project for Wandella Community Hall in the north of the shire which was also destroyed during Black Summer fires.
When the adjoining Our Lady of the Princes Highway Church Lot in Kiah was offered for sale by the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, Council was able to buy the land. This provided an ideal location for the hall rebuild given its location on the crest of the hill, its proximity to other facilities in the precinct and its potential to be a more cost-effective building site. The acquisition of the lot was authorised by Council in August 2020. In joint effort, the Kiah Hall and Friends of the Kiah Hall Committees worked hard to fundraise and support the acquisition of this land parcel by Council.
In November 2020, the NSW government announced a share of $3 million in funding towards rebuilding and restoring the Kiah and Wandella halls. In April 2021, Council received formal notice of Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Funding of $1.821 million (combined) for both the Kiah and Wandella projects.
A series of public community consultation sessions were held from November 2020 through to January 2021 as part of the planning stage for the hall rebuild. All community members and stakeholders were invited to contribute to the development of the design brief to ensure the new facility meets the community’s needs now and into the future.
The community consultation sessions were facilitated by Council and independent Architect, Tim Lee who provided his services for the community consultation sessions at no-cost (pro-bono).
The input from these community consultation sessions provided the ingredients to create a site-specific project design brief for the new hall. During the consultation, it was widely recognised by the community that the preferred approach would be to invite a shortlisted group of architectural firms to develop and present initial concept designs in line with the design brief, which would then be presented to the community and Council for feedback. This approach meets the requirements of the funding agreement to ensure the project is carried out by appropriately skilled, qualified and experienced professionals, and fits within the project budget. By using qualified architects, the project can achieve an outcome that meets current and future needs.
In January 2022, the following architectural firms were shortlisted (in alphabetical order) to provide a concept design for both the Kiah and Wandella halls:
- COMPLETE Urban Pty Ltd
- Facility Design Group
- Three Stone Design
During February and March 2022, the initial design concepts were presented to the community through community meetings and an online ‘Have Your Say’ process. As a result of the engagement and consultation evaluation process, architectural firm, Facility Design Group were engaged to deliver the final designs for the two hall projects.
VIEW KIAH HALL DESIGN DOCUMENT
Construction tendering for this project is now complete and the prefered tenderer will be engaged by the end of 2022, with practical completion of project construction by late November 2024.
Council thanks all community members and stakeholders who took part in the public community consultation sessions between 2020 and 2021—the attendance and enthusiasm to work with Council on delivery of this important project has brought immeasurable value to the project.
Purpose
The key aim of the project is for Council to partner with the local community to rebuild a fit for purpose Community Hall which will meet community needs now and into the future:
The hall should:
- pay homage to the past but also look to the future
- be a focal point of community life
- be a flexible and multipurpose space
- be environmentally sustainable
- be accessible for all members of the community
- be resilient to the impacts of any future natural disaster
- have low ongoing operational and maintenance costs.
Funding
The funding for this project was made possible through the NSW Government’s Bushfire Local Economic Recovery (BLER) Fund.
Bega Valley Shire Council is contributing to the overall budget.
Connection to Council's Community Strategic Plan
This project links to Council's Community Strategic Plan through:
- Outcome 4: Liveable places
- Goal 8: Our places retain their character and scale, development is well planned, and a range of goods and services are available within our shire that meet local needs.
- Strategy 18: Consistently engage and consult across the whole community to ensure a diversity of voices are heard and that feedback is captured and considered for decision making and advocacy purposes.
Have Your Say
This project has been acjeived to date through Council and the community working together.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the community consultation.
Who can I speak to:
Gemma Gill
Manager, Infrastructure and Services
Bega Valley Shire Council
Phone: (02) 6499 2222
Email: ggill@begavalley.nsw.gov.au
Mark Baker
Project Manager, Infrastructure and Services
Bega Valley Shire Council
Phone: (02) 6499 2222
Email: mbaker@begavalley.nsw.gov.au
Timeline of works
Frequently Asked Questions
News and Updates
© Bega Valley Shire Council 2024
Our council websites
Contact Us
- 02 6499 2222
- council@begavalley.nsw.gov.au
-
Zingel Place
PO Box 492
Bega NSW 2550 -
Monday to Friday 9.00AM to 4.30PM
Administration building Zingel Place Bega
Australia -
ABN: 26 987 935 332
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