Following our submission to the Council of the City of Sydney concerning the concept of transforming Glebe Town Hall into a fully funded and fully staffed community centre some developments have taken place.

Cr Jess Scully, following approaches from the Glebe Society President and the Community Subcommittee Convenor, as well as other interested community groups, tabled the following motion to Council:

Community service provision in Glebe – amended March 7 2020 by Councillor Scully

It is resolved that:

A. Council note:

  1. The Glebe Society have asked Council to establish ‘a fully staffed Community Centre’ at Glebe Town Hall, in line with Council’s review of its community facilities
  2. The Glebe Society’s concerns that ‘gaining a booking to use [Glebe] community venues involves a complex application process, which is especially difficult for unincorporated groups without insurance’, and that ‘access to an unstaffed venue on booking days can be cumbersome and time-consuming’.
  3. The valuable services provided to the Glebe community by the Glebe Community Development Project, which continues to be a tenant of Glebe Town Hall. The Glebe Community Development Project has an accommodation grant from the City until mid-2021.
  4. The Aboriginal Cultural Space at Glebe Town Hall is an important place for the local community, and is currently being managed by the Glebe Community Development Project, who are supporting local elders and community groups in gaining access to the space.
    v. The City provides a range of existing services in Glebe, including the Glebe Neighbourhood Service Centre, the Harold Park Community Hall and St Helen’s Community Centre.
  5. The City has invested in making Glebe safer, more accessible and more people-friendly, including through the completion of the Glebe foreshore walk and improving the Cardigan Street Reserve.

B. The Chief Executive Officer:

  1. Investigate how services in Glebe might be consolidated and made more accessible to a wider range of constituents, particularly focusing on the needs of older residents.
  2. Investigate options for service provision in Glebe, and report back via CEO update.
  3. Solicit input from Glebe community organisations like the Glebe Society, the Coalition of Glebe Groups, Glebe Connected, Glebe Community Development Project, local Aboriginal elders and others to discover where the City’s service provision in Glebe could be enhanced, and incorporate feedback into delivering the Social Sustainability Policy & Action Plan’s commitment to ‘ensuring our community facilities continue to respond to changing community needs and preferences by analysing user trends, emerging unmet demands and opportunities to improve delivery.

This motion was passed unanimously.

Now we await the investigation by the City of Sydney to which we will contribute in full.

The Glebe Society Management Committee has asked the Community Subcommittee to begin preparing a document suggesting how we might respond in terms of a model for the use of the Glebe Town Hall as part of this process. We would like your input so you are invited to assist the Subcommittee by emailing your ideas and hopes for Glebe Town Hall as a community centre to community@glebesociety.org.au.

Correction

The following excerpt from our submission was reported in the March Bulletin:

Recent interviews undertaken by GlebeConnected members found that approximately 90% of older people interviewed for their ‘Ageing in Place’ research expressed the desire for a comprehensive Community Centre to be established at Glebe Town Hall.

As the report from GlebeConnected, including their feedback to City of Sydney, had not been completed at the time of our submission and after discussion with GlebeConnected, we amended it prior to Council’s consideration of the Motion to:

Recent interviews undertaken by GlebeConnected members found that approximately 90% of older people interviewed for their ‘Ageing in Place’ research expressed the desire for a comprehensive Community Centre to be established.

Janice Challinor
Community Development Subcommittee Convenor