Your Council

Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment

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Ashfield Council is redeveloping its Administration Building and Civic Centre at 260 Liverpool Road, Ashfield to meet the needs of its staff and community now and into the future. The redeveloped Council Centre will be a leading example of sustainable and modern urban design.

The Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment will bring many benefits to Council's customers, users of Council's facilities and Council staff, including:

State of the art Library, twice the size of the existing facility
New and accessible Customer Service Centre
New Community Activity Rooms
Landscaped Forecourt fronting Liverpool Road
Small retail tenancy, and
Refurbished staff accommodation

Read on for the latest project news and updates or view the Council Centre Redevelopment Brochure.

LATEST NEWS

26 February 2010
Commercial section walls erected and floors poured

The project continues to be on budget and walls have now been erected and the floors poured for the ground floor commercial section of the redevelopment which is located at the front near Liverpool Rd.
Due to the recent inclement weather and other unforeseen circumstances such as the discovery of some old asbestos materials, there have been some delays with pouring the concrete for the first floor (library) slab.
It is now expected that this will be done at the beginning of March.

21 January 2010
Library Moved

The library has now moved to a new temporary location under Ashfield Town Hall and the old library room is being stripped out. Building work is continuing with the ground floor poured and columns up. Work has started on preparing for the first floor slab which is due to be poured in early February. The new lift has been ordered for installation later on in the build.

3 December 2009
First concrete poured

The redevelopment of Ashfield Civic Centre is moving on apace now with the first concrete being poured on site this month. In order to facilitate the next stage of work, Ashfield library is moving to its temporary location in the basement areas of the Town Hall building facing Liverpool Rd, which was previously occupied by the Early Childhood Centre. The library will close on Friday 18 December 2009 and will reopen in its new location on Monday 4 January 2010. The new hours will be: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 9am-4pm, and closed on Sunday. Grant funding for the redevelopment has now also been received for Stage 2 of the plans and these include a new Youth Facility, the refurbished Town Hall and new early childhood and family facility. The whole project is on budget for a total cost of $14.3m

6 July 2009
First soil turned for Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment

AFTER more than two years of planning, consultation and decision-making, work on the $15 million Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment is now officially underway. Today Ashfield Mayor Ted Cassidy PSM and the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Local Government, turned the first soil on the site of the new Ashfield Council Centre, a symbolic gesture of this significant milestone in the project and the work to come over the next 18 months.

The project was recently boosted by successful grant funding to the tune of $2.3 million from the Federal Government as part of its Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program. Mayor Cassidy said the Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment at 260 Liverpool Road was one of the most significant urban renewal projects undertaken by Ashfield Council.

"Our new Council Centre will be a modern, accessible and community-oriented Centre that will meet the needs of our residents and community members now and into the future," he said.

The project includes a new Customer Service Centre, a new library twice the size of the existing facility, refurbished office accommodation, community activity rooms, a new Town Hall foyer and a landscaped forecourt fronting Liverpool Road.

"The Federal Government grant will be used to fund a new youth resource centre, a new early childhood health centre, amenities and an interior refurbishment of the Town Hall," said Mayor Cassidy.

Ashfield Council also received $199,570 in grant funding from the State Government's Library Council of NSW Library Development Grant scheme to contribute to the new state of the art library. "We will keep our community informed of our progress during the life of the project," said Mayor Cassidy.

5 June 2009
Ashfield's new Council Centre gets green light
ASHFIELD Council has appointed Denham Constructions to build the new Ashfield Council Centre on Liverpool Road.
At a special Council Meeting held last Tursday, the Council adopted a recommendation from its tender evaluation panel to appoint Denham Constructions who will build Stage 1 of the Centre for a contract price of $8.5 million. The total cost of Stage One of the project including design, consultant fees and fit out is $12.3 million. The Council has also secured loan funding for the project of $9.5 million through the National Australia Bank.

8 May 2009

$2.3 Million funding received towards Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment
Ashfield Council has received $2.3 Million from the Minister for Infrastructure and Local Government (and Member for Grayndler) Anthony Albanese for Stage 2 Council Centre Redevelopment works. This funding is made available under the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program (RLCIP). This is the largest grant ever made available to Ashfield Council by the federal government and will enable the Council to complete additional works such as the Youth Centre and Early Childhood Centre, bringing the Town Hall up to current Building Code of Australia standards, and the inclusion of a full suite of public toilet facilities on the ground floor.

15 April 2009
Ashfield Council receives $199,570 boost for new library
ASHFIELD Council has been awarded $199,570 by the Premier and Minister for the Arts, the Honourable Mr Nathan Rees, to contribute towards the cost of Council's new library, being built as part of the Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment.

The grant was awarded under the Library Council of NSW Library Development Grant scheme.

Ashfield Mayor, Councillor Ted Cassidy PSM, said Council was pleased to receive the funding to contribute towards the costs of the new library, which would be a major benefit for the local community.

"Ashfield Library has more than 40,000 members, which makes this grant a real coup for our community," he said.  "Many library patrons are eagerly awaiting the redevelopment of the library, which will provide Ashfield Council residents with access to a state of the art library that is more than twice the size of our existing facility, "he said.

"The new library will also feature an innovative bookshop style layout, quiet study areas, an exciting youth space and improved access to technology.   "We will also be expanding the range of programs delivered at the Library, which currently includes book groups, weekly storytime, homework help, Authors at Ashfield and school visits," said Councillor Cassidy.

Ashfield Library will continue to provide free wireless and broadband internet access and will liaise with the State Library to finalise development of the plans.

Minister Assisting the Premier and Minister for the Arts and Member for Strathfield Virginia Judge said the Rees Government was committed to boosting library services in the inner west.

"The Ashfield Library project is a great example of how the Government and Council can work together to deliver new facilities and services," Ms Judge said.  "This is about investing in the future of our libraries - and our community," said Ms Judge.

24 February 2009
Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment - New entry to Customer Service Centre

Ashfield Council has closed the existing entrance to the Customer Service Centre and creatied a new entrance at the side of the building, to begin preparations for the Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment. The new entrance will be on the Ashfield Mall side of the building.

Ashfield Council's Customer Service Centre, Library and Council Chambers are currently operating as normal. Please take the lift from the corridor behind the Town Hall to Level 2 for the Library, or Level 3 for Council Meetings.

New signage will be in place to direct customers to Council's facilities during the construction period. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this period. For more information about the Ashfield Council Centre Redevelopment contact Council.

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Ashfield Council Centre Development Application

Ashfield Council approved the Development Application for the Ashfield Civic Centre Redevelopment at the Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday 22 July 2008.

The Development Application (No 2008.128) was submitted by Ashfield Council following an extensive planning and community consultation process. The application was on public exhibition until Tuesday 24 June 2008 and was assessed by an independent planning consultant.