Homeless left out in cold
August 30, 2010
Homelessness service providers have been left in the lurch in Mount Gambier as the Old Gaol has discontinued its emergency accommodation.
City Council advised Housing SA and ac.care last week that the Old Gaol, which has long been a stable source of crisis accommodation, will no longer offer the services space for their clients. Read more
School arts dream comes to fruition
August 23, 2010
The Mount Gambier High School arts faculty, community and dignitaries gathered on Thursday, August 19, to celebrate the official opening of the Garry Costello Centre for Creative Arts — a haven that will continue to “build the education revolution” through self-expression.
With four art and design studios, a gallery, information technology suite, performance space that seats over 140 and plenty of storage room, the centre was described as “remarkable” by Mr Costello. Read more
Hospital floats rehabilitation plan
August 16, 2010
A new rehabilitation unit at the Mount Gambier Hospital for patients recovering from various medical conditions has been funded to employ 22 full-time staff, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, a speech pathologist, nurses and a dietitian.
Infrastructure for the rehabilitation hub is not yet in place, but plans have been drawn for an extension to be constructed onto the medical ward, where the unit will be housed. Read more
Rail land vision
August 16, 2010
Images representing a possible future plan for the Mount Gambier rail lands have surfaced on the internet while City Council kept the document in confidence, saying it has neither accepted nor rejected the vision.
Council engaged urban design company Hames Sharley to develop options for the disused rail land in the city centre, with the most recently produced images published on the designer’s website.
The redevelopment of the vacant site is one of the three key goals in council’s Vision for 2015, alongside the library and the main corner developments.
Council chief executive Greg Muller said the Hames Sharley plan had been kept in confidence because it was not finalised.
He said not all aspects made sense to council and members struggled to come to grips with the concept.
“Council is not necessarily ready to accept them,” he said.
“Council is well away from finding what is the best option for the site — we need to do a lot more work before reaching a decision we feel comfortable with.”
He said council had been preoccupied with the library and main corner development, but members were able to focus more on the rail lands now that the main corner works had commenced.
The rail lands have been discussed in confidence in council meetings over the past two months, but Hames Sharley project director David Cook said he had not had contact with Mr Muller since around Easter.
Mr Muller said he had no doubt council would go to the community with the plans when they were comfortable with them.
“My feeling is council doesn’t want to put to the community plans which aren’t finalised,” he said.
Council has discussed the “vision” for the rail lands in confidence, but Mr Muller told The Border Watch that councillors felt the site’s future development was contingent on long-term viability and unique design.
“It has to be something quite uniquely special — a unique inner city urban landscape in an urban context,” he said.
“And absolute viability of the site — what’s going to attract people to the site on a regular basis like the library and the main corner — it’s got to be different to a typical garden or park.
“The investment, which will be high, can only be spent once — for ultimate success we were never going to be rushed.”
Mr Muller said council respected the heritage status of the site’s long-standing railway station, but said it was challenge to find a future role for the building.
“It’s been a real struggle for us, but every day that passes we get a bit smarter as to what the best uses for the site are,” he said.
According to the Hames Sharley website, the rail land project involved a two stage consultation process for the precinct to develop a public area to link the shopping and main streets of Mount Gambier.
“The project explored the balance between commercial development and active open space,” according to the website.
“During the master planning process, issues such as water charge into the aquifer, water treatment and reuse were incorporated into the master plan.”
The site was transferred for government-owned land to City Council in 2006.
Meanwhile, works have already begun on the site in recent months with drilling grid holes and testing soil for land contamination.
Hames Sharley’s David Cook said he hoped to continue working with council on the project.
Funding for development on the rail lands has not yet been determined.
Council’s Rail Lands Working party will meet early in September to continue discussions on the site’s future.
Lamb export opportunity looms
August 9, 2010
The Australian lamb industry has an opportunity to meet steadily growing global demand over the next five years if it can accelerate productivity.
Meat and Livestock Australia’s managing director David Palmer told delegates at LambEx 2010 in Perth this week that recent forecasts and economic modelling provided a compelling platform for the prospects that lay ahead for the Australian lamb industry. Read more
Third synthetic green completed
August 9, 2010
The Mount Gambier Bowls Club (MGBC) – apart from continuing to play bowls twice weekly throughout the winter – has been able to complete the paving of the surrounds of its latest woven carpet green.
The completion is largely due to the fantastic support from club volunteers and takes the synthetic number of greens at the MGBC to three. Read more
Theatre reveives $70,000 upgrade
August 2, 2010
The Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre is a hive of activity this week with tradesmen completing significant upgrades to the 28 year old arts centre.
As part of the $70,000 revamp, patrons will notice improved audio — courtesy of a reconfigured sound system and new digital sound desk. Read more
New life for Old Gaol
July 29, 2010
Mount Gambier’s Old Gaol could become a restaurant and market hub with City Council selecting an independent applicant to further negotiations for the take-over of the site.
The selected applicant — couple James Stephenson and Melissa Ellis, originally of Mount Gambier — made an independent expression of interest to council at the start of June, which was not included in meetings council held with other potential tenders. Read more
Main corner vision sought
July 26, 2010
City Council has begun a quest to find someone to create a “vision” for the future internal spaces at the Main Corner after making three attempts at the task without reaching a consensus.
Council moved to have chief executive Greg Muller identify a person or firm which could be engaged to develop a vision and theme for the first floor of the $6.4m Main Corner development at Tuesday, July 20’s full meeting. Read more
Biomass push fails to generate support
June 28, 2010
The South East could become the generator of a national industry creating renewable energy from wood waste biomass if councils, state and federal governments heed the calls of advocates to realise the sector’s potential.
Developments in biofuel technology have created a buzz in the region with Plantation Energy’s plans for pellet plants at Wandilo and Heywood and local innovators such as Australian Kelp Products managing director Bevan Mills forging paths ahead for emerging opportunities. Read more
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