Tamworth community group 'kept in dark' on UNE campus project, Mitch Hanlon said

That's according to UNE Reference Group chair Mitch Hanlon.

The university announced this week that it had moved to the design phase for its Tamworth university campus, set to be built at the site of the old velodrome on Peel Street.

Mr Hanlon said the community should be consulted on the design work on the building, through something like a co-design process.

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"No, we weren't kept in the loop. There's been a number of people in the community who had concerns about the delays," he said.

"We felt that we've been in the dark."

The group will meet tomorrow with the university's acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Simon Evans.

The university issued a call for expressions of interest from leading design firms on Tuesday, and will announce the tender winner by the end of the year. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2025.

Mr Hanlon said it was unclear why it took the project five months since a groundbreaking ceremony in March to start design work.

"We've been worried about this for a couple of months now," he said.

"We're not sure why."

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UNE's Director of Regional Development Professor David Miron, said the timing for the design process of the university campus is in line with the funding agreement between the state and university.

The 2025 finish date is also included in the agreement and is on track, he said.

He confirmed that Tamworth locals could get input on the look of the facility, before sign-off.

"Designs will be developed in consultation with community, including indigenous community groups, students and the reference group," he said.

Tamworth councillor Helen Tickle, a member of the project's steering committee, said the local government was very keen to see the build get underway.

"It has taken longer than we expected, however we look forward to moving forward and seeing a facility on the ground," she said.

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UNE Reference Group member Stephen Maher told the Leader he was also concerned about a lack of communication from the university.

"There has been a general lack of communication from UNE, publicly, certainly," he said.

"There's been a lot of activity in proposed course development and proposed other sites here in Tamworth, particularly the proposed equine centre and sports dome. There is activity in those areas, but certainly there's been not much public communications."

Tamworth mayor Russell Webb said in March that the project was scheduled to be finished in 2024, but the University of New England clarified on Wednesday that the project had always been scheduled to be completed in 2025, as per the state government's funding deed for the scheme.

The project is jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Tamworth Regional Council is also making a contribution to the scheme, donating the velodrome site on Peel Street.

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