![Upgrades to the hall will soon get underway. Picture supplied Upgrades to the hall will soon get underway. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/caitlin.reid%40fairfaxmedia.com./b9f453c0-90f5-426c-8035-3762f5c50a18.JPG/r0_0_971_479_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A $1.6 million redevelopment of the Kootingal War Memorial Hall will soon get underway, with council selecting a preferred construction company to get the job done.
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Tamworth Regional Council has entered into negotiations with Rice Construction Group, based in Armidale.
A spokesperson for council said the hall is still available to the community while negotiations are ongoing.
The project will transform the hall into an open plan flexible floor-space library and community meeting and event area.
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Internal walls between the front and end of the building will be removed, a staff workroom installed, bathrooms built and access ramps installed.
The facility will also include a dedicated children's space and new library resources.
Tamworth councillor Phil Betts said despite the fancy new upgrades, the hall will stick true to tradition.
"There's no way that the name will change from Kootingal War Memorial Hall," he said.
"It goes back to even before the hall, back in WWI they built the cenotaph in Memory Park, and that was done by the community, the same sort of group of volunteers. This has been a war memorial to WWII veterans," he said.
"While I'm standing up I'll be fighting to make sure, and I don't think anyone will even consider taking that name away.
"Yes, it will be a multi functional centre, but it will always be the war memorial hall."
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