Kootingal War Memorial Hall project tops $2 million

Including additional car parking and sewer relocation into plans for the library has run up the bill by $225,000, bringing the total cost of the redevelopment to more than $2 million.

State and government grant funding is covering $1.4 million, leaving Tamworth council to cover the remaining $655,000.

The project will remove the existing library from within the local hall and demolish the outdoor toilet block, to make room for a larger, purpose-built library attached to the memorial hall with a community room, kitchen facilities, and store for both buildings to share.

The initial project started with a budget less than $1.6 million, but tenders were were "significantly" higher than Tamworth Regional Council expected, leading councillors to approve an additional $300,000 for the redevelopment.

Council's Project Planning and Delivery Manager Mark Gardiner said unlike the previous budget shortfall, the latest $225,000 allocation for parking and sewage was always on the cards.

"With the changes to the plans Council knew there would be costs required for additional car parking civil works and sewer relocation. There was $125,000 allocated from the Civil Construction Reserve to complete the parking work and $100,000 from the Sewer General Fund for the relocation of the sewer," Mr Gardiner said.

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The changes to the plans Mr Gardiner mentioned refer to changes to the plans councillors made in response to community consultation held in 2021, which he says "expressed a desire to maintain the hall's integrity and heritage but also the desire for a larger library space to support the growing demand and population".

To incorporate the changes, a Development Application (DA) modification was lodged and is now on public exhibition.

As for when the project's construction will begin, Mr Gardiner said designs for the redevelopment are almost complete and that a timeline will be revealed after the DA is finalised.

The redevelopment also stirred up some controversy in September last year when council said it had "no choice" but to disband the volunteer committee who had run the site since 2008, in order to comply with state regulations on the undertaking of renovations.

The committee had previously fought against the redevelopment.

The DA modification is on public exhibition on the NSW Planning Portal until September 25.

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