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A new group has sprung up in Young by the name of the Young Community and Resident Association and they have over 100 members in the organisation. President Mark Wells said, “Many towns and Council areas have a residents or ratepayers associations and these have developed over time as people in the Community feel they face issues when dealing with Council.” The group is not happy with the proposed Hilltops Cultural Community and Education Precinct which may house a new library.
They are calling on the Hilltops Council to withdraw their proposal to site the project within the existing Carrington Park boundaries and they actively support the application to have the Heritage Precinct as lodged by former Hilltops Council candidate Joe Kinsela accepted and Registered.
The group sought to have a 10 page document incorporated into the Council Business paper for the month of May, however, the document was handed to Councillors separate from the Business paper at Boorowa last Wednesday. The group is calling on the Hilltops Council to re-open discussion on the siting of the Young Regional Library and listen to and respond to the concerns of the community and residents. The document stated “The recent petition run by ‘the friends of Carrington Park’ with over 1700 signatures at this stage also supports this position and the recent Young Witness (3-4-2018) poll clearly shows residents are not in favour of moving the Library from its current site. 77% of respondents specifically say no to the development of the Cultural, Community and Education Precinct being built in Carrington Park.” Their stance was further resolved in the document when they stated, “There is no solution which will convince the YCARA that any encroachment onto the Park is a valid or worthwhile use of Carrington Park and certainly does not respect the Park or the Towns history.
The entire area must be considered when investigating any proposal. The application for an Interim Heritage Order is for the precinct consisting of Carrington Park, Young which was gazetted in 1888, the 1891 Presentation Convent, the 1874 Catholic Church and the Young High School (originally the Courthouse), which are listed as Environmental Heritage on the Young Local Environmental Plan On investigation of the Council drawings the footprint of the building into the Park would encompass the removal of a min. of 4 trees in the park and 2 on the crown land (Dept of Education), add to this a minimum of 7 trees that would be removed for the ‘pathway’ and any other tree which would impede the building process through proximity to the site On the Councils proposed drawings this equates to a loss of approximately 1900 sq metres of Parkland This is a significant impact on Carrington Park. Clearly, Council needs to look at options for renovating and extending the current library so that it meets the concerns and issues raised by the community and residents.”
According to the group the State Library Guide has a list of criteria when locating a library including; Main Street or shopping centre location. • Highly visible location, particularly from shopping areas. • Street frontage with Library on ground floor and not hidden from the road by trees or other buildings. • Fully accessible for people with limited mobility. • Walk to public transport. The YCARA also provided Councillors with several options which they think are worthy of pursuing. 1. Library – renovate and extend/or go up at current site…. This appears to be the preferred community option. 2. Reposition current proposal so that building is entirely within current fence line and not on Park. Still issues for Council. 3. National Engineering site – purpose built new building. 4. Along Campbell St … east side of hall/court house – …..Still issues for Council. 5. In Millards Centre…help save an historic building. 6. 2 ex fuel depots in Lovell st. 7. Town Hall car park Lovell St. 8. Masonic Hall Zouch Street …. Save an historic building. 9. Old cool stores … save an historic building. This type of development has been very successful. 10. Site of old timber yard next to rail line … Nasmyth St. 11. Block near RMS. Lovell St. 12. Apex Park.
The multi million dollar proposal has divided the town with some wanting the library moved and others wanting it to be retained on the current site or another possible site.
Hilltops Mayor Brian Ingram spoke to a gathering of concerned residents at Carrington Park in early April. he said, “At the moment, we’re exploring a possible solution that would allow us to open the door to this exciting future. Nothing’s set in stone but Council is working with the NSW Government to develop something that would be far bigger and better than anything Council could deliver on its own. It would be partially located on Young High School and partially on the southern end of Carrington Park. Neither I nor any other elected Councillor would ever allow the park to be destroyed as we value the park as much as everyone else.” Hilltops Council has allocated $1.5 million dollars in the current budget via a loan to the already $2 million dollars allocated meaning a total of $3.5 million dollars has been allocated to a Library. Where the Library will finally sit is not known although with the current funding it will be hard to miss wherever it is.
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