$100k upgrade for popular Village Green
‘‘ I AM AGAINST US SHORTENING THE GARDEN BED JUST FOR THE SAKE OF DOING IT – IT’S JUST SPENDING MONEY UNNECESSARILY. CR NANCY SOMMERFIELD
MORE shady areas, better way-finding and larger spaces for events will be part of a $100,000 upgrade of the Toowoomba CBD’s Village Green.
The Toowoomba Regional Council yesterday voted to adopt one of three designs for the small strip of public space between city hall and the art gallery on Ruthven St.
It will be just the second major renovation of the Village Green since it was built in the 1970s.
The option chosen would convert the Unity sculpture to a dry feature, move around seating to shady areas and change paving to remain.
TRC senior landscape architect Ingrid Steinhardt said the aim was to create a space that could offer access to various points in the CBD.
“The path in The Village Green adjacent to the art gallery is not a primary accessible path and does not provide a continuous accessible path of travel to other buildings or event areas, as it only leads to the seating area at the back of the art gallery,” she wrote in her report.
The report also conceded upgrades to “achieve a Disability Discrimination Act compliant path access at this point is not within the scope of this project”.
But the move to reduce the existing garden bed behind the flagpoles was criticised by Cr Nancy Sommerfield, who called the $6000 required for it an unnecessary waste of money.
“I am against us shortening the garden bed just for the sake of doing it – it’s just spending money unnecessarily that could go into a road or a footpath,” she said.
The name “The Village Green” was also officially adopted as the moniker for the space as part of the motion.