Fears for arts centre

Council silent on Riverway fate

TOWNSVILLE CITY Council has refused to say what its plans are for the severely flood damaged Riverway Arts Complex, as the arts community fears there is every chance it is about to lose one of its last remaining creative spaces.

The Riverway Lagoons and Arts Centre was severely impacted in the catastrophic floods and while the pool section has since reopened, the council since September 2019 has not definitively said when the arts section will reopen.

A dearth of information from the council has fuelled speculation the performing arts theatre and the Pinnacles Gallery may never reopen, and the Thuringowa Library may instead move in.

The complex at 86 Thuringowa Dr, current home to the library and the Eastbrooke Townsville Health Hub, was purchased by Perpetual Corporate Trust Limited for $30 million in November last year.

The council, when asked if the library would be moved into the Riverway complex, said the library’s lease doesn’t end until 2022, and could be extended for five years if necessary.

Asked what the future was for the complex, a council spokesman said it had been “working to restore the space”.

The council would not specify how much damage the complex had sustained, how much it was expected to cost, and whether the funds would come from government disaster funding, insurers, or the council’s budget.

Arts consultant and former Dancenorth manager Trevor Keeling said rumours swirling around the community existed because the council was refusing to be “upfront and transparent” about its intentions.

“Rumour only survives in a climate where we don’t have facts,” he said.

The Riverway theatre is one of the last remaining spaces for the performing arts in Townsville, next to the perpetually booked out Civic Theatre.

Mr Keeling said the city did not have the facilities to support a growing arts sector and that the community was undervalued.