Vacant kinder could be new community meeting space

A KINDERGARTEN that has been vacant for almost four years may soon be transformed into a central hub for the Cockatoo community.
Councillors are in favour of it being utilised as a meeting space, a proposal suggested by a local group that has been examining options for the building.
The old McBride Street kindergarten is a historically significant site – it was used as a fire refuge during the Ash Wednesday fires and was visited by Princess Diana and Prince Charles soon after the tragedy.
Cr Ed Chatwin said the future of the old kindergarten had been a hot topic since it was vacated.
Under the plan, a major “community link” service would provide a central meeting space for residents, with two rooms and a kitchenette.
Cr Chatwin said the kinder was moved to Bailey Street because the building was getting “past its use by date”.
“The management committee of the kindergarten made a decision they would move rather than wait for repairs being done,” he said.
“The big problem now is, what do you do with it?”
The council has been looking at the site’s future since 2006 and a working group was established in 2008.
Preliminary findings of a study by ECHO, a youth ministries group, looking at ways of “strengthening the Cockatoo community” suggested that the township needed a community hub, where locals could socialise over coffee and talk with representatives from support service and agencies. Councillors last week adopted the working group’s preferred model for upgrades to the kindergarten site. The refurbishment will be subject to securing the funding over two years.
Cr Chatwin said roof repairs would begin before the end of the financial year, with the project expected to be complete by the end of 2010.