Shed Development
Update 6 March 2023
A second stakeholder engagement meeting was held on March 2 2023, facilitated by Julie-Anne Pettit from the City of Swan, with about 30 people in attendance, Bruce Williams (GMS President) presented a proposal to locate the new shed on the SE corner of the Showgrounds – the old tennis court site. The meeting supported this option.
CoS requested all feedback in writing to julie-anne.pettit@swan.wa.gov.au by 5:00pm Wednesday 8 March 2023. If you have already submitted feedback, you are welcome to submit a revised response by this deadline. Community groups and clubs are requested to issue a single consolidated response clearly marked with your club name and nominated contact details. Feedback will be assessed and presented at the April CoS Council meeting.
Update 27 February 2023
At the first meeting there was substantial opposition to our proposal to site the new shed south of the Ian Standard Pavilion. There was unanimous agreement to pursue placement of the shed on the tennis courts. This meeting will detail efforts toward achieving that goal.
Major Update - January 2023
During 2021 and 2022 a lot of work was done by members and consultants to develop a facility for Gidgegannup Men’s Shed (GMS) at Lot 501 Toodyay Road, a 5,000 M2 site where a lease was offered by the WA Planning Commission. However, Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) conditions, the requirement for extensive earthworks, significant tree removal, plus community groups’ preference for GMS to be located more centrally, caused GMS to seek alternate sites.
Since late 2021, GMS has been based at the Ian Stannard Pavilion (ISP) at the Gidgegannup showgrounds. In the past 12mths, membership has tripled (from 24 to 75, with >100 expected in 2023), making the need for a suitable facility an urgent requirement. The area required to safely operate with that membership is more than four times that of the ISP (128sqm +178sqm verandahs).
Discussions with the Asset Department at the City of Swan began late 2022. Initially the preferred site, the old tennis courts at the showgrounds were examined. Our BAL practitioner advised that the tennis courts site in no way complied with the required BAL rating (see Slide 2). The City’s Architect identified several alternatives around existing buildings (see Slide 3) where common services could be utilised, minimise tree removal, utilise existing Gidgegannup Hall facilities, and importantly maximise areas for community events. The most practical, and preferred site was located south of ISP (see Slide 4), therefore a wide-ranging proposal has been prepared by GMS for that site.
GMS compiled a comprehensive list of requirements, and with professional (BAL, safe workshop operations, architectural) (see Slides 5, 6 and 7) advice developed the proposed shed layout (see Slide 8) to accommodate GMS’ current range of member and community activities (woodwork, metalwork, personal and community projects, mechanical, timber milling, Blaze-Aid re-fencing, guest speaker presentations, community tool library, men’s chat group, music group, members social activities), plus new activities in development (mosaics, art, leadlighting, non-workshop social and games activities).
The goal of all these activities is to bring the community together, to improve well-being, and increase community resilience to face adversity.
To accommodate those activities, a new building (660sqm +231sqm verandah) with workshops, training room, kitchenette, office, and concrete aprons is proposed. The building is to be located south of the ISP (see Slide 9), pushed six metres into the existing embankment to maximise the events market space north of the building, whilst continuing access for emergency vehicles south of the building. This location would ultimately necessitate removal of the current ISP – consistent with the City of Swan’s 2018 Showgrounds Master Plan, and the removal of 5 existing trees (only two endemic) to allow the facility to be built.
This proposal maximises the area for marquees for the two annual shows (see Slide 10) and opens the area between the Gidgegannup Hall and the licenced area at the central hub of the shows. The verandah, concrete aprons, and airconditioned training room would be made available for these community events.
In parallel, GMS has also proposed new disabled facilities at Gidgegannup Hall; and a shared potable (drinking) water supply (collected from the new GMS roof, storage tanks on the tennis court location, plumbed around the Showgrounds).
This facility will become a valuable addition to the Gidgegannup and City of Swan communities.
During Feb/March 2023 City of Swan will be conducting stakeholder engagement on this proposal. The proposal details are also available on GMS website https://gidgegannupmensshed.org.au/shed-development/ . Should you require any further information or have suggestions to maximise the value of this proposal to the whole community you’re welcome to send them to Secretary@GidgegannupMensShed.org.au
The City of Swan is conducting Gidgegannup Showgrounds Stakeholder meetings at the Gidgegannup Hall on the following days:
• 9:30am -11:30pm 9 Feb 2023 – Initial stakeholder meeting
• 6:30pm – 8:30pm 2 Mar 2023 – Repeat / Follow up stakeholder meeting
The cut-off date for stakeholder comments to City of Swan (Asset Management) is 5pm Wed 8 Mar 2023. Email both … Luke.Hocking@swan.wa.gov.au and julie-anne.pettit@swan.wa.gov.au