Council urges NSW Government to gift old Armidale Courthouse to community

Armidale Regional Council is urging the NSW Government to reconsider their plan to sell the old Armidale Courthouse and retain ownership of the building for the Armidale community.

At the Ordinary Council meeting held on Wednesday 28 November in Tingha, Council moved a motion to ask the NSW Government to gift the building to Council to manage for the people of Armidale. 

The former Armidale Dumaresq Council and now Armidale Regional Council have actively engaged the community to explore potential uses for the space, with support from the Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall since the old courthouse was closed in 2014. A number of excellent suggestions have been mooted to repurpose the building which will provide an integral activation point for the city and in particular the Armidale Mall.

Armidale Regional Council Mayor Cr Simon Murray said it has been a public building for many years and it would be a shame if it fell out of community use.

 “The old courthouse and what it could be used for if it were in community hands has been a high priority of the Armidale community and for Council since it was decommissioned in 2014,” said Cr Murray.

“The courthouse complex sits in a prominent CBD location and has always been factored into Council’s plans to reactivate the mall and greater CBD.

“The community’s overwhelming desire to have the building for its use cannot be ignored and I will continue to make representations to our Local Member Adam Marshall and to the NSW Government to reverse their decision to auction the property in December.”

Published on 29 Nov 2018