Borough meets to assess Queenscliff Hub plan

A PLANNING application for the $5.75 million Queenscliffe Hub will go before the Borough of Queenscliffe council tonight (Thursday, October 8), as the present tenants of the site prepare to clear the buildings before construction begins.

The hub was initially funded as a modest connection between the Queenscliffe Visitor Information Centre and Queenscliff Library on 55 Hesse Street and Queenscliffe Historical Museum on 49 Hesse Street.

However, the project received substantial grants from the state and federal government, allowing it to expand its scope.

Council has been allowed to hold a meeting during caretaker period due to planning decisions being subject to the timeframe requirements of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. As the responsible authority for the Queenscliffe Planning Scheme, the Borough of Queenscliffe must process the planning application to prevent it from going to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Queenscliff Library will be closed from Friday, October 21 to Tuesday, November 3 while it relocates to the “The Tavern” on 18 Hesse Street, along with the museum and visitor information centre.

Geelong Regional Libraries Corporation (GRLC) chief executive officer Patti Manolis said the hub would allow the Queenscliff branch to retain its heritage while broadening its services.

“GRLC is excited about the new Queenscliffe Hub. The new facility will be a wonderful complement to our much-loved heritage library, whilst also providing the ability for us to provide modern spaces and services that better meet the needs of our community,” Ms Manolis said.

“Benefits will include dedicated quiet reading spaces, event spaces, increased range of technologies and additional seating.

“The additional flexible community space in the centre will provide opportunities for new events and programming for larger groups, which is something we have not been able to accommodate in the constraints of the existing library building.”

The first step of the project will see the demolition of the current Queenscliffe Historical Museum.

The museum has therefore been moving their entire collection into temporary storage.

Queenscliffe Historical Museum president Garry Spry said this has been an enormous undertaking.

“It’s been like the cleaning of the Augean Stables, it was an impossible task,” Mr Spry said.

“But we’ve had a wonderful bloke down here, Steve Lee, who has coordinated the entire operation of decanting the museum and moving it to the alternative locations.

“He’s been greatly assisted by several volunteers, and they have just done a marvellous job.”

Mr Spry said with the museum initiating plans for the hub about 15 years ago, it was pleasing to see work begin.

“It’s a very exciting project as far as we can see it,” Mr Spry said.

“The museum will have greatly enhanced premises to move into when they do.”

The hub itself is 537 square metres, including a flexible auditorium space for community use.

The demolition of the Queenscliffe Historical Museum is expected to begin before the end of the year, with the project scheduled for completion in early 2022.

For more information on the hub head to queenscliffe.vic.gov.au.