Covid vaccine hub forces delay to $1.8m Gympie Civic Centre works

Gympie residents will still be waiting a while yet for the venue to reopen its doors to events

Gympie’s Civic Centre will not reopen to arts events until mid-2022 because the council has been forced to delay $1.8m in upgrades to the venue while it is used as a vaccination hub.

Gympie’s Civic Centre is likely to remain closed to events until mid-2022 following the state government’s decision to turn the building into a Covid-19 vaccination hub.

Gympie Regional Council had been planning to undertake more than $1.8m worth of upgrades to the building.

The work was to include a $1.5m overhaul of the centre’s electrical wiring and technical facilities, a $180,000 replacement of the roof and a $176,000 upgrade to the heating, airconditioning and ventilation systems.

The work was being funded by the state government via the Works for Queensland program and bushfire recovery funding.

The Gympie Civic Centre will serve as the region’s Covid-19 vaccination hub until October. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

The council's communications manager Sharna Rowley said the state government had given permission for the funding to be extended into this financial year.

“Once the facility is no longer required as a vaccination hub, work will commence, however a date has not been set,” Mrs Rowley said.

“(The) council is aiming to commence (the work) in late 2021 (or) early 2022, with building work finalised by June 30, 2022.”

The upgrades were meant to be completed by the end of June 2020.

However that date was pushed back to at least September 2020 after the council discovered safety problems including asbestos at the venue.

The centre had been reportedly been under consideration as Gympie’s Covid-19 vaccination hub since February this year.