Mayor says state government hub “terrific” news, points out similarities to Cultural and Civic Space

Eyebrows were raised when a $55m state government office block was announced for Coffs Harbour, drawing instant comparisons with Council’s Gordon St project.

Gurmesh Singh and Coffs Harbour City Council's Cultural and Civic Space.

Mayor Denise Knight has responded to Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh’s declaration that a new state government office hub bore no resemblance to the Cultural and Civic Space.

Last week the NSW Government announced it would spend $55 million on an office block to consolidate Coffs Harbour’s public servants into one building, immediately drawing comparisons with the CCS.

But Mr Singh dismissed those comparisons as a “complete distraction” and repeated an often cited criticism of the new Council building — that it would have less office space than its current buildings.

Mr Singh has been a vocal critic of the Gordon St development, weighing in on the debate throughout the process leading up to its eventual approval.

Work continues on the site of the Coffs Harbour Cultural and Civic Space on Gordon St. Photo: Tim Jarrett

When asked to comment on Mr Singh’s claims the two buildings were like “chalk and cheese”, Coffs Harbour City Council Mayor Denise Knight wasn’t convinced they were that different, but said the new hub was a “terrific move”.

“We’ve always said let's put all the council offices in one building and the state government is saying ‘well let's put all the state government offices in one building’,” she said.

“They are using our tax money and we are using our ratepayers money.

“Is it like chalk and cheese, compared to the CSS? I don’t think so, I think it’s cheese and cheese.”

The $55 million office hub comes off the back of a pledge from the state government to advertise a greater number of public servant positions as ‘location agnostic’.

It is expected that as a newly designated regional working hub, Coffs Harbour could have up to 100 new public servants working from the city across a variety of departments.

Mayor Denise Knight has been a passionate supporter of the Cultural and Civic Space.

Mr Singh said the new office hub would go some way in helping attract people to the city.

“A building like this may attract a significant number of relatively senior positions to Coffs Harbour,” Mr Singh said.

“It shows that Coffs Harbour is a growing city and the state government, in part, has a lot of confidence in Coffs Harbour and (for it) to become a regional centre.”

Council also addressed Mr Singh’s comments through a spokesperson, making reference to the differences in office design since the 1980s.

The office floorspace area in the CCS will be less than what exists across council’s current office buildings and the building’s detractors often use this fact in critiques of the contentious project.

Auditorium style rooms will be available within the Cultural and Civic Space.

“Not only does this announcement show confidence in Coffs Harbour as a Regional City in NSW, but it demonstrates an understanding of the need to renew assets and leverage opportunities and efficiencies from contemporary office design,” they said.

“Similar to the State Government, Council sees enormous efficiencies having all front line services and staff under the one roof.

“As has been said previously, comparisons of floor space alone does not adequately describe the opportunities from a contemporary office design compared to a 1980s design.

“This is also something that the State Government seems to recognise given the announcement of the $55m office hub.”