How Cobargo community is set to rebuild after NSW govt $18m cash splash
From a new village square to a bushfire resilience centre, millions of dollars will be spent reinvigorating a fire-ravaged town on the NSW far south coast. Take a sneak peek at the designs.
The South Coast News
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As the third anniversary of the Black Summer bushfires nears, residents in the fire-ravaged town of Cobargo have been treated to sneak peek of their town’s multimillion-dollar makeover.
From a new village square to market halls and a bushfire resilience centre, $18 million will be spent on new projects and repairing infrastructure ruined in the fires.
Home to fewer than 800 people, Cobargo rose to prominence in national media after residents famously snubbed then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a visit to the area in early-January 2020, forcing a local woman to shake his hand during an angry confrontation.
The infamous event broadcast across the country came only days after firestorms tore through Cobargo in late-December 2019, leaving in their wake much of the town’s central buildings as rubble.
Now, after more than two years, the town is bouncing back.
In February, the famous Cobargo Show was hosted for the first time since the fires.
Find out what has been proposed below.
Village Square – 66-68 Princes Hwy
Coming in at $5.9 million, the newly redesigned village square at 66-68 Princes Hwy is the largest and costliest of the four projects unveiled.
Replete with a new tourist information centre, retail spaces, and housing, documents tendered to Bega Valley Shire Council from developer Cobargo Community Development Corporation reveal the project is aimed at being “sympathetic” to the design of Cobargo.
“The key purpose of the proposed village square is to restore commercial functionality, including tourism-orientated opportunities, to the village,” documents read.
“The proposal seeks to re-establish shop-top housing, fulfil the need for a local co-working facility, and increase the provision for allied health services for the community, with the purpose-built building designed to respect the historic context of Cobargo.
“It will provide space that is highly functional but also of a high architectural merit.”
On the ground level, the project will feature a new tourist centre, co-working space, and wellness hub, as well as four retail spaces.
On the floor above, there will be two two-bedroom shop-top housing apartments.
Underground, there will be space for nine cars for staff and residents to use.
Backing onto the Wilgo Creek, the project will be built on a vacant lot left empty after bushfires destroyed the a building there.
On the opposite side of the highway, a new market hall and post office have also been proposed.
Currently on exhibition on the council website, the application is the result of a partnership between local residents, property owners, the Cobargo Community Bushfire Recovery Fund, and a design team lead by Dunn and Hillam Architects.
The project is funded by a grant from the NSW Government’s Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Package announced earlier this year.
Market Hall – 59 Princes Hwy
Featuring an open-air market hall with four retail spaces and a training cafe, the proposed market hall development at 59 Princes Hwy in Cobargo is designed to provide an “attractive and usable” open space, developer Cobargo Community Development Corporation states.
“The key purpose of the market hall is to restore commercial functionality,” documents tendered to Bega Council reveal.
“It will provide an attractive and usable public open space, while delivering a training cafe suitable for traineeships and upskilling opportunities and will promote the sale of local and regional produce.”
The developer further stated in the application the project will positively contribute to Cobargo’s “future character”.
“The development upholds the heritage fabric and character of Cobargo Main Street Heritage Conservation Area, and will positively contribute to the desired future character of the locality,” the developer stated.
“It will provide an important mixed-use facility of high civic importance for the benefit of Cobargo’s residents and visitors.
“As such, it will result in considerable public benefit.”
In addition to the market hall and cafe, the project will also feature two two-bedroom shop-top apartments.
Parking spaces for seven staff and residents will be provided.
In total, the project will cost about $5.2 million, and was also BLER funded.
The site is currently unoccupied following the Black Summer bushfires, and is adjacent to the proposed new post office.
Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre – 70-72 Princes Hwy
Featuring design led by Wollongong-based architects TAKT Studio, the rebuilt Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre will be a site not just for emergency service response, but will also be a place for reflection for those in the community hit hard in the 2019-20 bushfires.
“The main purpose of the proposed Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre will be to provide a cultural facility of high architectural merit which is envisaged to become a focal point for the community’s ongoing commemoration and education of the 2019-20 bushfires and the men and women in the NSW Rural Fire Service that fought the fires,” developer Cobargo Community Development Corporation states.
“The proposed building has been designed to respect the historic context of Cobargo and to provide a space that is highly functional, but that also creates an appropriate atmosphere for contemplation.”
The $5.2 million centre will offer education and research opportunities within a unique, “state-of-the-art” multipurpose cultural facility, planning documents tendered to Bega Council reveal.
It will include an exhibition space, theatrette, and internal memorial garden.
A single retail space and cafe will also be built inside the building, with the exterior to be landscaped, including a rear courtyard.
In the aftermath of the Badja Forest Rd Fire, the Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre was established as the “keystone” rebuild and recovery project for the main street of Cobargo.
It is understood Brian and Mary Ayliffe, owners of one of the destroyed buildings on the main street, elected to donate their land to the community to kickstart the recovery process.
“Following months of community engagement, and with financial assistance from the Cobargo Community Recovery Fund, CBRC Inc. appointed TAKT Studio to create a concept design for the Centre.
“In June 2021, the centre successfully secured $4.8M in funding from the BLER Fund to undertake construction.”
Among the first projects to feature at the centre will be an oral history project from the National Library of Australia.
“The National Library of Australia is working with the Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre and members of the impacted communities to create an oral history project which will tell the stories of those who were affected by the 2019-20 Badja Forest Rd Fire,” the developer states.
“The library is gathering views from different perspectives, demographics and locations within the fire-affected villages of Cobargo, Quaama, Nerrigundah, Belowra, and surrounding areas.
“This is to ensure the impact and legacy of these events are permanently recorded for future generations.”
Post Office – 75A Princes Hwy
The Cobargo Community Development Corporation has also proposed to build a new $2 million post office.
Adjacent to the existing post office, the project is designed to re-establish the area’s shop-top housing while delivering new facilities.
“The existing post office is restricted in its ability to operate and deliver the services required to meet the needs of a contemporary town,” developer documents tendered to Bega Council reveal.
In addition to the post office, the project will also include a single two-bedroom, shop-top apartment.
While proposed separately from the market hall, the new post office will be located directly adjacent to the open-air centre.
Tiny Homes – Princes Hwy
Earlier this year, Bega Valley Shire Council approved work on 21 “tiny homes” despite opposition from Cobargo residents.
Wollongong-based Developer Darren Klowers will lead the project, following multiple rounds of community consultation.
Residents raised concerns related to the perceived social and behavioural problems the development could generate for a community.
In total, Bega Council received 29 objections and a dissenting petition which received 191 signatures.
Speaking at the Bega council’s ordinary session on April 20, Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said while he was sympathetic to concerns about the project, the council needed to address the housing crisis.
“We’ve been working on an affordable housing strategy for seven years, and we finally have a draft project that supports that sort of development,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“The community has been telling us how great our affordable housing strategy is, but they don’t want it in their own backyard.
“We can’t have both.”
Designs for the Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre, market hall, village square, and post office are on exhibition at the council website.
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