Palmerston NT: Council’s bid to revive ailing Driver Family Resource Centre with $3m facelift

An NT council is pressing ahead with plans to revitalise a community space built in the 1980s and used by a variety of groups, but cautions that the project can only progress with external funding.

Preliminary design for the redeveloped Driver Family Resource Centre, which would be renamed the Driver Community Centre. Picture: City of Palmerston

A Northern Territory council is pressing ahead with plans to revitalise a community space built in the 1980s and used by a variety of groups, but warns the project can only progress with external funding.

The City of Palmerston commenced planning for the redevelopment of the Driver Family Resource Centre, located at 29 Driver Ave, in the 2022–23 financial year.

The centre, which would be renamed the Driver Community Centre under the plans, was constructed in the mid 1980s as a childcare facility co-located with the adjacent Driver Primary School.

It is currently used as a community space for hire, with regular users including Alcoholics Anonymous, Play2Learn and Playgroup Northern Territory.

However, with the building approaching its 40th anniversary, it is “no longer fit for purpose,” a recent report presented to council stressed, with capacity issues relating to Palmerston’s “rapidly growing population” and lack of accessibility for people with disabilities.

The Driver Family Resource Centre. Picture: City of Palmerston

According to the previously released preliminary design, the new centre would feature three multipurpose ‘pods’ under a single roof structure and able to be hired independently of one another, and shared amenities such as a commercial kitchen and outdoor shaded area.

Further tweaks to the design have been mooted following a round of community consultation, the results of which were presented to council on December 12 last year.

They include the installation of a projector and speakers in one of the pods, additional fixtures and fittings suitable for children, such as water bubblers, and the inclusion of an unfenced outdoor area with landscaping, seating and pathways.

Preliminary design for the redeveloped Driver Family Resource Centre, which would be renamed the Driver Community Centre. Picture: City of Palmerston

A final design incorporating the new elements will now progress, with its completion due by April.

“[This] will enable the project to be ‘shovel ready’ and a contract prepared by mid-2024 if funding is secured,” the report said.

The final design’s completion would “support funding submissions to the Australian and Northern Territory governments”.

Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Palmerston Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell said council expected the redevelopment to cost about $3m and would be money well-spent if the two senior governments came to the table.

She said the fast pace of Palmerston’s growth over the past two decades has meant population has outstripped community infrastructure.

“We really lack community spaces in Palmerston. There’s been a huge focus on residential building. We have community purpose land set aside, but other than parks and playgrounds, there’s really not much community infrastructure in our suburbs,” Ms Pascoe-Bell said.

“Driver is an opportunity to do something with an older facility.”

Council has thus far budgeted $250,000 towards planning for the centre’s upgrade.