The former Bombala Infants School, shown here in 2017, has stood empty for several years. Photo: Ian Campbell.
A Monaro community will have a few more months to find a use for an historic building labelled “not fit for public use” after previous attempts failed.
The historic building, located at 8-12 Wellington Street in Bombala, was used as the Bombala Infants School, a primary school and a TAFE campus.
The building was eventually transferred to Snowy Monaro Regional Council (SMRC), who pledged to create an “Arts and Innovation Centre” at the site.
A recent council meeting heard the project had been cancelled due to funding issues, meaning the future of the site was in doubt.
Councillor Ruben Rose suggested consultation with the Bombala community over the building’s future.
He said community engagement could kick-start progress on the building.
“We’ve got, obviously, a very serious white ant problem and a range of other issues here [with the building], but it’s clear that something could happen if there was enough commitment by the local people,” he said.
Cr Rose said the process had been “quite a traumatic issue” for local residents, who felt the project fell into a “council black hole” and wasn’t progressing.
A council staff member pushed back on a perception SMRC had abandoned the site, saying there were ongoing attempts over several years to find a tenant.
According to council documents, SMRC made repeated attempts to find a commercial tenant who would offset the costs of maintaining the building.
“It’s not that nothing was done, it’s just there was no one interested in running that and managing that facility,” he said.
During the meeting, Deputy Mayor Tricia Hopkins also called on SMRC to step back from developing a plan for the building.
In her motion, she called for the removal of a caveat that meant council had to hold onto the building for 15 years, and for Bombala residents to be given six months to determine a plan for the site.
She said while she supported community consultation over the site, its financial impact on council should be a key consideration.
“Even if the community says, ‘we want to keep it’, we can’t get over the fact this building is costing us $41,000 a year [in maintenance] and it needs about $1 million to keep it up to standard.”
The meeting also heard the building’s maintenance was included in council’s budget, while Mayor Chris Hanna said council was “not sure of the actual value of it [the building], as of today”.
The building first opened in 1863, with a class of 75 kids. Photo: Ian Campbell.
Councillor John Rooney spoke against the proposal for more community consultation.
He said it was “unrealistic” to assume a successful plan could be developed if it was led by the Bombala community, given there had already been consultation on the topic.
He also described the proposed approach as “a way of softening the blow” that the Arts and Innovation Centre couldn’t go ahead and called on SMRC to sell the building.
“I’m concerned [that] in those next six months the building will deteriorate further.”
According to a 2023 estimate, the building needs $1 million in repair works to make it safe. Cr Rooney said that would be at least $2 million now, given increases to construction costs.
“The facility does not meet building compliance requirements for safe occupancy and cannot be used as it stands now,” a council document stated.
A pest control report found live termites in one of the building’s windows (with concealed active termites possible) and fungal decay in multiple sites.
Meanwhile, a structural audit found multiple issues with the building.
Following a lengthy discussion, councillors voted to have Bombala community groups develop a plan for the site.
An attempt by Cr Rooney to have SMRC start re-zoning the land and consider listing the building on the state heritage register also failed.
If no plan can be developed, the property could be sold or be handed back to the NSW Government.
