Update Engagement Findings - Location Options for Helensburgh Men's Shed

Thank you to everyone who gave feedback for the Helensburgh Men's Shed.

Two sites, Gill Park and Patrick McCarthy Hall (Helensburgh West Reserve) were identified as possible sites for further investigation, and we asked the community for their preference option.

Here's a summary of the engagement findings:

Location option A - Gill Park

• Fewer people listed Option A as their preferred location for Helensburgh Men’s Shed.
• There were more concerns about Gill Park than Patrick McCarthy Hall.
• Concerns expressed including:
  • parking is already an issue around Gill Park
  • loss of recreational space especially for children
  • additional traffic and noise will impact residents
  • people said Gill Park was donated to Council as green space
  • Plovers nest in Gill Park
  • sloping site, poor drainage, sewer line, no kerb and gutter, bushfire zone.

Location option B - Patrick McCarthy Hall (Helensburgh West Reserve)

• A larger number of people listed Option B as their preferred location for Helensburgh Men’s Shed.
• There were fewer concerns about this site than Gill Park. Some concerns expressed included:
  • increasing demand for parking as the area is currently used for parking by nearby school visitors
  • potential flooding from the creek
  • a potential land claim.

Additional comments on the location options

• The Patrick McCarthy Hall option presents an opportunity to work closely with the Helensburgh Historical Society.
• Gill Park has more room and is owned by Council.
• Men’s Sheds have great benefits for the community.
• Request to include the Men’s Shed in the design for the new Community Centre and Library.

Engagement Participation
	43 Visits to the website
	34 Surveys completed
	13 Online quick polls completed 146 Dots on the dotmocracy board
	236 Voices heard

If you would like to find out more on what the community said regarding this project, you can review the full Engagement Report - Location Options for Helensburgh Men's Shed

Next steps

This engagement is only a preliminary step in what would be a lengthy process to finalise the location of the Helensburgh Men’s Shed on either location.

Your feedback is important and is one factor of the decision-making process for Council. There is a whole range of things that are important in how we make a decision. The graphic below shows some of the factors we consider in our decision making:

Engagement on this project has now closed, for any future enquiries related to this project, please contact our Community Facilities Team on 02 4227 7111 or at council@wollongong.nsw.gov.au. As this project progresses, you will be able to see updates on our media channels.

Read the full Engagement Report