Background
The Cooneana Heritage Centre is a historic site 1041 Redbank Plains Road, New Chum. The heritage listed Cooneana Homestead and Rhondda Collieries building are managed by the Ipswich Historical Society and a number of artisan groups. Ipswich City Council is exploring the strategic planning and development of the Cooneana Heritage Centre’s restoration and other opportunities.
Project Update
Based on feedback received and internal investigations, the approach has been adapted from creating a Master Plan, to working with the Ipswich Historical Society at Cooneana to address priority areas including maintenance support and improvements to accessibility throughout the site.
Ipswich City Council has provided support to Ipswich Historical Society to address necessary maintenance issues throughout the site.
Internal work has also been undertaken to improve accessibility at Cooneana Heritage Centre. Through an Accessibility Site Assessment, suggested improvements to site accessibility included:
- Improved pedestrian connections between all buildings
- Dedicated accessible carparking
- Improved directional signage
- Move display set ups for easier movement within buildings
These proposed improvements have been reflected in an indicative sketch plan.
An indicative sketch plan for improved connections and circulation between buildings can be seen in the image below.
Council will support the Ipswich Historical Society to apply for grant funding from appropriate funding providers to undertake these works.
What you shared
The community were asked to provide feedback on their experience at Cooneana Heritage Centre, and share their thoughts on what they would like to see in the future. See a summary of what you shared with us below, or read the full report.
Demographics
Feedback
How you shared
Community engagement was undertaken between December 2019 and February 2020 through online engagement hosted on Shape Your Ipswich. The engagement activities can be seen below.