What is the Strengthening Communities Plan?

Community Hubs

Many thanks for your feedback and suggestions on what community hubs could look like in Ipswich. We are now reviewing all feedback received through this page and through our face to face workshops. We will provide a summary of your feedback soon.

Community Hub Examples

The example Hubs vary in size and the types of facilities provided. Each Hub was designed with a different purpose in mind. Hubs such as these require significant investment from Council and community. Some facilities charge membership fees to help meet costs.

Hubs with this purpose often have the following activities / facilities available:

  • Rage of food and hospitality programs (ie. Comfort Kitchen and The Wandering Teapot)
  • Rooms available for hire for a range of events including social (ie weddings) at a reasonable rate
  • Counselling services
  • Dance programs
  • Group fitness programs
  • Variety of programs serving children, families, aged and disability and the multicultural community
  • Rooms for hire


Here are some examples we looked at:

  1. Labrador Community and Youth Centre
  2. Hervey Bay Community Centre

Hubs with this purpose often have the following activities / facilities available:

  • Large facility that caters for both indoor and outdoor sports and social interactions (ie. skate park, sports field, basketball court, indoor multi-sport courts)
  • Membership fees
  • Sports and recreation activities
  • 24/7 gym + fitness centre
  • Youth, Senior, Multi-cultural and disability programs
  • Rooms for hire

Here are some examples that we looked at, these facilities are large and some had membership fees attached to them:

  1. PCYC Logan Facility at Cronulla Park
  2. Good life community centre
  3. Coomera Sports Park and Indoor Sports Centre
  4. Redbank Sports Complex

Hubs with this purpose often have the following activities / facilities available:

  • a facility that caters for both business and arts (ie Art Gallery and / or library)
  • Indoor theatre
  • Outdoor stage area
  • Art studio
  • Exhibition space
  • Rooms for hire

Here are some examples that we looked at:

  1. Box Hill Community Arts Centre
  2. Kingston Butter Factory

This could mean that there are the following activities / facilities available:

  • Library
  • Computer lab
  • Activity rooms
  • Meeting rooms
  • Multipurpose rooms
  • Recording studio and control room
  • Rooms for hire

Here is an example that we looked at:

  1. Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre

This could mean that there are the following activities / facilities available:

  • Small multi-use meeting rooms (approx 50 people capacity)
  • kitchenette
  • Rooms for hire

Here is an example that we looked at:

  1. Maida Lilley Community Centre

HAVE YOUR SAY

Feedback from our engagement with community so far, supports " hubs" for council services and facilities. We now want to hear your ideas on how community hubs could look and work in Ipswich. We have shared some examples of Community Hubs in other places to help you understand Community Hubs. Your feedback will help shape our plans for community facilities into the future. The development of any facility is a substantial investment for the community and needs to be carefully considered.

WE ASKED

Summary of engagement activities and participation rates

From September 2021 to early February 2022, Council connected with community to find out what facilities people liked and used and their ideas for facilities and services into the future. Click on the YOU SAID tab for an overview of community feedback so far.

Virtual Engagement

There were two avenues used for digital engagement - Shape Your Ipswich and social media sentiment.

Designed to measure the level of interest in community facilities and capture issues related to transport and accessibility


Captured data on facility use and community interests

Recorded information on current social patterns and behaviours and wishes for the future

Open to any suggestions from community regarding their aspirations for places, spaces and facilities in the city of Ipswich

Face to Face engagement

To complement the data gathered online face to face engagement activities were delivered to connect specific sectors of the community with the project. These activities included:

Facilitate conversations with the First Nations people connected to Ipswich

Attendance at Able Australia and Early Childhood Networks as well as meeting with the Ipswich Youth Advisory Council to capture their perspective of facility usage and needs.

Where art activities were used to engage young families in conversation.

YOU SAID

Virtual and face to face engagement activity data was reviewed and sorted into emerging themes. The validity of these themes was tested by comparing this data with the findings of other related engagement activities. The key findings identified for council facilities by the contributors across all data were:

  • Community Hubs that are:

    • safe and Inclusive
    • shared resources
    • local
    • accessible
    • equitable
    • able to respond to a variety of needs

  • Arts & cultural facilities & experiences that are:

    • interactive
    • experiential
    • engaging
    • collaborative
    • accessible
    • affordable
    • activities, that are currently popular and that could potentially operate in a community hub model

  • Open green spaces to gather & socialise that are:

    • safe
    • well maintained
    • accessible across the ages
    • where people can be active
    • retaining natural bushland for recreation

Our Community Resources Survey Results

A facility survey that assists us in understanding the type of community facilities offered in Ipswich to help plan for new community facilities. This is what we heard so far:

Phase 1 questions and ideas

Click here to see the questions we asked and how you responded in Phase 1 of the engagement.

HOW WE USE FEEDBACK

How your feedback is used to shape the Strengthening Ipswich Communities Plan