Kiama depot | November 14, 2024 | Illawarra mercury - video Dailymotion

Kiama Council Mayor Cameron McDonald has announced a major investment adjacent to its Works Depot on Belvedere Street.

Transcript

00:00I'm here to share some exciting strategic news.

00:05Kymer Council has just purchased the old Sukuna site to the east of the depot here.

00:10It's a big move for Council.

00:11We've paid $6.3 million, which is payable over three years, but essentially it gives

00:16us a really good opportunity to use this land for the betterment of our community.

00:20So we've owned the site here at the depot for 100 years, and we've had the depot based

00:24here since the 1960s.

00:26It's really served the community well.

00:27It has been a focal point for our staff and our outdoor staff particularly, but as we've

00:32grown as a Council and we've got more demands on us as a Council, it's no longer fit for

00:37purpose.

00:38It doesn't provide the safe working environment for our workers looking into the future, and

00:43that's what this move's going to provide for us.

00:46We'll be looking at other options, but we're planning to move all our facilities out to

00:49the Minamara depot site.

00:51There we can build a new purpose-built facility that is fit for purpose and provides the safe

00:56environment for our workers.

00:58It's a big change, but it's worth it to improve our safety and streamline our operations.

01:04So this depot is in the middle of suburbia.

01:06We've got the bowling club just down the hill, the beach behind that, and we've got the high

01:09school just up the road.

01:11So we'll look at rezoning this area here, both sites, for residential development.

01:16We've got housing targets like the rest of New South Wales, and we think as a Council

01:20that this space provides us with a huge amount of potential to meet those targets.

01:26So as a new Council, we're here to make bold strategic moves, and we're working cohesively

01:31as a Council to make those decisions.