The Lindfield Village Hub (LVH) project has finally reached another major milestone. We’re pleased to bring you information that has now been made available to us primarily through the LVH Reference Committee. As a reminder, Support Lindfield lobbied Councillors late last year to set up a Reference Committee for the project that included members from the community. We believed this was necessary in order close the gap in communication between Council and the community. Seven community members and three Councillors sit on the Committee and the first meeting was mid July. Sarah Davis and Linda McDonald represent Support Lindfield on the Committee. The second meeting was last week and we’re pleased to provide you with an update on the project.

Expression of Interest
The long-awaited EOI was finally advertised on 2 October. Submissions close on 2 November and a recommendation on a shortlist will be submitted to Council on 4 December. The purpose of the EOI is to test the understanding and capability of a range of providers against the published criteria. No design or cost information will be submitted at this stage. The objective is to develop a short list of around six suitable developers and then proceed to a formal tendering process early next year.

Council staff made it clear that one of the clear objectives of the project is that it is self-funded, both capital costs and on-going operational costs.

Design Strategy
Council has engaged architects to develop a range of scenarios with different density options. These will include scenarios up to 2.5:1 FSR. The current FSR is 1.3:1 and equates to 7 storeys. The design objectives are to distribute density in different ways to be self-funding, keep all mandatory community amenities (library, community centre, child care centre, public domain – plaza, park and other open space - and parking, limit building height and deliver a high quality design.

Community Engagement
To date the survey that Council has distributed to the community has returned 373 responses. The high appeal areas were “eating and drinking”, “borrowing”, and “health and well-being”. There will be further engagement with the community throughout November including workshops, interviews and exhibitions. The community’s views on the four scenarios (see above) will be sought during these opportunities.

See the Communications and Engagement Plan at this link to Council meeting on 14 August. Look for GB.3 https://eservices.kmc.nsw.gov.au/Infocouncil.Web/Open/2018/08/OMC_14082018_AGN_WEB.htm

For further information have a look at Council’s Activate Lindfield section. FAQs are at this link. http://www.kmc.nsw.gov.au/Current_projects_priorities/Current_works_and_upgrades/Major_projects/Activate_Lindfield/Lindfield_Village_Hub/Lindfield_Village_Hub_FAQ

Support Lindfield will be undertaking a community survey later this month to get your views and opinions on what the Hub should deliver. We will be distributing a link via our database and Facebook plus a letter box drop of hard copy flyers and any other suitable channels we can identify.

In addition to this we will continue to try to work with Council and keep you informed on the progress of the project as this phase progresses.

The Support Lindfield Team