Busselton to get $38 million performing arts centre after Council votes to push ahead with plans

A $38 million world-class performing arts centre will be built in Busselton after a monumental council decision this week. City of Busselton councillors voted to move ahead with the hotly debated Busselton Performing Arts and Convention Centre in full in a bid to continue its push of the city as the events capital of WA. It came despite the results of a public consultation revealing 53 per cent of those surveyed wanted to see the proposal scrapped altogether, while 34 per cent were in favour of it proceeding in full and 11 per cent wanted to see a staged approach. The building would be constructed on Queen Street within the city’s cultural precinct and would be completed by 2023. It would include a 625-seat auditorium, conference rooms and indoor event space, with a capacity limit of 1000 guests. Plans for the state-of-the-art facility — which is set to become the City’s biggest ever capital expenditure — completely divided the community over recent years, with major concerns about the financial impact it could have on ratepayers. It became such an issue in the city that it sparked the formation of groups such as the Friends of the Performing Arts and Convention Centre and the opposing Bay to Bay Action Group. The motion, which was passed by a 7-2 vote at Wednesday’s meeting, gave the City chief executive authority to accept a tender and enter into a construction contract for the massive project, so long as it did not exceed a $38 million limit. It also stated funding options would be reviewed for the BPACC to minimise concerns around rate increases and debt. About $13.5 million in funding has already been secured for the project, as well as a $15 million loan. Busselton City Mayor Grant Henley said he was excited to see what the facility will bring to the people and culture of Busselton. “The majority of councillors obviously supported the continuation of the project and progressing out to awarding a tender,” he said. “The lack of a significant indoor event space has been to our detriment and we have seen a lot of events move out to Margaret River or Bunbury because they have that capacity. “I am excited to see what it offers economically, but also socially and culturally to our town.” While Cr Henley spoke in favour of a staged approach during debate, he said progressing with the project’s full design now was a cheaper option. “I spoke personally that perhaps we could look at staging the development,” he said. “I acknowledged in that, there is a downside to that as well, it is highly unlikely that building costs will decrease, they will probably increase and to do a staged approach or to defer it for another five or 10 years, it is going to increase exponentially in the future and who knows what interest rates will be like.” Despite concerns about the cost of the project, Cr Henley said the BPAC fit the long-term financial plan for the City. The survey, which was put out to residents and ratepayers last month, included questions about how the centre would be used and how important the project was to respondents, as well as the three options on how council should proceed.