As most Novocastrians would be aware, there have been plans afoot to redevelop the former Newcastle Bowling Club site that sits above King Edward Park.
Like many things around Newcastle, this project has been kicking around for a few years without ever really going anywhere.
However, the most recent push seems to have a lot of traction and currently has plans before Newcastle Council for DA approval.
(You can view their submission HERE)
To be honest, their idea of turning the site into a conference centre doesn’t really appeal to me. I’d much rather see it returned to being a club, or a small pub – something that would actually make people want to visit regularly.
That said, going with what they have decided to go, I quite like the simple design of the proposed building.
Yes, it’s not that great to look at. But, I think, that’s actually better. It’s unassuming, it’s easily ignored and it’s not going to be something that sticks out like a sore thumb.
We’ve seen people develop some pretty horrendous things on coastal areas before. But this is not one of them.
Yes, it’s a bit boring. Yes, it’s a beige rectangle perched on a hill. Yes, it’s likely to be ignored. But these are good things, if you consider that entire plan is to turn it into something that’s only going to be used for functions, not as a usually open public space.
I would rather, given that case, that whatever they put there be something that can quietly hide in the background when it needs to.
We don’t need something larey and horrible there. Quiet and understated is the way to go. Even if the idea for use could be a little better…
