After the sad loss of MyALL 107, Council began work to engage with the community to find out more about what people wanted and needed out of a Cultural Centre in town.

This included the formation of a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) in March 2023. This group was made up of members of the community who represented many different segments, all with a special knowledge and interest in the subject matter. This included people involved in Arts and Cultural groups, the library, community groups and business community representatives from the Dalby Chamber of Commerce.

A graphic overview of the CAP and community engagement process for the Cultural Centre has been provided below:

The CAP allowed the project team to balance broad with deep engagement and enabled the sharing of two-way information. Through this process the group explored complex urban issues and targeted topics such as urban design, technical specifications, ideas for facilities, equipment, and specifications for the facilities that might be included within the new Cultural Centre. Research and reflection also covered Dalby's identity, what people in Dalby most valued and what was needed for the future growth of the town. On the CAP's recommendation we aligned engagement programs (both online via 'Have your Say' and in-person) to engage with community directly while also drawing insights from other projects with relevant engagement topics (such as the WDRC Parks and Placemaking Strategy).

Selecting the site for the new Cultural Centre

The selection of a preferred site for the Cultural Centre was not taken lightly. The CAP and Councillors reviewed 4 sites in Dalby. There was no specific site in mind at the beginning of this process. Instead, each site was evaluated against criteria that were indicated as being important by community. You can see some of these detailed below:

All 4 sites were assessed and scored by the CAP. Community's perspectives were then shared with Councillors and a section of Thomas Jack Park emerged as the preferred site.

Council therefore made a resolution in September 2023 to proceed with concept planning for the Dalby Cultural Centre and approve "Thomas Jack Park" as the preferred location for the Cultural Centre whilst also retaining the nature of the Park as a community parkland within the concept designs and any future planning of the site.

Later, in April 2024, Council revised this decision at its Ordinary Council Meeting, agreeing to take time to review the location and budget of future cultural facilities in Dalby.

We are currently reviewing this site to ensure all community perspectives have been well considered (as heard during consultation) alongside best practice design principles, site constraints and project budget.

As you can see, this is just the beginning for the Dalby Cultural Centre project. We will be engaging with the community over the coming months to help plan for the future.

This is a once in a generation opportunity to elevate Dalby to create a regional gateway for the Western Downs we are all proud of and it will only work with the support of our residents, businesses and future generations. We all have a role to play in supporting the success of our community now and into the future.

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