The Kingston Learning Centre on 8 Hutchins Street, opposite Kingston Library, has closed its car park and Block C and D due to safety concerns.
The buildings, formerly the home of Adult Education and the old Kingston Primary School, have operated for over 40 years as spaces for a range of community organisations that run a diverse range of activities throughout the year.
Community members were advised by email on Friday, August 22 that the entire car park and the two blocks were to be closed for safety reasons, effective immediately.
The Kingston Learning Centre is used by 44 different organisations including large groups such as University of the 3rd Age (U3A) and Stitching and Beyond, with many of these groups catering to senior members of the community.
“We urge Libraries Tasmania to come up with a short-term plan that will allow users with significant mobility issues to park on site while a longer-term plan to resolve the situation is worked on,” Kingborough Mayor Paula Wriedt said.
“As Chair of Council’s Disability Inclusion Access Advisory Committee, I am also very concerned that the entire area has been allowed to deteriorate to the extent where it has become so unsafe that it is deemed necessary to close it off.”
Community members who used Block C and D have been advised to make room bookings in Block A and B if available instead, or to seek alternative venues.
Michelle Gibbons has been running Pilates classes in Block C for 25 years.
“I’m running them by Zoom now, it’s not ideal,” Michelle said.
“I’ve found the thing to be handled quite badly and distressing to my clients.”
Michelle has struggled to find an alternative venue as Block A and B are mostly booked out by U3A, which has 420 members and offers 30 classes a week, 30 weeks of the year.
“I understand U3A has priority because it’s educational, but it just seems like there’s a whole bunch of people out there who were providing a service and they’ve been kicked to the curb,” Michelle said.
President of Kingborough U3A Maureen Robinson said “As a major user group of these buildings we are very disappointed by the lack of consultation by Libraries Tasmania about the situation, with the Education Department giving no indication of how it will remedy the problem.
“Visitors to the buildings have been told they will need to park over 250 metres away at Channel Court Shopping Centre while they attend classes, but this requires them to cross a busy street with no pedestrian crossing near that area.
“We understand that a person using the car park injured themselves recently and this prompted Libraries Tasmania to inspect the car park and deem it unsuitable, but from one isolated incident the entire area has been closed off and this could put members at risk when crossing the road, often lugging art equipment or books with them.”
President of Stitching and Beyond Chris Hussey added that neither her group nor U3A have had any of their residents sustain injuries over the long period of time they have operated from here.
“Our group has been using the Kingston Learning Centre for nearly two decades and the car park has been in the current state pretty much the whole time we have been here,” Mrs Hussey said.
“This seems like a gross overreaction to a single incident.”
A Department for Education, Children and Young People spokesperson said “The car park and Block C and D at Kingston Learning Centre are currently closed following an incident which raised serious safety concerns with the car park.
“As Block C and D can only be accessed via the car park, they have also been closed.
“The action to close the areas was taken by Libraries Tasmania to promptly protect the safety of staff and the community.
“Classes are being rescheduled into other available spaces, wherever possible, to minimise disruption.
“We are committed to keeping all users informed and to providing support to clients as needed.”
Community members with questions or feedback are encouraged to contact kingston.library.meeting.rooms@libraries.tas.gov.au
