Armidale Council opens the doors to the old court house

Armidale Regional Council opened up the heritage-listed building as a one-time chance for the public to walk through and offer their ideas as to how the building, which was bought by ARC for $1 in 2022, should be used in the future.

The event was held in conjunction with the monthly Armidale Mall markets and went through from 9:30 to 12:30 p.m.

Inside, from the Jury room on the Northern end of the courthouse, the new Moore Street local Court House which opened in 2014 can be seen from the window.

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Walk down the North side corridor and you will find yourself in the Judge's chamber which is directly across from the main courthouse room in the centre of the building.

In the Occasional courtroom facing out onto the Beardy Street Mall, a poster presentation with some ideas as to how the building could be utilized in the future was shown. Some ideas included a possible library space, commercial space, community or bar space, or even a café or museum.

Visitors were invited to write down their own ideas about how the building could be used, once they had gained some perspective on how the courthouse has operated since it was constructed way back in 1860 and altered in 1870 and 1897.

A 28-day consultation process will now take place allowing residents to submit their ideas on what they would like to see this historic community space used for in the future.

"This is an amazing opportunity for local residents to submit some fresh, new ideas about how Council can best use this space to benefit the community in the future," said Armidale Mayor Sam Coupland.

"The future use of the Old Courthouse has been hotly debated among the community since it was purchased with a lot of great ideas being floated around from using the space as a theatre to doing something similar to what is in Customs House in Sydney or Sir Henry Parks Memorial School of Arts Tenterfield.

"Council is really looking forward to seeing the community engagement and ideas in relation to the future of the Old Courthouse development and making it an amazing community space we can all enjoy and be proud of, and a place that will bring more people to our beautiful region.

Mr Coupland said a motion was passed in 2022 by the Armidale Council which stated any future funding would have to be sourced externally for development of the Old Courthouse precinct, so it didn't become a future financial burden for ratepayers.

The buildings being listed on the NSW State Heritage Register allows Council to apply for grant funding that targets State Heritage Register listings, particularly projects focused on public activation and use of heritage assets.

Council applied for a smaller heritage grant of $150,000 in late 2022, however the funding body advised in August 2023 that the application was unsuccessful, and Council should submit for future funding rounds.

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