Manly Community Centre - Future secured, for now

Growing pains being experienced by Manly Village School has put pressure on the Department of Education with the school exploding from an initial 200 pupils to more than 600 students enrolled in the school - and growing.

It is understood that the Department of Education & Communities is undertaking 'a broad scoping exercise' (not my words!) to find ways to best accommodate future students at Manly Village School.

At one stage it was feared that the Manly Community Centre in Wentworth Street would be given notice to make way for more classrooms.  However, their lease has now been extended until December 2015 which offers a reprieve, for now.

The Centre  provides valuable services including  information, counselling, financial and legal advice, housing assistance as well as bilingual migrant specialists, domestic violence caseworkers, and a Justice of the Peace - the name just some of the services. The current location and facilities offered by the Community Centre are considered an important part of the Manly Village. It was community-funding that contributed around $1/2million to 'save' the building which was previously in a derelict state. Numerous repairs and restorations of the MCC building have taken place over the years. This includes the restoration of the heritage hall in 1999 and the restoration of the building to its original heritage condition.

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