Manly Town Hall: its next chapter starts now

AUGUST 2026: The doors are open on an exciting new chapter for one of Manly’s most significant landmarks with Northern Beaches Council launching an Expression of Interest process inviting the market to bring forward innovative ideas for the future use and revitalisation of Manly Town Hall as an entertainment centre following years of work by the community supported by Deputy Mayor, Councillor Candy Bingham.

A building at the heart of Manly

The site has been part of Manly’s civic story for well over a century.

Manly Council purchased the grand Victorian mansion Llangollen in 1908 and held its first Council meeting there the following year. Within months, aldermen were already discussing replacing it with a purpose built Town Hall however it would take almost another 30 years before that ambition was realised.

The magnificent building we know today opened in November 1937. With its distinctive columns, brick façade and commanding position in the heart of Manly, it became our civic headquarters for almost 80 years, before the Council amalgamated in 2016 to become Northern Beaches Council and meetings moved to the present day Council Chambers in Dee Why.

We have always believed it could be more

At Good For Manly, we have long believed this building could have another life at the centre of our community.

Manly has extraordinary natural assets, wonderful restaurants and bars and a thriving visitor economy. But anyone who lives here also knows that when it comes to accessible cultural and entertainment venues, our choices are surprisingly limited.

That is why we started championing a different future for the Town Hall.

Back in April 2023, I moved an amendment at Council to focus the next stage of work on investigating Manly Town Hall as a multi-use performance and exhibition space. It was another step in a conversation that had already involved more than 1,000 community submissions about the building’s future. Our original vision was ambitious: a vibrant community and cultural precinct incorporating a flexible 350 seat performance space, a 100-seat theatre, an 80-seat cinema, rehearsal and exhibition spaces and a rooftop bar terrace.

Then reality had its say
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The subsequent feasibility study commissioned by Council found that delivering the original concept as a fully Council funded theatre and gallery presented significant financial challenges and the potential for substantial ongoing ratepayer subsidies.

That wasn't the answer we had hoped for.

But good community advocacy cannot simply be about becoming wedded to one solution. It is about being clear about the outcome we are trying to achieve, listening to the evidence and being prepared to find another way of getting there. And that is what makes this next stage so exciting.

We've already had a glimpse
Earlier this year, Manly Town Hall became a canvas for extraordinary light projections that completely transformed its familiar façade. For a few nights, this grand old civic building became something else entirely: colourful, contemporary, playful and alive.
               
For me, those nights offered a tantalising glimpse of what we have been talking about all these years. Heritage does not have to mean freezing a building in time. Done well, preserving our history and creating something contemporary can sit beautifully together.

Now, let's see what others imagine
Council is inviting the market to help solve that challenge. What could a creative operator, cultural organisation, entertainment business, hospitality group, philanthropist or consortium see in this remarkable building that perhaps none of us has imagined yet?

Importantly, there are essential guardrails in place, starting with Manly Town Hall remaining in public ownership and its extraordinary architectural heritage protected. Council services currently available in the building will remain in Manly and critically, any proposal must work financially without creating a burden for local ratepayers. Within those parameters, however, there is room to think big.

Good For Manly has spent years championing the potential of Manly Town Hall, helping build community support, putting ideas on the table and keeping the conversation alive. Now it's time to invite others into that conversation. I genuinely cannot wait to see who comes forward, what they see when they look at this extraordinary building and what ideas emerge for giving it a vibrant new life.

After almost 90 years serving Manly, our Town Hall deserves a next chapter every bit as interesting as its first.

The doors are opening......let's see who walks through them. #Manly #NorthernBeaches #ManlyTownHall #GoodForManly #Community #ArtsAndCulture #Placemaking

Candy Bingham is President of Good For Manly and Deputy Mayor of Northern Beaches Council.

A little more history:
Manly Daily journalist John Morcombe took a fascinating look back at Manly Council’s many homes and the history of Manly Town Hall in 2023 and you can read his article at https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/manly-daily/what-does-the-future-hold-for-manly-town-hall-one-of-manly-councils-many-homes/news-story