THE ribbon has been officially cut on Canowindra renovated library and home support facility.
Last Wednesday saw local, State and Federal politicians, community members, and even a class of pre-schoolers head to the Gaskill Street building for the official opening of the site that’s been up and running for a few months.
Costing $2.675 million, the refurbishment was funded with $1.2 million from Cabonne Council, $1 million via the Federal Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, and $475,000 from a New South Wales State Library Public Library Infrastructure Grant.
Cabonne Council Mayor Cr Kevin Beatty said the building was well past its use-by date.
“This almost $2.7 million investment in the community here in Canowindra was much needed,” he said.
“This is a one-stop-like location. It’s run here for years and years and years, and the building and the facility here was not fit for purpose anymore.
“It was really important to provide the service for the Meals on Wheels, provide a library space, and the staff and spaces as well.”
The building serves several purposes; it’s the Canowindra branch of the Central West Libraries and the hub for all of Cabonne Shire’s Meals on Wheels program.
It’s also the workplace for a number of Cabonne Council staff servicing the south of the municipality.
Cr Beatty said the updated spaces were welcomed by all who used them.
“This is basically our Cabonne office for Canowindra, and it was totally inadequate,” he said.
“It was pokey, it wasn’t a warm place to come to work in, it certainly wasn’t a warm place for me to come over and meet people at.
“We were meeting in the meal room because the other rooms were just not fit for purpose.
Federal Senator for New South Wales, Deborah O’Neill, noted the official reopening of the site fell on two key awareness pushes relevant to the facility.
“What a pleasure it is to be here with you on this auspicious alignment of all of the things to actually have Book Week and to have the honouring of Meals on Wheels Day in a building that’s doing both,” she said.
“Some things just turn out perfectly, and that’s what I’d like to say in my congratulations to the community here. This looks like it’s turned out perfectly.”
The effort to overhaul the site began with planning in 2023 and work got underway in May 2025.
Works as part of the wide-ranging renovation included dealing with longstanding structural issues, adding accessibility features, and installing a new freezer for the Meals on Wheels service.
During construction workers discovered a key reason for continual mould and moisture issues in the old building.
“We found out during the reconstruction and refurbishment there was a large well under the center of the building, which they had to deal with,” Cr Beatty said.
“They had to bolster the well up, encase it better in concrete, and it’s still there. They have a pumping system to pump it out.”
