News
3 October, 2026
End of an era as demolition work commences
Work has started on the demolition of Wollondilly Shire Council’s old administration centre in Picton.
Work has started on the demolition of Wollondilly Shire Council’s old administration centre in Picton.
The work is expected to be finished by Christmas.
The site will become a temporary park until council secures funding for the construction of a new library, which will become an integral part of the Wollondilly Community, Cultural and Civic Precinct.
Wollondilly mayor Matt Gould described the demolition of the building as the “end of an era” but said he didn’t think there would be too many people sad to see it go.
The Wollondilly Community, Cultural and Civic Precinct has been described as a “transformative” project designed to support a diversity of community, cultural and civic activities.
It has already involved construction of a new performing arts centre and a new administration building.
Once a new library has been built, the existing library will be repurposed into a children’s services hub and community meeting area.
A council spokesperson said the old administration building was in poor condition and had simply reached its capacity.
Before the construction of the new administration centre, council staff had been spread across a number of “substandard” sites and buildings.
Council had recognised that its capacity to deliver services to a rapidly growing population would be severely compromised, the spokesperson said.
The proposed Community, Cultural and Civic Precinct was the subject of extensive consultation in 2019 with the majority of people (65 per cent) who responded to an online survey at the time indicating they either strongly supported or supported the project.
A proposed new library and learning space was one of the things survey respondents liked most about the plan.
A small number of respondents voiced opposition to the project on the basis that the money would be better spent elsewhere.
However, council has gone to great lengths to explain that the Community, Cultural and Civic Precinct will not come at the expense of other projects – including road improvements – and will be funded primarily through grant funding, government loans and developer contributions.
Council announced in February this year that it would enter a long-term lease agreement with independent high school Warakirri College for all of the commercial space available in council’s new civic centre.
The lease income will more than pay for the construction of the building – meaning it will come at no additional cost to ratepayers.
In the same month, it announced grant funding under the Western City Deal Liveability Fund towards the first stage of the project.
Council announced in July that it would be receiving $2 million towards delivery of a new Village Green in the precinct as part of NSW Government infrastructure funding tied to fast development assessment times.
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