Continual Vandalism at Coonabarabran

Council is appealing for anyone who has witnessed vandalism of the Coonabarabran Town Hall and Community Care building to report the damage to NSW Police.

“The Coonabarabran Town Hall and Warrumbungle Community Care building in John Street have been vandalised on an almost weekly basis since November 2022,” said Warrumbungle Shire Council Mayor, Councillor Ambrose Doolan. “Six windows on the Town Hall have been smashed, and recently a window at the Community Care building was smashed as well. The damage has been constant since last year.” 

“Most of the damage is occurring in between the Town Hall and the Community Care building, which is a secluded area. Further to the damaged property, litter has been left in the area and an irrigation box has also been damaged. Reports of the damage have been made to the Police,” said Cr Doolan.

Repairing the window damage and making the area safe takes a large amount of Council resources.

“The first step is to make the area safe by removing broken glass and debris, then cover the window with a temporary repair. Next up, the windows are measured and glass ordered, which is either installed by Council staff or by a contractor. Sometimes contractors are difficult to attract for small jobs and repairs can take weeks,” explained Cr Doolan.

“Responding to acts of intentional and malicious damage not only takes money and time, it disrupts work schedules and means that planned tasks that benefit the community, such as maintenance of halls and buildings, have to be delayed,” said Cr Doolan. 

Installation of security screens on the Town Hall windows is being organised and CCTV is being strongly considered as the damage is likely to disrupt usage of the Town Hall and operations in the Community Care building over time. 

“Community members are encouraged to report vandalism by phoning the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or via the NSW Police Force Community Portal Intentional Damage Report (nsw.gov.au),” concluded Cr Doolan.

 

Click here to download the media release

Last Updated: 20 Feb 2023