Wagga Wagga City Council has announced it will permanently re-establish its Visitor Information Centre at its former site on Tarcutta Street, once capital works are carried out to address essential work health and safety issues for staff and improvements to enhance the visitor welcome experience.
At its recent meeting, Councillors approved the recommendation to undertake a $736,845 upgrade of the centre.
The Visitor Information Centre was temporarily relocated to the foyer of the Museum of the Riverina’s Historic Council Chambers in May last year, due to work health and safety (WHS) issues identified at the Tarcutta Street location.
Director Community, Environment & Partnerships, Christine Priest said the decision reached by Council was a positive step for staff, visitors and the broader Wagga Wagga community.
“Over the past 16 months, the safety of staff and the continuity of service to visitors have been Council’s top priorities as investigations were carried out into a range of options for the future location and configuration of the Visitor Information Centre,” Ms Priest said.
“Now we have a plan to move forward with a permanent solution which will address both of those priorities and see our Visitor Information Centre return to the Tarcutta Street site.
“The capital works proposed will focus on delivering the safety and security upgrades and investing in improvements to enhance the visitor welcome experience and retail space available.”
The capital works project includes:
- creating a secure staff area separated from the public retail space, incorporating storage and back-of-house work areas, an accessible staff toilet and lockdown area;
- enhancing the visitor experience by refurbishing the customer service area, expanding the retail space and new visitor journey seating area;
- removing the existing public toilets at the VIC building, with the decommissioned End of Trip facility to be converted into dedicated public toilet amenities;
- installing a self-service kiosk and external-facing information screens that can be viewed after hours;
- creating a bookable meeting space.
Miss Priest said these changes consider the WHS needs for staff and align with the long-term priorities for visitor servicing outlined in the Wagga Wagga Destination Management Plan 2025-2034.
“It is vital that we provide a work environment that is safe and secure for our dedicated staff along with creating a positive welcoming visitor experience, reflecting Wagga Wagga’s role as a major regional destination,” she said.
“Through the redesigned floorplan, the centre will be able to expand its retail offering space, providing additional opportunities to showcase and support local and regional producers, strengthening connections between visitors and the region’s producers.”
It is anticipated the works would begin with the toilet construction at the decommissioned End of Trip facility, and then the proposed VIC works would be completed over a six-month timeframe, following a six-month final design and procurement process.
It’s envisaged the Visitor Information Centre services could be re-established and commence operation at the Tarcutta Street site in approximately October 2027.
