Publicly-owned Council venues play a vital role in bringing our community together for sport, meetings and events. Sadly, the high cost of renting these spaces makes them inaccessible for many small community groups. This limits the ability of our community to gather and connect and means these spaces are being underutilised.
Currently, the Midway Point Hall and Sorell Memorial Halls are used, on average, only 2.5 hours per day, with both remaining empty for 8 days each month. Other venues, such as the Sorell Memorial Hall Supper Room, the South East Stadium Function Room, and the PCYC Shed, are unused for 18, 18, and 20 days per month, respectively (data for 6 months, February-July 2024).
If Council reduces hire costs for community groups, not-for-profits organisations, and sporting clubs we can:
- Maximise the use of our publicly-owned facilities, increase venue bookings and reduce days where the venues are sitting empty and unused.
- Reduce barriers for small community groups to meet and thrive.
- Increase money available to support our community such as purchasing sports uniforms rather spending it on Council venue fees.
- Build a more resilient and connected community.
We, the undersigned, call on the Sorell Council to implement a 24 month trial where venue costs for community groups, not-for-profits and sporting clubs are:
- $5/hour for small venues such as meeting rooms, kitchens and the PCYC shed and
- $10/hr for larger venues like the Sorell Memorial Hall and the South East Stadium Function Room
Proposed new venue fees versus current hire fees are shown below.
| Venue | Proposed Hire fee for community groups, not-for-profit organisations and sports clubs ($/hr) | Current venue hire fees ($/hr) |
| Sorell Memorial Hall | $10/hr | $28.5/hr |
| South East Stadium Function Room | $10/hr | $51/hr |
| Copping Hall | $5/hr | $14.5/hr |
| PCYC Shed | $5/hr | $13.5/hr |
| Sorell Memorial Hall Kitchen | $5/hr | $31.5/hr |
| Sorell Memorial Hall meeting room | $5/hr | $13.5/hr |
| Sorell Memorial Hall Supper room | $5/hr | $15.5/hr |
| Midway Point Hall | $5/hr | $14.5/hr |
Note: The current venue fees listed above are for casual rates; regular community group bookings receive a 25% discount.
Is there another venue that should have lower fees? get in touch www.kristianhorvath.com/get-in-touch