The Forest Hill tennis clubrooms were the last space the local community could meet publicly. They were demolished in 2022. Photo: Forest Hill Tennis Club.
Forest Hill residents, who have no place to host events, hold meetings, enable charities to operate or even hold a funeral, have pleaded with Wagga Wagga City Council (WWCC) to provide them with a central community space.
Advocacy group Forest Hill Neighbourhood Network president John Deuis says the lack of a facility is creating safety risks.
“Because we don’t have a community hall, it’s affecting several families and individuals’ social welfare,” he said.
Mr Deuis claimed Forest Hill was home to “several sex offenders and people on parole”.
“Social workers [assisting these offenders] are not supposed to go into the private residences of their clients, especially the high-risk ones, so they end up having meetings on the street … a community hall would help this situation.
“There’s also a homelessness crisis out this way. We’d love to get the food bank out there, but they’ve lately said that we don’t have the infrastructure for the food bank to come out.”
The suburb has been without a proper communal space since the demolition of its tennis clubrooms in 2022.
Last October WWCC pledged $326,553 to the cost of constructing a community hall, but this won’t be available until the 2031/32 financial year.
Some $13,650 of the total sum is set to be used on a concept plan later this year, but that is all WWCC has promised in the short term.
Mr John Deuis gave a passionate plea to council last year. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
When asked about the social work issues surrounding Forest Hill, WWCC said it had no knowledge about sex offenders or parolees in the area, as it was a State Government issue, but would contact food banks about visiting the area.
“Council has no jurisdiction or knowledge of where sex offenders are located, nor their conditions in meeting with other services, and this would fall under the responsibility of those services and with State Government probation and parole services,” a WWCC spokesperson said.
“Council will be in contact with Carevan and other food banks to discuss any concerns they may have about operating their services in Forest Hill.”
To assist the process of delivering a community hall, sooner rather than later, Mr Deuis and the FHNN have looked at alternate means, including holding events and fundraisers.
“We have zero funding. We have zero support, and every time we ask council for something, they ask for a 50 per cent payment, or they ask us to fill out paperwork and join the queue.
“We’ve got a population of 3000 out there at the moment. We’ve got a population close to Coolamon. You look at what Coolamon got, as opposed to us, and we have zero.
“We tried to organise a car show out here earlier in the year; we had it almost booked in, ready to go, and then council cancelled it on us because there was irrigation on the paddock at Forest Hill Park.”
WWCC responded to claims about the event being moved by saying it offered the organisers of the event the chance to move it, but this option was declined by the local muster club.
“Council advised the muster club that vehicles are not permitted on the oval due to the presence of underground infrastructure, including irrigation systems, as well as the oval’s scheduled use for winter sport competitions,” a WWCC spokesperson said.
“This approach is consistent with vehicle access restrictions applied to all ovals and is clearly outlined in the conditions of hire for casual sportsground use.
“In relation to council vehicle access, the vehicles were parked on the nature strip of the vacant block located above Forest Hill Oval, an area that does not contain irrigation infrastructure.
“Council offered an alternative location at Cross Street Carpark, however this option was declined by the club.”
Alongside the endeavour to host a car muster at Forest Hill Park, members of the FHNN also lobbied to have an art space in the suburb and to have ‘homophobic’ graffiti across the town covered up.
The sign outside the Wagga airport, with the slur covered digitally. Photo: Terry Hunt.
WWCC said it had only received one customer request regarding these matters.
“Council received one recent customer request regarding graffiti on the hit-up wall near the Forest Hill tennis courts. The graffiti removal request was referred to the sportsground team for action,” a WWCC spokesperson said.
“The customer request included a suggestion to turn this wall into an art space. The customer was advised that it could be considered throughout the Recreation, Open Space and Community Strategy (ROSC) review process occurring later in 2025.
“We encourage members of the public to report graffiti on council property. This can be done through our customer service desk by calling 1300 292 442 or by logging a service request at www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/onlineservices.”
Mr Deius said he was willing to wait until 2031 for works to begin on a community hall, should WWCC come to the table in other areas.
“At the bare minimum, we need upgrades to our parks to start the art space,” Mr Hunt said.
“They’re simple structures that can be done at minimal costs. We also need to upgrade the Welcome to Wagga sign out at the airport and give the city some pride on arrival.
“It’s key that when people arrive in Wagga that it doesn’t look like junk. These are simple yet effective things that can make a world of difference to our community with little to no expenditure.”
