Inner West Pride Centre sod-turning

Thursday 31 August 2023

Inner West Council is thrilled to announce that work began today on our new Inner West Pride Centre.

This project is the culmination of Inner West Council’s commitment to supporting and celebrating our LGBTQI+ community.

With the creation in February this year of Pride Square in Newtown as a beacon of inclusion and civil rights and our highly successful WorldPride 23 program we are proud to announce that we are starting work on building the new Inner West Pride Centre at the Newtown Town Hall.

After holding extensive LGBTQI+ community consultation, the importance of a safe, physical space as a hub from which services could be delivered, with shared spaces, resources, information, and support to foster local community connections and health and wellbeing was identified as a priority.

Based on this vision, the Inner West Pride Centre is intended to create a dedicated space in the Inner West to:

Provide a safe, welcoming and inclusive space for the LGBTQI+ community
Address social isolation of all risk groups within the LGTBQI+ community by providing a safe, accessible space to connect, gather and support where appropriate
Provide access to services and programs responsive to the Inner West LGBTQI+ community
Support capacity building within the community
Ensure that space (e.g. the main hall) at Newtown Town Hall can also be booked and used by all community members.

“We listened to our community and heard their need for a safe, inclusive community hub. Council voted unanimously to transform the old Newtown Town Hall into a modern, fit-for-purpose space that caters to the LGBTQI+ community and their allies,” said Councillor Matt Howard. “I’m proud this project has moved so quickly from concept to build and look forward to opening the Pride Centre early next year.”

“With our EOI process now under way, and the extensive support by Council for the groups who are applying to run the Pride Centre, it’s a bright day indeed for our LGBTQI+ community,” Councillor D’Arienzo said.

For media enquiries please contact Margaret Merten, margaret.merten@innerwest.nsw.gov.au