Randwick City Council is cutting the cost for charities to hire the newly opened Kensington Park Community Centre by more than 50 percent, Randwick Mayor Noel D’Souza announced today.

“The feedback from our residents was that prices were too high,” said Mayor D’Souza. “We want this community centre to be used by everyone, and we particularly want to support the not-for-profits in our area.

“Charities offer big benefits to our residents, and Council is more than happy to return the favour by keeping hall hiring fees down. We appreciate the hard work and targeted services that not-for-profits offer to our community, and we’re pleased to give them a space where they can do what they do best.

“We’ve listened to the community and taken action following community consultation.”

The weekday rates for charities are $19ph for regular users and $24ph for casual users and weekend rates are $24ph for regular and $36ph for casual users. This is less than the initially proposed charity fees that ranged from $42ph - $56ph.

The fees are in place for a 12-month trial period.