Unfortunately in Australia in recent times an equally important responsibility for each citizen seems to have been lost. I refer to the duty of citizens to apprise themselves of the facts.

While the current Mechanics Institute may understandably hold fond memories for some, in truth the current building has no heritage value, would cost an extravagant amount to renovate, and even then would not meet the existing needs of this community. 

While the original building did have a certain charm, a quick visit to the hall would establish that changes have rendered it impossible to restore the original.

The Trentham Facilities Review 2013, which consulted widely, and the current architects both confirm this conclusion. 

Similarly, to conflate plans for the Mechanics Institute and the footpath outside the Cosmo is ridiculous. I attended all public meetings regarding streetscape. The focus of discussion was about extending the avenues of trees to streets such as Albert, Camp and South streets, extending parking provision to cater for increasing business in High and Market streets, and connecting the Mechanics [hall] more clearly with the rest of High Street.

The only mention of the footpath outside the Cosmo was when locals were asked to identify risk areas. Given the growing and ageing population of Trentham, it was unanimously agreed that the footpath, in its current state, is a high risk area.