2,363 signatures call for Werninck Cottage sale process to stop

A petition signed by 2,363 people has called on Shoalhaven City Council to immediately halt any reclassification, disposal or sale process affecting Werninck Cottage in Nowra.

Councillor Jemma Tribe presented the petition at council’s ordinary meeting on 25 August. It asks council to rescind the relevant section of an earlier resolution, guarantee the cottage remains in public ownership and provide the Werninck Craft Cottage Club with secure, affordable and long-term tenure.

The petition also calls for genuine and transparent consultation with cottage volunteers and the wider community before any future change to the property.

Werninck Cottage is described in the petition as a locally listed heritage building that reopened as a craft cottage in 1985. It has provided a home for local craftspeople, volunteers, residents and visitors, according to the petition.

Volunteers have kept the cottage open for more than 40 years, displayed locally made crafts and raised funds for charities and community organisations across the Shoalhaven, the petition says. It describes the building as a community institution and part of Nowra’s identity, rather than simply a council asset-register entry.

The petition was presented as councillors considered a rescission motion concerning an earlier resolution on the proposed sale of council land. That motion was defeated on the chair’s casting vote. The property details and terms of the underlying sale resolution were not provided.

The Werninck Craft Cottage Club’s request for secure tenure was not resolved at the meeting.

A separate petition, signed by 786 people, asked council to retain Anker Avenue Reserve in Mollymook as a community asset under the Community Infrastructure Strategic Plan 2056. The two petitions brought the future of local community assets before council, with the Werninck petition attracting the larger number of signatures.