In Support of Rising Sun Workshop

We would like council to consider our proposal for Rising Sun Workshop, a communal workshop space and café, as a positive contribution to the local area within which we have found a suitable location for the business to be successful. With full understanding of the reality of the impact of this proposal, 2 Albany Rd Stanmore and others like it act as suitable buffers between residential and industrial zones and provide a necessary and unique service to a part of the community, which is currently not provided for.

The start up capital behind Rising Sun Workshop’s initiative, has been wholly funded by the community to date, demonstrating the public support and need for the Rising Sun Workshop business model. Rising Sun Workshop’s philosophies, centre around community and collaboration, while a community focussed initiative, the business is designed to survive independently, that is, for-profit, without need of federal or local government support. For this reason, the workshop and cafe cannot be separated from the community workspace, as it is revenue from the cafe which facilitates the subsidies of the community workspace. Hence the importance of the two “uses” in the one location.

As the communal workshop has currently been deemed to be a "vehicle repair station" in terms of its environmental impact, this has limited the areas within which Rising Sun Workshop can exist in Marrickville LGA to B6 zones, of which are located mainly along the Princes Highway and (on multiple property inspections) are mostly unsuitable for regular pedestrian use and safe access for motorcyclists.

Rising Sun Workshop’s proposal offers a unique service to the community, providing a space and forum for learning outside the structure of the traditional tertiary education model. Participants learn new skills, from one another, rather than a teacher/instructor, at their own pace, at the time of their choosing. We believe that community collaboration of this nature is both vital and currently under provided.