This is in spite of attempts by Nambucca Shire Council's manager of the project, Coral Hutchinson, as well as the chair of the Project Control Group, Cr Anne Smyth, to let everyone know that planning is still in the early stages and nothing is set in concrete.

Most precious to the group, whose membership hovers around the 400 mark, is the small hall at the back of the community centre's courtyard, where many of its courses are held.

"While we are extremely supportive of the extension of the library, we fear that 'the baby might go out with the bath water' if this space is lost," U3A secretary Paul Coe said.

"This hall is used at all hours of the day by 23 different groups. Its wooden floor makes it excellent for dance and exercise classes as well as painting plus there is a kitchen and storage space, all of which we use."

Treasurer Deborah Mann said the flexibility of the venue and access times made it ideal in so many ways.

"A volunteer manages the venue and all the bookings and she is available 24/7 ... it is hard to see how that can still be achieved by library staff between 9am-5pm five days a week," Deborah said.

With the architect's brief for the $2 million project nearing completion, the group believe they should be consulted.

"Over the last 18 months this group has put $29,000 back into the local community but more than that, no dollar value can be placed on the wellbeing and quality of life U3A offers older members of this community," Paul said.

Cr Anne Smyth said the council had reached out to all the groups and had received a lot of written material.

"The design brief will soon be sent out to about 10 or 11 architects to see who is interested in sending in an expression of interest," Cr Smyth said.

"There is absolutely time to talk to anyone and everyone, we haven't even got a geotech report yet for the site to know exactly what is possible."

She said about 5000 users walked through the library's doors every month to use a space that was far from fit-for- purpose (240 square metres, as opposed to the 690 square metres required for this usage level according to Standards and Guidelines for Australian Public Libraries), so it was about finding a plan that balanced differing needs in the available space.

Project manager, Coral Hutchinson, said the design brief going out to the list of architects was not overly prescriptive.

"It is more 'aspirational', there is nothing there about losing the small hall. We have to keep this project moving because it needs to be built by December 2021."

Funding for the project includes $1.5 million from Create NSW plus $500,000 from the council.

According to the Create NSW grant criteria the essential elements must include:

Cr Anne Smyth is happy to talk to community members about the project, you can contact her on 0410 085 708.

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