Gloucester's Cool Place is ready for it's official re-launch

Thanks to a group of concerned Gloucester residents, the ‘Cool Place’ is ready to re-launch for the summer season.

The idea behind the Cool Place is to have a space available to the community during extreme heat events, where people can spend time out of the weather.

Recently, the Bureau of Meteorology activated its Heatwave Service inline with the seasons first extreme heat event on the weekend of November 2-4.

This service identifies and maps heatwave conditions throughout Australia, giving authorities and the public the best chance of planning for extreme conditions before they arrive.

The bureau's acting general manager, public safety services, Jeff Perkins, said a heatwave is defined as three or more days of high maximum and minimum temperatures that are unusual for a given location.

"Severe and extreme heat events have claimed more lives than any other natural hazard in Australia since European settlement," Mr Perkins said.

"This service provides a more advanced indicator than temperature alone in anticipating the impact of heat stress," he said.

"We assess the build-up of heat over a period of time, taking into account the long-term climate of a location and recent variability in minimum and maximum temperatures to measure the build-up of ‘excess’ heat over a three-day period.

Together, the Cool Place committee, the Gloucester Soldiers Club and MidCoast Council will officially reopen the doors to the space on Thursday, December 6 at 10.30am.

The space is located in the Gloucester Soldiers Club, 32 Denison Street, for people of all ages to relax and stay cool. There is no need to spend money, the club will provide cool water and you can bring your own snacks.

To enjoy the Cool Place, you are required to become a member of the club for a $10 annual fee. 

The Heatwave Service is available on the bureau’s website at: www.bom.gov.au/australia/heatwave

It provides a series of seven maps, each map showing heatwave location and severity for a three-day period.

Severe and extreme heat events or heatwaves pose significant risks to human health and safety. In addition to the human impact, heatwaves have a range of economic and planning impacts across a broad range of sectors, namely: