Grand opening of The Stables, Bellingen

The compact workshop space for community arts is the result of a two-year labour of love by Maureen Eley-Round and Julie Hutchinson.

They came up with the idea of renovating the 100-year-old brick outbuilding that housed first the horses and later the vehicles of the district constabulary, and along with fellow Bellingen Community Arts Council members Rob Simpson and Phillip Senior, successfully applied for a state heritage grant of $32,600.

The makeover of the Old Police Stables included restoring crumbling brickwork, particularly on the northwest corner, adding new plumbing, gutters and downpipes, replacing tatty roll-a-doors with beautiful, custom-made, heritage-style wooden ones, grinding the cement floor down to the pebbles and moisture-proofing it, upgrading the electricals and installing new lighting, insulation and a reverse cycle air-conditioner.

Opening the venue on Sunday, Deputy Mayor Cr Toni Wright-Turner acknowledged the debt owed to Julie and Maureen for taking on the daunting project of salvaging the little sibling of the historic Police Station and Court House.

All three were designed by George Moore and represent significant early examples of concrete brick construction in Australia.

"It's less grand but no less important than the other two but probably would have crumbled away without the interest of Mixed Up Arts," Cr Wright-Turner said.

"They've created not just an arts space but a venue that holds its history so you can feel it around you."

Maureen said The Stables, which is licenced to seat 30 people, will be suitable for rehearsals and readings but its primary use will be art classes and workshops.

"It's zoned as an educational facility and it's been restored and renovated so that art-making will be its main focus," she said.

"Mixed Up Art will be starting quite soon with Open Studio - that's a day when artists can bring their own artwork in to do, and that could be fibre arts, knitting, crochet, embroidery, drawing, painting ... the full range."