Shire adopts concept plan for Anglesea hub

THE Surf Coast Shire is pressing ahead with its proposal to create the Anglesea Community and Health Hub, with the council voting to adopt a concept plan for the site.

The proposal for the hub in the McMillan Street precinct is divisive, particularly the inclusion of housing, and councillors adopting the motion at their meeting tonight (Tuesday, July 23) followed the council receiving a 257-signature petition that “totally rejected” any housing being built at the site.

There were also several questions from the crowd at the meeting, held at the Anglesea Memorial Hall in the precinct, with questioners objecting to elements of the plan for the hub, including that affordable housing for Anglesea should be built elsewhere.

The shire says the results of its community co-design process and broader community engagement period for the hub are mostly in favour, citing that of the 330 survey responses, 82 per cent of respondents indicated they supported or strongly supported the vision statement, most respondents indicated support or strong support for all eight principles, and 52 per cent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the location of housing.

Some changes have been made to the draft concept plan, which the shire says it had done in response to community feedback:

• Rangi Marie (History House) has been retained for use as History House, and housing has been removed from the land immediately around it
• The western driveway has been slightly revised, with all other access and parking aspects to be further considered in detailed design
• The Angair propagation shed has been relocated following Angair’s request to ensure they have sufficient space, and
• Youth room facilities will be included in the new community building.

Other ideas and suggestions will be considered during the detailed design phase.

“The hub’s much-loved facilities are at the heart of Anglesea and this planning will ensure they can continue serving the community well into the future,” shire mayor Cr Liz Pattison said.

She said there had been strong community interest and participation in the latest engagement phase.

“Overall feedback generally supported the vision, design principles and the majority of the proposed elements of the concept plan. Plus the user groups have all expressed support for their location within the precinct.

“There has been a range of views expressed about the inclusion of some affordable rental housing to help address the local key worker accommodation crisis. We want to work with the community to make sure this is done in a way that is in keeping with the unique character of the area.

“The next step in the project will be the detailed design stage and this will involve more community engagement so that it reflects locals’ aspirations.”

Cr Heather Wellington said the number of signatures on the petition was very high for a community of Anglesea’s size at this time of year, so it was “a very clear signal to the council that there is substantial dissent around this issue in the Anglesea community”.

An implementation progress report will be presented to the council no later than July 2025.

For more information on the concept plan and community engagement report, head to surfcoast.vic.gov.au/AngleseaHub