Shire wants affordable housing in Anglesea redevelopment

THE Surf Coast Shire will ask the state government to help fund redevelopment plans of Anglesea’s main community hub, which will include affordable and key worker housing.

Home to the town’s health and medical centre, kindergarten, memorial hall, community house and several other facilities, recent audits of the McMillan Street Precinct reveal some buildings are duplicated, disconnected or in the case of the senior citizens building no longer habitable due to termite damage.

“We are still very much in the early planning stages,” Mayor Libby Stapleton said of the project.

A precinct plan was develop for the area in 2008, however it’s now considered to be largely out of date and in need of modernisation.

At its meeting last week, council approved a last minute application for $200,000 funding from the Victorian Government’s Investment Fast Track Fund, and committed a further $50,000 from the shire if the grant is successfull, to fund the master plan.

“This funding would provide the key financial support necessary to reimagine what the precinct could be to support the Anglesea community for decades to come,” Cr Stapleton said.

“This includes exploring the possibilities of affordable accommodation for key workers, an integrated community hub and critical health infrastructure and services.”

Cr Stapleton said the project will include “a high level of community engagement to establish a much-needed community endorsed vision for the precinct.”

In his report to council about the project, the shire’s general manager of place making and environment Chris Pike said affordable housing for key workers in the town is “vital” and would help realise the potential of the visitor economy.