COUNCILLOR Sam Aziz believes his plan to turn one of Melbourne’s iconic old trams into a cafe in Casey is still on its tracks despite reports the National Trust may not favour the idea.
In a motion carried last Tuesday, Cr Aziz proposed that one of the disused W-Class trams be relocated to the Casey Fields sports facility in Cranbourne and turned into a cafe.
A business approached Casey Council with the idea after reports that Public Transport Victoria (PTV) was looking for organisations to take on the historic trams.
This week the ABC reported that the National Trust Acting Conservation manager Anna Foley said no more trams should be given away until PTV had outlined a proper strategy for them.
But Cr Aziz told Star News on Wednesday that he had received clarification from Ms Foley, outlining that she wasn’t opposed to the idea, but wanted to ensure a strategy was in place before the trams were re-distributed.
“This is at a preliminary stage, no-one has made a move,” Cr Aziz said.
“It’s in the discussion stage.”
Cr Aziz said re-using one of the W-Class trams as cafe at Casey Fields had two key benefits, including using the proceeds to support under-privileged children.
“We’ve got the space and there is a need for coffee facilities at Casey Fields and secondly, when we do get the tram and there may be a lease charged on the land we house it on, we can use the proceeds to assist disadvantaged kids that may want to get into sport,” he said.
