By Brendan Rees
Casey Council has unveiled plans for a new $15 million community hub building, and refurbishment of Arthur Wren Hall in Hampton Park.
Councillors adopted the Hampton Park Central Community Precinct Masterplan at their 7 November meeting.
Under the plans, a further $2 million will be spent realigning Main Street to improve the street network, including car parking and ensuring the town square celebrates the River Red Gum tree.
The Masterplan proposes to build a two storey integrated community building containing multi-use spaces, new community services and some existing community house functions.
The library and youth centre are planned to remain in place however a new main entrance will be constructed to the north to allow direct access into the shared foyer and towards the new town square and Main Street.
But council says none of this will be possible without the help of Federal and State Government funding.
River Gum Ward councillor Wayne Smith welcomed the Masterplan which he described as a “long time coming” and had been “given the tick of approval” by the majority of the community.
“This goes back a long, long time trying to getting the Hampton Park central area sorted out which is notorious for being the worst planned business precinct probably anywhere,” he said.
He said the Hampton Park Shopping Centre precinct had been an “example of bad or poor planning for a long, long period well before City of Casey days.”
“Part of the problem was ownership … there was something in excess of 40 owners of the shops, factories, and other facilities in the precinct.
“We do own substantial amount of the land and we can make some serious decisions about our part of the land which will in turn have an impact on the rest of the precinct – which we’d hope bring the owners on board,” Cr Smith said.
He said the project would “take a number of years,” adding “We’re not talking doing this about tomorrow but we do want to see it happened.”
Community consultation was undertaken in 2018 when the Masterplan was exhibited and the feedback was received to inform the vision, actions and priorities of the plan.
Council intends to continue to work closely with the community, groups and service organisations to understand what challenges and opportunities there are for the future of the Hampton Park Central Community Precinct.
The Hampton Park Central Development Plan was also adopted by council in June which proposes:
• New design guidelines to improve the look and feel of the streets and buildings, and attract visitors and businesses
• New environment and landscape guidelines which will help create a greener Hampton Park Central that is connected to the River Gum Creek.
Cr Damien Rosario said the Development Plan provided a clear framework for the future revitalisation of Hampton Park Central that will apply to private landowners or new developers.
“It aims to streamline and better inform planning decisions to make redevelopment more attractive in the area,” he said.
