Golden Plains Shire Council has flagged plans to redevelop the Bannockburn Customer Service Centre into a new Golden Plains Community and Civic Centre, including new customer service areas and confidential community meeting facilities.
Council’s 2017-18 Draft Budget is set to include $500,000 for community engagement, detailed architectural and engineering designs for the Centre.
Initially residents will have the opportunity to provide feedback on this proposal, as well as other Budget items, as part of the four-week Budget consultation process.
Following Budget adoption in late June, further community consultation will be undertaken including listening posts and surveys.
Mayor Cr Des Phelan says that Council is focused on providing quality customer service and achieving efficiencies as they serve Shire residents.
“With a Shire population growing by 2.3% on average every year, we are conscious of the need to plan for future growth, and effective and efficient work practices,” said Cr Phelan.
“We are embarking on this project after previous feedback from the community through Council Plan consultations and community focus groups about the need for welcoming and modern customer service areas. We also heard from the community that more accessible areas for Council meetings to accommodate greater numbers of community members, are required.”
“Council has made this decision for a number of reasons, including the need to provide more private meeting areas for those residents who require them, improve efficiencies in our operations by reducing operational costs, and provide improved access and transparency around monthly Council meetings.”
The existing facility is around 40 years old and presents a number of building compliance and safety issues, resulting in increased spending on building maintenance.
In addition, the customer service areas are outdated and do not provide privacy for residents to discuss sensitive issues such as planning matters.
The redeveloped facility will be known as the Golden Plains Community and Civic Centre and will include construction and refurbishment of office space to house staff centrally and increase workplace efficiency by doing away with the portable units currently used.
Staff areas will be modest and fit-for-purpose, and the new fitout will allow a substantial reduction in operating costs and environmental impact.
The new space available for Council meetings will provide increased transparency in Council matters by allowing more members of the public to attend monthly meetings, as well as provide facilities for new technology such as on-line streaming of Council meetings.
The design of better traffic flow for the new precinct will increase safety for families using the Bannockburn Family Services Centre.
The community can provide their feedback on this proposed project by making a submission either in writing or via www.goldenplains.vic.gov.au/consultations as part of the Budget submission process.