Hub delayed by market plan

by Sahar Foladi

The long-awaited Dandenong Community Hub could now ‘hang’ from a Dandenong Market Precinct Master Plan, the concept design of which has been delayed until 2025.

The latest update on the DCH was yet another disappointment for its supporters at the Greater Dandenong City Council meeting on July 22.

A council report said a problem had arisen over the 300 parking spaces required for the interchange.

The market precinct masterplan will now be prioritised for a final concept design for the hub, to consider how the project “fits within the overall Dandenong market precinct masterplan.”

In the gallery of the council meeting, community members advocating for the hub project held up large posters reading: “Don’t Delay the Hub” and “Transparency Versus Betrayal.”

Dandenong Community Association (DCA) spokesperson Silvia Mastrogiovanni shook her head from side to side and called the parking issue “nonsense”.

“How can they tell us this about an area where we have ample parking?

“It’s all about slowing down the hub. They built this building (Greater Dandenong Civic Centre) with 40 car spaces, so if that’s the rule, how come we’re occupying it?

“Every other city (in Greater Dandenong) got their hub. More than once we waited patiently for our turn. We got our turn and now they tell us there is a delay for the money, the parking.”

Two weeks earlier, the council had proposed to reallocate the hub funding to the Dandenong Wellbeing Centre project.

“Now they’ve taken that away and now they’ve decided that Market Precinct comes first before the hub. Didn’t they think of that four years ago? Why are they bringing it back now?”

“They talk about strengthening the community but all I see is a weakening of the community of the people of Dandenong and that makes me so angry.”

While the hub is still awaiting the market master plan, Sanjay Manivasasivagam, executive director of the council’s Futures department, said no time frame could be given yet for the completion of the master plan.

“Once we finalize the neighborhood plan, the (hub’s) design will be affected. One of the things that will be looked at is the amount of space that is required for open space, so the parking requirement is important,” he said during the council meeting.

The community center, originally budgeted at $30 million, has now grown to $55 to $63 million.

According to the council report, costs now depend on parking requirements and the required parking level.

The item caught council members by surprise, as Councillor Rhonda Garad wanted to postpone the item due to the lack of sufficient information about the market master plan.

“This report was thrown at us – the core now was about the market masterplan. We have no details on that, I know nothing about it. What is that?” says Cr Garad.

“We know absolutely nothing about this market and now co-design suddenly depends on it.

“It’s not good enough. I don’t understand why the hub co-design can’t continue.

“They are now trying to tie our hands behind our backs. That is why it has been postponed so that we can know more.”

Cr Garad said there has been “nothing in this area for the community since I have been here for the last 25 years”.

“It is high time. With the construction, the capital injection and the many major developments, we know that the population in this area will increase.

“There is little money, we understand that. We understand that the welfare centre is like a Taj Mahal and that it takes a lot of resources, but we say that we have to continue the design processes at this stage.”

The Dandenong Wellbeing Centre ‘tender update’ was discussed ‘behind closed doors’ that same evening.

After the Hub issue was postponed, it will be discussed at the council meeting at the end of August.