Council adopts Anglesea Community and Health Hub concept plan

At the Council meeting on Tuesday 23 July, Surf Coast Shire Council adopted the Anglesea Community and Health Hub concept plan, which shows where all health and community facilities will be positioned on the site.

The concept plan was adopted following a community co-design process and broader community engagement period, in which 330 survey responses, 36 submissions and feedback from site user groups were received. Council also considered 329 pro forma letters, and a petition with 257 signatures.

In response to community feedback these proposed changes have been made to the draft concept plan:

• Rangi Marie (History House) has been retained for use as History House, and housing has been removed from the land immediately around it.
• The western driveway has been slightly revised, with all other access and parking aspects to be further considered in detailed design.
• The relocation of Angair propagation shed following their request to ensure they have sufficient space
• Youth room facilities to be included in the new community building.

The next step in the project will be the detailed design stage and this will involve more community engagement to reflect locals’ aspirations.

An implementation progress report will be presented to Council no later than July 2025.

Why housing is included in the draft concept plan

Why is affordable housing needed in Anglesea?

In May 2021 Surf Coast Shire Council declared a key worker accommodation crisis in recognition of how a lack of affordable accommodation was impacting on the economy and sustainability of local communities.

There is an urgent need for affordable rental housing in Anglesea.

Renters earning under $105,000 a year are classified as being in ‘rental stress’, with the Anglesea median rental price of $625 per week.

For those paying off a mortgage, with the average Victorian mortgage repayment of $962 per week, it means even households earning $167,000 a year would be in ‘mortgage stress’.

Some real life Anglesea examples:

Story 1: “I have lived in Anglesea for over 18 years and raised my family here. This year a new real estate agent raised my rent by over $250 per week. I couldn’t afford this and had to move out.”

Story 2: “Our original rental has increased 67% in five years whilst my salary has gone up 8%.”

Story 3: “I am working full time as a (local) teacher. I have lived in Anglesea for the past 10 years. We are living in a 2 bedroom apartment as it was the only place we could afford to live on two full time wages. Our rent goes up every year when we renew our lease and every year we are calling the real estate to check if we are going to have a house for the following year.”

Why housing at this site?

The hub is a Council owned site - and Council will retain ownership of the land - which means we have a significant opportunity to make an impactful contribution to the housing crisis.

What about other sites for housing?

This is the only site Council owns where it can ensure delivery of local affordable rental accommodation. Other sites have been reviewed and few are suitable due to issues such as incompatible zoning and bushfire risk. Affordable housing projects are underway in Winchelsea and Aireys Inlet and we’re exploring locations in Lorne too. We are continuing to explore and are open to other sites in addition to the Anglesea Hub.

How would the housing be managed? Who would live there?

We would choose a suitable not-for-profit housing partner to provide affordable rental housing within an agreed set of criteria. The site would remain under Council ownership.

The proposed homes would house people like local workers in roles needed year-round (such as teachers, nurses and retail workers). The proposed housing at this site is not intended for seasonal workers.

What will the housing look like? How much parking would there be?

This would all be looked at closely during the design stage. We understand concerns raised about housing design, parking, traffic, scale and form. These would be addressed at the detailed design stage and would be subject to community consultation.

Why wasn’t the rental housing located near Melaleuca Lane (where the kinder currently is) in the draft concept plan?

We have continually heard from kinder families that they want to retain the kinder facility in is current location given it was renovated about 10 years ago and it can meet their current and future needs. There is no certainty that funding will be provided by the state government to move the kinder to the school site. Given all this, the draft concept plan retains the functioning kinder building in its current position, instead of removing and relocating it to provide space for future rental housing.

We received 330 survey responses and 36 submissions during the latest consultation period.

Early analysis of the survey findings include:

• 82% of respondents indicated they supported/strongly supported the vision statement.
• Design principles received a high level of support, with most respondents indicating support/strong support for all 8 principles (results ranged from 73% to 85%).
• Most elements proposed within the draft concept plan received greater than majority support.
• 52% of respondents were satisfied/very satisfied with the location of housing (43% were unsatisfied/very unsatisfied and 5% unsure).

Results varied across age groups:

• People aged under 45: 79% were satisfied/very satisfied with location of housing
• People aged 45-64: 64% were satisfied/very satisfied with location of housing
• People aged 65+: 30% were satisfied/very satisfied with location of housing.

Of the proposed elements, the ‘transition of Rangi Marie (Anglesea Historical Society) to housing’ received the lowest rating with 48% of respondents saying they were satisfied/very satisfied (41% were unsatisfied/very unsatisfied and 11% unsure).

View the Community Engagement Report

This initial proposed concept (below) was considered as a part of Phase 2 community engagement.

Following community feedback, we are moving to a co-design process, to develop a new draft concept plan that will be shared with the wider community for feedback.

Phase 2 proposal included consideration of:

• A two-storey community and health hub building fronting McMillan Street. The concept is for community hub and health functions to be housed in one building, but operate in separate spaces with their own entrances.
• On the ground floor would be: Anglesea Medical Centre; Council’s Child and Family Health service; kindergarten; occasional care; playgroup; and space for Anglesea Community House reception.
• On the first floor would be: Barwon Health clinical spaces; services and programs provided by the community house and auspice groups; space for environmental champions Angair; Anglesea Historical Society; and Anglesea Senior Citizens Centre.
• Outdoors would be: nature play spaces for occasional care and kindergarten and a ‘green heart’ - a public community space for events, activities and informal gatherings.
• Remaining on the site will be: the Community Garden; Ambulance Victoria; Anglesea Memorial Hall; the Angair propagation shed; and Rangi Marie - the home of Anglesea and District Historical Society.
• No service, program, event, trees or parking spaces will be lost from the site.
• Five townhouses and 14 apartments at the rear of the site will help address the key worker accommodation crisis.

Proposed option

Existing layout of Anglesea Community and Health Hub

Map key: 1. Anglesea Maternal Child Health 2. Anglesea Kindergarten 3. Anglesea Toy Library 4. Anglesea Memorial Hall 5. Memorial Hall Youth Room 6. Angair (Anglesea, Aireys Inlet Society for the Preservation of Flora and Fauna 7. Anglesea Senior Citizens Club 8. Anglesea Medical Centre 9. Anglesea Community Hall 10. Barwon Health
11. Ambulance Victoria 12. Anglesea Historical Society - ‘Rangi Marie’ 13. Anglesea Community GardenRender of the eastern elevation of the proposed Community ad Health Hub building. The existing Memorial Hall is shown on the right.

View the Phase 2 - draft precinct plan

Summary of the Anglesea Community and Health Hub Draft Precinct Plan

Full draft precinct plan