Resources

The Need

Without a place and programs through which to connect, residents can feel socially isolated and disconnected from their community. Such a situation often negatively impacts residents’ satisfaction with their neighbourhood and their personal well-being.

Selandra Community Place (SCP) was explicitly developed to provide early amenity for the first residents of the growing Clyde North community. By proactively providing the space and good reasons for residents to meet and be actively involved in local activities, the hub is key to an engaged and healthy community from the onset.

Selandra Community Place opened in March 2012 within four months of the first resident moving in. It launched with a full calendar of classes, drop-in socials, business networking sessions, sports and fitness activities.

SCP was designed and resourced to allow residents to connect, learn and truly embrace the essence of community from the beginning. Capitalising upon its prominent and accessible position at the front corner of the Display Village, SCP also provides an opportunity for visitors and residents to connect and learn about how to save money while living more sustainably.

Selandra Community Place plays an important role in the broader objective of the Selandra Rise demonstration project. The following key outcomes guided the development:

• To proactively engage residents by employing a place-based Community Development Officer full-time at SCP
• To create a space to facilitate community interaction, inclusiveness, and sense of belonging
• To encourage the community to enjoy a healthier lifestyle by taking advantage of the features of Selandra Rise, and the SCP health and fitness programs
• To educate visitors and residents about saving money using engaging media to provide sustainability tips about how to save water, decrease energy use, minimise waste, and improve their health and wellbeing
• To display superior design that improves energy and water efficiency using the latest technology.

The innovation

The demonstration project provided an ideal opportunity to deliver a community hub in a new and different way, much sooner than the standard model. A number of organisations rallied behind the concept including the City of Casey, Stockland, Henley Homes and the South East Councils Climate Change Alliance (SECCCA).

The display village offered the opportunity to have a dual purpose for the hub, that of resident community centre and visitor demonstration home. The combination of these two audiences created an ideal opportunity to collaborate not only with the developer, but also with a builder; Henley Homes who were able to demonstrate their commitment and capacity to build more sustainable homes.

The City of Casey also forged a relationship with SECCCA, who were drawn to the opportunity to provide sustainability education and programming to influence household habits and decision-making amongst both audiences.

The Selandra Rise Partnership

The Selandra Rise partnership is a partnership between industry, government and the private sector with the objective of improving the design standards of suburbs and improving health and wellbeing outcomes in new communities.

The partners are:

• Stockland
• City of Casey
• The Metropolitan Planning Authority (previously the Growth Areas Authority)
• The Planning Institute of Australia
• Vic-Health/RMIT (undertaking evaluation)

The values of Selandra Rise partnership are:

• Openness. Collaboratively sharing of information
• Teamwork. Sharing the workload and playing a role in the outcomes
• Leadership. Delivering a blueprint and educating along the way
• Commitment. To improved community health and wellbeing outcomes
• Innovation. Testing new ideas that make a difference to the health and wellbeing of the community.

The Partnership has been critical in focusing on shared objectives and outcomes. The shared agenda and the creation of shared ownership has been central to the successful delivery of the Selandra Community Place demonstration project. Importantly, the community has been involved in co-creating Selandra Rise, with partners empowering residents to shape and inform how the project is delivered.

Visit Site

The Community Facility Planning Principles guide the City of Casey’s planning activities regarding the timely provision of integrated and accessible community facilities that meet the needs of all residents.

The following principles provide key direction to facility planning and, ultimately, to the development of community facilities.

• The decision to develop new facilities or redevelop existing facilities is based upon ongoing Council research that identifies population-based provision ratios or targeted models of service provision to meet community need.
• Council is committed to the provision of community facilities that meet resident needs for community services and community engagement.
• Community facilities will be equitably delivered across the municipality to meet the needs of all residents.
• Council will plan for community facilities that are:
• accessible
• multi-use
• located with other community services/ facilities to maximise integrated usage
• centrally located to public transport (within 400m)
• designed to facilitate integrated service provision
• designed to facilitate changing use over time.
• Community facilities will be developed according to the following hierarchy of facility provision:

Figure 1: Casey Hierarchy of Community Facility Provision

• Where practical, Council will locate its community services within integrated facilities, focusing on intergenerational service provision, and will minimise the development of stand-alone facilities. Integrated facilities will include service-specific and shared elements to enable efficient use of resources and the provision of a range of services from one location.
• Level 1 Family and Children’s Centres will be located adjacent to government Primary Schools in growth areas and, where practical, in established areas.
• Level 2 and 3 integrated community facilities will be located within or adjacent to Neighbourhood or Major Activity Centres in growth areas and, where practical, in established areas.
• Council will advocate for the timely delivery of community facilities in growth areas to meet the needs of residents as populations increase and communities develop.
• In designated bushfire-prone areas, consideration will be given to the development of dual purpose community facilities to enable the provision of community fire refuges or Neighbourhood Safer Places. These facilities will adhere to the Building Amendment (Bushfire Construction) Regulations 2011.
• Community facilities will be non-denominational; however, consideration will be given to the provision of ‘prayer and reflection’ spaces to support broad cultural and religious engagement by community and staff at venues.
• The provision of community facilities will include both the physical and social infrastructure of ‘place making’, community development and building a strong community identity.
• Community facilities will include spaces for people to meet, learn, play, socialise, and express their culture.
• Governance models are to be determined when planning for facilities, including clearly defined roles and responsibilities for future management.
• Council will facilitate the provision of resources for the operation, maintenance and management of its community facilities.
• The design of Council facilities will be reflective of industry best practice.
• The likely impact of new technologies on service delivery and subsequent facility demand will be considered in planning processes to ensure facilities can adapt to changing user needs.
• The naming of community facilities will indicate the intended use of the facility; support broad accessibility; and reflect meaning and engagement by the local community.