A new initiative by Mannigham Council will help fund future community services and infrastructure as the municipality continues to grow.

The Strategic Property Portfolio (SPP) has been created to provide an additional long-term funding source for Council.

The SPP will allow Council to respond to the needs of the community by selling or developing surplus land and strategically acquiring (or buying) properties.

Manningham Mayor Cr Deirdre Diamante said: “Our community is growing and so is the need for services and facilities. We need to look for new ways to fund these future needs without passing on extra costs to our community.”

“At the moment, rates are our main source of income, as we don’t have other income areas that some councils do, like large businesses or parking charges.”

“We are aware of the cost of living pressures on individuals and families and we want to continue to take a measured approach to passing on costs to our residents,” she said.

“We don’t charge the highest amount for rates that we could, we don’t charge for parking, and we try to reduce charges where we can. A recent example was that we didn’t pass on the full waste charge to our community.”

Cr Diamante said the SPP shows how, despite the challenging economic environment, Council continues to focus on financial sustainability and deliver great outcomes for our community.

“We know being a well-governed and financially sustainable Council which spends its money wisely on things that benefit our community is important to our Manningham residents. We’ve built this community feedback into commitments in our Council Plan, she said.

“The SPP is about being innovative, planning for the future and making sure we can deliver for our community in the long term.” Cr Diamante said as the first part of the SPP, Council has identified two sites in Manningham that it plans to explore options for use or development in 2024. These sites are 620-628 Blackburn Road Doncaster East and 300 Blackburn Road Doncaster East.

“We are in the early stages of looking at possibilities for these two sites. We will be keeping our community informed about this process and giving you the opportunity to have your say along the way,” she said.

Cr Diamante also noted that a third site, 699 Doncaster Road, Doncaster has also been earmarked as a long-term SPP project.
“We are yet to begin working through any details for this site – it is about 25 or 30 years away, so it is very much a long-term plan.”

Media enquiries contact Jude Whelan, Manager – Engaged Communities on 0419 541 610 or email media@manningham.vic.gov.au.