The Manningham Community Panel has reached a significant milestone, charting a course for the future after delivering its final recommendations to Council.

Manningham Mayor Councillor Deirdre Diamante said the Panel’s insights will be invaluable in ensuring that the Council’s strategic plans are grounded in the community's needs and aspirations. 

“By listening to the voices of our community, we’re ensuring that our decisions and actions reflect and align with what matters most to our residents,” Cr Diamante said.   

 

“The Panel has played a crucial role in this process, comprising members from diverse age groups, cultural backgrounds and geographic locations that represent the unique tapestry of our community. 

 

“This collaborative approach will help enable us to create a more inclusive, resilient, sustainable and vibrant community for all.”

The Panel was established to identify Manningham's key priorities, challenges and opportunities – to help guide the Council’s strategic plans. This includes the Community Vision 2040, the four-year Council Plan, and the 10-year Asset and Financial Plans.

Throughout the process, Panel members deliberated for approximately 1,680 collective hours and heard from over 50 speakers from Council and community. 

They handed over their recommendations to Council at the final meeting on 1 February 2025. They span several themes including community safety, transport, open spaces and more. 

“Over the coming weeks, we’ll prepare a response to each of the panel’s recommendations, including how they will be implemented or the reasons for not supporting any recommendation,” Cr Diamante said. 

 

“We’re sincerely grateful to the panel members for their time and efforts during this dynamic process and committed to implementing the panel’s recommendations to the fullest extent possible. We’ll ensure their insights are carefully considered in all our decision-making as we plan ahead for Manningham,” the Mayor added.

For further information and stay up to date, visit yoursay.manningham.vic.gov.au/help-shape-manninghams-future

Manningham Council is seeking community feedback on a proposal to rebuild an expanded Gum Nut Gully Preschool at a new nearby location in Doncaster East.

The current preschool building in Larnoo Drive is reaching its end of life and is unable to expand to provide more places for local families.

“The much-loved Gum Nut Gully Preschool has been part of our community for almost 40 years,” Manningham Mayor Deirdre Diamante said.

“We value the unique services like the bush kinder program and want to ensure the preschool can continue providing local children with quality early years education for many more years to come.”

Council has received Victorian Government funding through the Building Blocks program to build a new modular two-room preschool with places for 66 children in 3 and 4-year-old kinder programs.

However, investigations have found the modular preschool cannot be built at the existing location without significant impact on trees and vegetation. Challenging site conditions also make the project unviable.  

Corsican Reserve, 400m away in Corsican Avenue, has been identified as the most suitable nearby location. Manningham Council is inviting feedback on this proposal and no decision has yet been made. Under the proposal, the existing Larnoo Drive site would be retained for community use.

“We want to support local families by providing them access to more free kinder places locally as well as replace the ageing facility,” Cr Diamante said.

“There are many important considerations, and we want to hear what the community has to say before making any decisions about this proposal,” Cr Diamante said.

The proposal is open for community feedback until 11:59pm, Tuesday 2 September at Your Say Manningham.
 

Manningham Council is investigating options to rehabilitate the site of the former Doncaster Quarry after identifying issues that prevent the land from being developed in its current state.

Earlier this year, Council sought expressions of interest for the potential development of the former quarry site, located at 620-628 Blackburn Road in Doncaster East. 

This process was part of Manningham Council's Strategic Property Portfolio initiative, which aims to find new ways of funding the increasing costs of services and infrastructure locally.

Due to issues with the quarry site limiting the financial return of any proposed development, the expressions of interest received were not found to be feasible. 

Manningham Council Chief Executive Officer Andrew Day said due to issues with fill, compaction, water and slope, the site will need to undergo rehabilitation before it could be developed.

“Our focus for the former Doncaster quarry site has shifted to rehabilitating the land site to support potential further development.”

The first step will be an investigation into what is required to remediate the land for future use and development. 

The findings of this investigation will be presented to Council mid next year.

“We only get one opportunity to determine the future of this site, and we want to ensure the best financial return for the community. Once we understand what is required to rehabilitate the site, we will be in a better position to assess its potential,” Mr Day added.

For more information, go to Your Say Manningham.
 

With support from Manningham Council, the new Jackson Court Traders Association has seen the launch of its first initiative – a welcoming new sign at Jackson Court Shopping Centre.

Formed just over a year ago, the Jackson Court Traders Association advocates for its businesses, collaborates with Council, pursues funding opportunities and creates initiatives to promote the popular activity centre.

Jackson Court has more than 90 businesses, making it one of Manningham’s busiest and most vibrant centres. 

The new sign on Doncaster Road is designed to showcase the mix of local businesses and advertise the centre.

Manningham Council supports activity centres with infrastructure upgrades, business support and planning. At Jackson Court, Council helped establish the traders’ association with registration, governance, communication and business development support.

President of the Jackson Court Traders Association, Con Valsamis said the sign brings a new look and increased advertising space for businesses at the centre.

"As a group, we have so many ideas on ways to continue improving this important shopping district. This new signage is a big step towards us achieving these goals,” Mr Valsamis said.

“A big thank you to my fellow committee members for their passion and dedication and to Manningham Council for their support in setting up our traders association.” 

“We want to bring this area to life and really show people what we at Jackson Court have to offer,” Mr Valsamis added. 

You can follow Jackson Court Traders Association on Instagram @jacksoncourt.doncaster.

Manningham Council property purchase sets the stage for new community house

Manningham Council has signed the contract to purchase 576-578 Park Road, Park Orchards as part of its planning for a new Park Orchards Community House and Learning Centre.

A priority action in Council’s Community Infrastructure Plan, discussions and advocacy have already commenced for the replacement of this popular neighbourhood house and it is hoped that this significant investment by Council will be the catalyst for investment from other levels of government.

Manningham Mayor, Deirdre Diamante, said the existing community house needs replacing to bring programs and services together.

"The Community House is widely used and offers a variety of programs and services in learning, fitness and art for all ages, and includes a well-loved childcare facility.

“The current building is coming to the end of its useful life, has limited accessibility and is too small to cater to all programs. These limitations have resulted in programs moving to different locations and spread across multiple local venues.

“By bringing these programs together into one building with better access and more space, we can improve efficiency and better support the community’s growing needs.”

The location of the new property, adjacent to the existing Community House at 572 Park Road, will allow for more space for the variety of programs on offer.

“Located in the heart of Park Orchards, as part of a community and education precinct and near public bus transport, the site will maintain convenient access to childcare, schools, recreational areas, and shops.” Cr Diamante added.

The purchase of 576-578 Park Road is part of Council’s long-term planning to replace this important neighbourhood house for Park Orchards.

Neighbourhood houses are predominantly funded by government grants and additional state and commonwealth government funding will be needed to deliver this new community facility.

“We have purchased this property as part of our long-term plan for the community house and local area. We’re pleased to be able to secure a site for a new centre in Park Orchards and will continue to advocate for State and Federal funding to deliver it.”

The purchase was funded by Council’s Strategic Fund which is part of its 10 Year Financial Plan 2024/25 to 2033/34.

For more information, visit Your Say Manningham.