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Masterplan Focus On Improving Our Services

An overhaul of offices in the Civic Centre at Wonthaggi is scheduled to start this financial year. The project is Stage One of a long term Masterplan to deal with ongoing office accommodation issues.

By Bass Coast - 8th February 2012 - Back to News

Bass Coast Shire Council Chief Executive Officer, Allan Bawden, said the Civic Centre Masterplan was an essential part of planning for the continued growth of the shire.

"Bass Coast is one of the fastest growing regions in Victoria and we need to plan for how we will deliver the increased services that a growing population needs," Mr Bawden said.

"In the past 18 months, the organisation has done some comprehensive business planning and reported the results back to the Audit Committee and Council. This involved a complete evaluation of all our services and looked at ways to improve and increase efficiency. Our population is growing, visitor numbers are increasing, community expectations are changing, as are the ways people are accessing information, and we need to factor all of these things in.

"Although Stage One is about maximising the use of available space by creating a more efficient office environment, the overall aim is to improve our service delivery," explained Mr Bawden.

"For many years, our Planning team has been accommodated in several locations, which creates a lot of duplication and inefficiency. By reshaping the Wonthaggi Office, we will be able to have the entire team based in one location. This means a better use of resources and better support for our planning team, which has one of the heaviest workloads in regional Victoria."

One of the key changes will be the physical relocation of staff from Cowes; however Mr Bawden said he was confident that the changes would not change the level of service to the Phillip Island community.

"The current system, where anyone wanting to meet with planning staff needs to book an appointment, will continue," confirmed Mr Bawden.

"Our staff are still able to meet people on site or at the Cowes office and there will still be the capacity for staff to work from the Cowes office when needed. I want to stress that these changes are not about cutting back a service. They are all about improving the way we deliver it. There will be very little impact on the community, but a significant improvement in productivity and efficiency."

"I don’t think where staff are based is the major issue. The community want access to skilled staff who provide accurate advice and respond as quickly as possible and that isn’t dictated by a physical location anymore."

Mr Bawden said that planning staff would continue to work from the Cowes office for the foreseeable future.

"We are in the very early stages of this process and don’t yet have a timeframe locked in," said Mr Bawden.

"We need to make alternative arrangements to house the staff currently based in Wonthaggi and then put the building project out to tender. Once a suitable construction company has been selected, then the actual work can be scheduled. I don’t anticipate that this will be until the second half of this year. As soon as we have a definite timeline for the Stage One project, we will certainly let the community know."

The Stage One project will also involve a redesign of the front foyer in Wonthaggi, to create a more accessible, user friendly service area.

The Cowes Cultural Centre will continue to provide a Visitor Information Centre and Council Customer Service, as well as office space for Council staff.

$600,000 has been allocated in the current budget to commence Stage One, with an estimated total cost of $1 million. The overall Masterplan is an ongoing project that will need to be funded over a significant number of years.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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