By Corey Everitt
Almost five years on from its initial plans, Officer’s new park looks to be finally moving ahead.
In Cardinia Shire Council’s latest general meeting on Monday 21 August, new developments were revealed on the planned Officer District Park in the latest report on Major Capital Works in the shire, showing promising signs the long-awaited park will begin construction soon.
The Officer District Park was initiated by the council all the way back in November 2018, when the council passed the project’s master plan.
Planned to be located along Lansell Avenue, just north of Princes Highway and east of St Clare’s Primary School, the 10-acre new park will have a skate park, playground, cafe, wetlands and a swath of open space for residents.
The project is set to serve the outdoor and recreational needs for the fast-growing area, as it will be a district level park, an area deemed of significance to the entire suburb and surrounds rather than just the immediate neighborhood.
The size and expense of the project means it will be split into stages and is reliant on government funding to get the project rolling.
While the council provided the plans, the construction funding came from the State Government’s Growing Suburbs Fund (GSF) and the Federal Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program.
In original timeframes, stage one was planned to commence in March 2020 with an expected completion by November 2022, according to a 2020 document from the State Government.
However with the Covid pandemic, the project was delayed and has been tough for council, with new rising construction prices, to get moving between the government bodies.
In the same State Government document, the cost of stage one was said to be over $5.1 million, with $2.2 million coming from the GSF and over $2.9 million from the council.
It was revealed in the council’s latest general meeting that the scope of stage one of the plan has been revised to fit funding parameters.
While it was also revealed the State Government has recently approved funding from the GSF to fit the revised plan.
As of now, Star News is not aware of the number to the revised cost, along with the changes made to stage one.
The tender process was initiated by the council recently for suitable builders. Submissions closed on 1 August and assessment is currently underway.
Councillor Stephanie Davies for Toomuc Ward, where the park will reside, spoke with relief on the promising developments of the park.
“One project that has certainly kept me up at night sometimes is the Officer District Park,” Cr Davies said.
“I’ve been worried about it, it is in my ward, it was actually announced prior to my term on council and it is an exciting district-level facility, and the plans are absolutely amazing.
“But there was a pandemic and construction costs have increased significantly.
“So I am very very pleased to report that stage one of the project has been rescoped to meet the available budget and approval was given by the Minister for Local Government to vary the Growing Suburbs Funding agreement to meet the revised scope.
“Public tender was closed on the first of August and it’s currently being assessed; this puts the project scheduled for commencement for stage one in October 2023 depending, of course on the outcome of the tender, fingers crossed everything will fit within the budget and the funds.
“I’m really excited, I think it’s going to be a huge win for our community.”
