A NEW report released by Infrastructure Victoria has recommended improving bus services in Frankston rather than moving forward with the long-touted rail extension to Baxter. Infrastructure Victoria released its updated 30-year strategy last week. The organisation is an independent body that advises the state government on its projects. Among the recommendations included in the report was to investigate the rollout of more bus services in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula in the next year “instead of progressing a rail extension to Baxter”. The report read that “a preliminary business case considered different rail and bus options for more extensive public…
Author: Brodie Cowburn
THE end date for Victoria’s sixth lockdown has been extended by another two weeks. On 16 August, Premier Daniel Andrews announced that COVID-19 restrictions would remain in place until Thursday 2 September. A curfew between the hours of 9pm and 5am has been introduced, and some other rules have been tightened. Additional restrictions have been placed on the construction industry, with further staffing reductions put into place. Use of playgrounds, basketball hoops, skate parks, and outdoor exercise equipment has been banned, with exercise also now limited to just two people from a household. People can also not remove their masks…
AN application has been submitted to build a new childcare centre on Overport Road. The proposal before Frankston Council is to develop land on 137 Overport Road for use as a childcare centre. The land is in a general residential zone. This is the second time a childcare centre has been proposed for the Frankston site. The last plan was knocked back by council and VCAT in 2020. The new plans include some amendments. The maximum number of children the centre can care for has been reduced from 116 to 95. The number of car spaces has also been reduced,…
THE Mornington Centrelink office will remain open for good after plans to close it were abandoned last week. In February last year, news broke that the federal government planned to shut the Mornington office of Medicare and Centrelink. After multiple short-term extensions, the decision has now been made to keep the office open permanently. Flinders MP Greg Hunt said “as soon as I heard of plans to close the Mornington Service Centre, I have worked tirelessly with the relevant minister to secure a long-term solution for the community.” “Following long standing and continued advocacy from myself, my office and the…
THREE private consortia have been shortlisted to tackle the $605 million expansion of Frankston Hospital. Exemplar Health, Plenary Health, and Pulse Health Partnership are in the running to handle the project, which will be a public private partnership. The planned hospital expansion will add a new multi-level clinical services tower and main entrance, capacity for 120 more beds, more operating theatres, a new emergency department, a mental health, alcohol, and other drugs hub, a new emergency department paediatric zone, a new maternity ward, and a special care nursery. It will remain a public hospital. The Committee For Greater Frankston advocacy…