FRANKSTON Council has launched a fundraising campaign to support a 12-month trial program to provide accommodation and support to homeless people. Councillors voted unanimously last month to back a project, pioneered by Collingwood Football Club in Melbourne, to rent three houses to nine homeless individuals aged between 30-60 years old to help them turn their lives around (‘Magpies next spreads wings’, The Times 1/4/15). A case manager will help the nine housed in the three properties. Frankston’s senior citizen of the year Marion Beattie is the first to contribute to the Homeless Fund, handing over more than $400 to council…
Author: Neil Walker
FRANKSTON and Mornington Peninsula residents will have the chance to have their say on planned changes to the state’s ambulance service at a community forum later this month. The state government released an interim report last month which found ambulance response times have “fallen dramatically over recent years”. The Ambulance Performance and Policy Consultative Committee heard first-hand from paramedics about their experiences on the job. The committee reported the dispatching of an ambulance to a Code 1 emergency in metropolitan Melbourne takes, on average, 1 minute longer than six years ago. While demand for emergency services has risen 5 per…
A MOTOCROSS track in Seaford has been closed indefinitely after the death of a 20-year-old man after a collision last Saturday (4 April). Paramedics called to the scene at about 2.20pm on the Saturday afternoon. Two riders collided and one of the men suffered a heart attack and died at the scene. The other suffered minor injuries. Frankston Council asked Frankston City Motorcycle Park to close its Seaford facilities in the short term. Frankston mayor Cr Sandra Mayer offered her condolences to family and friends affected by the tragic incident. “Following the tragedy, council contacted Frankston Motorcycle Club’s management and…
WORK on the Kingston portion of the Bay Trail can begin after VCAT ruled last week council’s plan to remove vegetation to build the shared bike and pedestrian pathway can proceed. Community groups, spearheaded by the Kingston Residents Association, had argued council was removing too much tea tree and scrub to build a one kilometre section of the Bay Trail between Charman Rd and Mentone Life Saving Club. The car park at the lifesaving club will also be upgraded and expanded as part of the Bay Trail works. The Kingston Residents Association, Mordialloc-Beaumaris Conservation League and Kingston Conservation & Environment…
THE preservation of the iconic Mentone Hotel is a step closer after the state government recommended the pub should be listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Property development firm Momentum Developments bought the building and its site late last year but founder Paul Huggins has vowed to preserve the pub. In fact, the property developer welcomed the potential heritage listing. “We’re delighted with the heritage overlay of the property. We reckon it has increased the value of the building,” he said. Mr Huggins said Momentum plans to appoint a pub manager to run The Edgy by 1 May although “it’s…