Council currently owns 13 properties in and around Hampton Street which accommodate a range of community services and facilities, including:

• Community Centre
• Library
• Playhouse
• Senior Citizens Centre
• Maternal and Child Health Centre
• Scout Hall
• Seven car parks

Photos of current facilities are available to view on the right side of the page.

Like all of Melbourne, Hampton is growing and changing. We expect the population of Hampton to increase by over 20% in the next 20 years.

With more growth, ageing population, young families moving to Hampton and the proposed Victorian Government’s expansion of 3 and 4 year old kinder we need to plan for the future.

Currently, several of Hampton's important community services are operating at different locations in buildings which are not all built for their current purposes, restricting both the services we can deliver from these buildings and in some cases preventing the opportunity to grow in order to meet future community needs.

These policy and demographic changes in Hampton will drive demand for a range of different services, including:

• Programs and activities that respond to the needs of seniors groups;
• Libraries
• Early years facilities and services;
• Parks and playgrounds built for all ages and abilities.

In order to provide flexible community spaces that can be modified to meet future needs as they change an opportunity exists to locate a number of these services together to improve outcomes for service delivery.

The Masterplan relates only to Council owned sites and is informed by:

• The opportunities and constraints of each of the 13 sites within the centre;
• A fit for purpose assessment to understand whether the facilities will meet future needs;
• Past community engagement feedback in relation to the centre and a centralised community facility;
• Technical expertise to inform the long-term planning.

The Masterplan provides for:

• Opportunities to redevelop sites to improve the public benefit in relation to open space, parking and community facilities;
• The potential to divest sites that are deemed surplus to requirements and opportunities to purchase or acquire land that can serve the strategic objectives of the Masterplan;
• A number of public realm improvements that can ensure new facilities are well integrated into their surrounds; and
• The necessary vehicle and pedestrian network improvements required to ensure the vibrancy and accessibility of the centre.

This Plan does not propose to revisit matters such as whether a hub is necessary, or whether a centralised approach is appropriate.

The Masterplan does not intend to revisit the planning controls that are in place. Council has a robust planning framework in place to guide the built form and land use outcomes envisaged for the activity centre.

Further, this Plan does not make changes to the planning controls affecting individual properties that substantially alter the built form outcomes for these sites, particularly those which are identified as being surplus to requirements. Council may investigate changing planning controls to surplus to maximise the benefit to the community at a later date.

A community hub is an integrated, multi-purpose facility that provides spaces for Council, community service organisations and community groups to offer a range of services, activities and programs to all age groups.

Community hubs accommodate wide ranging uses, but can include elements such as multi-purpose spaces, meeting and consultation rooms, libraries, neighbourhood houses, youth groups, early childhood facilities and other community spaces. Hubs provide communities with access to a variety of social, cultural, educational and recreational opportunities in a centralised location.

We have undertaken an assessment of all of our existing facilities and services alongside a future social needs assessment which has identified that our current buildings and services are not going to be adequate to meet future needs, with limited opportunities to expand our current buildings to be fit for purpose.

In previous consultations we asked you what you valued most about Hampton’s current community services and facilities.

Next we sought your feedback on two options that supported these values in planning a facility for now and into the future.

Council resolved to progress the concept design of a centralised option for future community facilities. To continue with development of the concept Council required some further information from the community which we sought through consultation in July 2020.

You can read more about previous consultation here.

The Masterplan has been adopted by Council on 15 June 2021. Since adoption Council officers have undertaken further consultation with landowner groups to identify opportunities for Council to maximise the community benefit of its landholdings.

There are a number of both statutory and non-statutory actions that will be required to implement the outcomes from this Plan. This will include a Planning Scheme Amendment to ensure the planning controls in place for each site reflect the intended land use outcomes.

Council’s ability to deliver the actions outlined in this plan will largely depend on its ability to access support and grants from the State and Federal Government. With a considerable budget required in particular for the hub element, Council will need to explore a range of funding mechanisms as it is unlikely that 100% of the cost will be able to be accommodated within Council’s capital works budget.