Facility and Service Planning
In a context of rapid growth in Population &
Diversity in the City of Wyndham
Population Growth
Growth in
Population
2013
187788
2011
166699
2009
143405
2007
123778
2005
108795
Population
Growth in
organisation
2012/13
2011/12
2009/10
2007/8
2005/6
0
500
Total Headcount
Total EFT
1000
1500
 Higher proportions of residents aged under 18, and 25
to 49 years old
 68 babies born each week in 2011/12
 English or Australian ancestries: 49%
 Other significant ancestries:

Indian, Maltese and Filipino
 1503 migrants to Wyndham in 2012

49% as skilled migrants

About 200 humanitarian visa
 Mandarin, Karen and Italian most common
non-English languages spoken
 Unemployment
 2006 - 5.4%
 2011 – 6.3%
 Reported incidents of family violence for the 2010-2011
period:
 810 recorded incidents per 100,000 population
Peop
le
People
Wyndham in 2013:
 Time pressured families (2hrs commuting;
25% experience mortgage stress)
 Almost 79,000 or 58% of the population
arrived in the last 8 years – 42% of the
population experienced dramatic change
 Over half of Wyndham residents work outside
of the municipality
 Traffic congestion dramatically increased
 Social media influence growing
 Interest based groups multiplying – cultures,
faiths, sport
People
 Community Supports/Development
 Insufficient infrastructure at
affordable rates
 Emerging communities – not one
‘average’
 Seifa index average 1013.4, with
lowest 874.6 and highest 1092.8 (9
above and 9 below Aus av of 1002)
 Governance
 Time poor individuals and families
Characteristics of Wyndham municipality
Wyndham
municipality
 Infrastructure Provision
 Established agriculture and vegetable growing; RAAF; Treatment Plant;
Melbourne Water; ocean boundary
 Established industrial (Laverton)
 Freight, Vline and Regional Rail
 Strong developer influence on housing stock
 Planning and Regulation
 State Govt growth boundary extensions and population targets
 Fast growth, developers and state government strong stakeholders
 Services
 Council is largest provider of services
 Small not for profit and community service organisation presence
Facility Planning
Elements of Facility Planning
1. Wyndham Social Infrastructure Planning
Framework 2040 (WSIP)
2. Precinct Planning Process
3. Capital Works Planning (10 year plan)
and Construction
4. Design and Service Models for Individual
Projects
Also: Strategic Land Purchases (historically)
Facility Planning
Approach and Challenges
WSIP 2040
 Good for overall planning and equity
 Guide for Developer Contributions
 Baseline for Precinct Planning
Challenges
 Assumes standard roll out in every area
 Doesn’t build in local service planning to inform
infrastructure
 Assumes ongoing Council service provision for all
services in the plan
Cross department
and
stakeholder
collaboration
Facility Planning
Facility Planning
WSIP 2040 – Revised Approach
 Review and update approach to social infrastructure
planning to incorporate Neighbourhood Planning and
Common Data Set to underpin planning
 Community Service Organisation Strategy –
 To attract CSO’s
 Attract services with identified gaps in provision
 Potentially reduce proportion of Council service delivery over time
 Identify alternative partnership infrastructure projects
Cross department
and
stakeholder
collaboration
Facility Design and Service Models
Approach and Challenges – Facility
Design
Facility Design
 Led by a project control group with representatives of
services to be included in new centres
 MCH, kinders, recreation ovals, connective paths, Arts,
Urban Design etc.
 Regulation influences – changes without notice – e.g.
15hrs kinders
Challenges
 Maintaining an appropriate context:
 inside the walls;
 inside the co-located building footprint (typically
school, recreation, community centre);
 Across a neighbourhood
 Accommodating needs of all services and programs
 Expertise in project management, design and sign off
processes
Cross department
and
stakeholder
collaboration
Facility Design and Service Models
Approach and Challenges - Service
Model
Service Model (how services work together in centres)
 Been developed to support WSIP model – one centre at a time
 Centres designed as three levels with prescribed services, sizes and
populations
Challenges
 Colocation or integrated service provision?
 Municipal wide service access processes (centralised MCH, Kinder)
 Negotiating space allocations in context of continuous demand
 Prioritise expanding Council services, community use, or
community service organisations?
 Competitive environment for community groups (EOI to access)
Facility DesignCommunity
and Service Models
Access
Challenges in the Community
Challenges



Annual infrastructure provision – restricts access for community service
organisations and secure tenure for groups
High activity utilisation, some groups book rooms in multiple centres
Policy dilemmas:
 Policy for access – who to prioritise?
 Short term flexibility versus long term security and sustainability
 Facilitate individual cultural identities or broader community identity?
Community Access
Community Centre Review 2013
Across Community Centres:

Different management models across Council and Committee managed

Policy gap to guide decision making on access to centres

Community Centre design – spaces for foyers and shared spaces not
welcoming or “activated”

Co-location rather than integrated services
Community Access
Activate the
Space
 A Community Development Directorate initiative

Start with Council managed centres

Commit resources to activate these spaces – a neighbourhood hub model

A welcoming space for developing community wellbeing, local connection
and the building of social capital
Concurrent Initiatives to Develop
Integrated Planning and Service Models
Wyndham
Organisation
 Neighbourhood Based Planning
 Activation of Community Centres
 Infrastructure Planning and Design collaboratively across departments
 Service Reviews and Reporting – Excellence at Wyndham
 Also:
 Broker position in partnership with DPTLI
 Healthy Communities Initiative – Planning and Design for Health
Wyndham
Organisation
Excellence @ Wyndham
•
The framework will integrate best value services reviews,
LEAN thinking, continuous improvement and innovation to
deliver value for money and maintain a community focus.
•
Excellence @ Wyndham is an organisation wide program –
commencing 2014
Rolling program of Service Reviews.
•
Local Government
Challenges
Organisational Processes
Local Government Organisations
 Multiple Services
 Multiple Professions and Skills
 Traditionally arranged hierarchically
 ALGA, quoted by Frank Hornby (2012):
 … various council departments still continued a singular and specialised
approach to policy and services planning and in a manner that had only a
basic relationship to other council departments
 In any locality, there are a myriad of services and programs being delivered by
the three spheres of government, their agencies and the wider community.
Often these services are poorly coordinated and integrated, resulting in gaps
and overlaps in service delivery and the inappropriate or untimely provision of
facilities (p353)
City Of Wyndham
Wyndham
Initiatives to address Organisational Barriers
Organisation
 Leadership Development Program
 Encouraging cross-organisational collaboration
 Integrated Planning Group/ Review of Social Infrastructure Planning
 Developing integrated service model for community centres
 Community Engagement Skill Development
 Encourage decision making based on community involvement, rather than ‘for
the community’
 Local Area Planning
 Plan new infrastructure based on local profile and engagement
City Of Wyndham
Context of:
 Local Government Role and Function
 Rapid Growth in Population, Diversity and Organisation
 Pressures on community both societal and arising from the changes
City of Wyndham is:
 Planning physical and social infrastructure with key stakeholders
 Seeking stronger engagement with local community groups and organisations to
influence the community building
 Addressing its own organisational processes to break down barriers and achieve
more integrated planning
 Striving to build diverse, thriving communities which deliver the benefits
community life and strengthen local democracy
heather.johnson@wyndham.vic.gov.au
References:
Frank Hornby, Australian Local Government and Community Development, Australian Scholarly Publishing
Pty Ltd, 2012