Just seven years after it opened, sections of the $5.5 million Point Cook Community Learning Centre will close … for renovations.
Wyndham council’s acting city life director Rhonda Rathjen said the renovations were needed so the centre could keep pace with population needs.
“This renovation is about making this space work even better for this thriving community while addressing increasing demand,” she said.
“Since council started planning for [the centre] in 2006, more than 94,000 people have moved to Wyndham. More than one third of these people have moved to Point Cook.”
She said the renovation is part of a plan to take council services to community centres across Wyndham.
“We are targeting our larger community centres as the first place to start this,” she said.
“[This centre] is one such facility, and it will require some physical changes.”
Ms Rathjen said the council would make every effort to ensure customer service, the library, kindergarten and maternal child health services remain operational, but it is anticipated community activity rooms and some common areas will be unavailable for up to 12 months.
With architects only recently appointed to design the retro-fit, Ms Rathjen said it was too early to disclose overall costs.
But Point Cook resident John Frost said renovations, and expenses, could’ve been avoided if the council had planned better.
“It’s not like we’ve just seen this growth over two or three years. I’ve been here for 13 years and we always knew the population was going to explode.”
The renovations are due to begin next year.
