By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A NEW masterplan for Doveton’s ‘town centre’ has been hailed by a Casey councillor as proof that the suburb has not been forgotten.
The Draft Autumn Place Master Plan was approved for public exhibition at Tuesday’s council meeting with River Gum councillor Damien Rosario throwing his support behind the project.
The plan will guide investment of council funds within Doveton and Eumemmerring which are set to be used for fixing footpaths, improving safety near shops and upgrading the playground.
“The pieces of the puzzle have been gathered into what we see now in the plan,” Cr Rosario told the chamber.
“Residents have said in the past that Doveton’s a forgotten area and this shows we are listening.”
Cr Rosario’s comments follow last year’s community forum about the future of Doveton after the suburb repeatedly copped negative media coverage.
In July Doveton was listed as one of the state’s seven most disadvantaged postcodes in the Dropping off the Edge 2015 report which was compiled by Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia.
This came as author Dennis Glover, a Labor speechwriter who grew up in Doveton, released his book, An Economy is Not a Society, in which he wrote about the severe impact of factory closures on the once efficient manufacturing region.
Last year Doveton residents were also found to be from a collection of just 6 per cent of Victorian postcodes which make up half of the state’s 6506 prison population, according to the Ombudsman’s latest report.
The draft masterplan will be exhibited for at least 28 days, starting in February.
“The investment we’re putting into Doveton is a great blueprint for the future,” Cr Rosario said.
