Wendouree West Community Gateway - Community Renewal

Wendouree West Community Renewal

BMX Track
The City of Ballarat has allocated $9000 to the Renewal after an application was made for the upgrade of the local BMX track. The youth of Wendouree West have been heavily involved in this process, and are eager to see the project through to completion. They have had many fantastic ideas, with work on the BMX track to begin shortly.

Mural Project
Local artists Ben Murphy and Daniel Gallagher have designed and painted the mural on the youth group building in Violet Grove. The project was supported by the City of Ballarat and the Wendouree West Community House.

Community Learning & Employment Expo
Residents played a major role in the Community Learning & Employment Expo held in July 2002, which 700 people attended. The Expo was held at Yuille Primary School and included displays, seminars and workshops by training providers and employment agencies. There were also displays from the SES, CFA, Victoria Police, Safety House, Worksafe and Kidsafe. The Expo aimed to highlight the skills and needs of Wendouree West to business and education sectors.

Community Bus
One of the first major projects of the Renewal involved the purchase of a new community bus and the building of a new carport at the Wendouree West Community House built through a work-for-the-dole project run by Ballarat Community Development Centre and the Commonwealth Government.

One of the biggest projects to happen is the upgrading of houses, fences, gardens etc. We have seen the upgrade of 11 houses in Hyacinth Grove, and 60 properties in zone 1. 3 new four bedroom homes and 2 new two bedroom units built, 89 boundary fences erected, 5 vacant properties upgraded, 36 properties environmentally upgraded, and 12 Wattle Avenue properties received street scape work. We also received a $250,000 grant from Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria to undertake environmental upgrades and have an energy efficient program in homes. As you can see from this Boronia Grove home the transformation has been amazing.

Four of the vacant shops in Violet Grove have been purchased by the Uniting Care Outreach and have been re-painted. Ballarat Group Training are located in one of the shops, providing two hours of pre-employment assistance per week.

For safety, we have installed 450 sensor lights and through the CFA and Ballarat Group Training have implemented house numbering. The Renewal has also developed a Traffic Management Strategy, which will enhance traffic safety for road users, pedestrians and school zones. 

We are also about to embark on a Safe Start Program. This program is a series of sessions designed to give information on child safety in all situations. Residents have also participated in the Healthy Kids Program and recently a Mental Health Working Party has been formed.

Neighbourhood Watch
The Safety Committee has worked really hard to get this project off the ground and to where it is today. A launch was held at the Grevillea Park Primary School on Tuesday 22nd July. There were approximately 50 residents in attendance.

Our goal is to make Wendouree West a safe community that supports the Police in responding to criminal activity and provides a safe haven for everyone.

We are committed to providing a happy, healthy, safe community.

The introduction of the Community Jobs Program has seen 146 positions allocated and now completed. The positions were for: 100 villa upgrades, 30 child care services, 8 information gateway service and 8 Uniting Care shop development. Employment has been secured for 8 traineeships and 12 for villa upgrade works. Participants were well trained, with 60% either going on to further training or gaining employment. SEAV environmental upgrades has also employed 5 trainees with Ballarat Group Training. Several small businesses have also sprung up in the area.

We have also seen the development of the Community Gateway website and the establishment of www.wendoureewest.com. Funding was secured from Multi Media Victoria to employ a supervisor for the project. This initiative is designed to give the residents of Wendouree West access to a wide variety of information and useful links. It will enable people to become less isolated and become better informed of services and their availability in and around our area.

20 Residents were also employed to conduct the Community Surveys in conjunction with Swinburne University. The information obtained in these surveys has been compiled and results are available from the Display House. We will use the information to identify areas for improvement and build on the strengths of the community. We are also currently involved in a skills survey with the University of Ballarat. This will also provide us with some valuable information and enable us to tap into some precious resources, you. We have also undertaken a Pre-School Survey to better understand reasons for the low level of interest in sending children to kindergarten.

We are pleased to announce the establishment of an Indigenous Plant Nursery in conjunction with the City of Ballarat. The aim is to teach residents about plants which are native to the area, allow residents "hands on" growing and nurturing experiences and plant native trees and shrubs throughout out community.

A lawn mowing and tool hire business in conjunction with WW Community House has been established. The Tool Pool aims to provide tools and equipment for residents use in and around their gardens or homes. A small fee will be charged for the hire of the tools and equipment. A Maintenance Person has also been employed and is available for small odd jobs around the home.

We have seen the opening of our Display House, which is now occupied by the Renewal Project Team. The Local Tenancy Office was also opened at the opposite end of the building. A new Employment & Learning Facilitator has been employed and is very eager to help residents find employment or education. Ballarat Group Training have set up an office in Wendouree West. A Sport & Recreation Officer has been employed to look at and identify sporting issues within the community. Programs such as Auskick and Sports Administration Training have been established. 

Education Forum
Learning, Employment and Economic Development (LEED) has established partnerships with all education bodies in the Wendouree area, aiming to provide opportunities for life long learning.  

A forum was held on Thursday 24th July at Ballarat Secondary College (Wendouree) with 60 people in attendance. Among those there, were school principals, teachers, community workers, agency workers and residents, all with an interest in providing life long learning opportunities and facilities.

We are concerned with the low level of opportunities and facilities people in this community have for learning and the low level of attendance and retention rates within our kindergartens and schools. 

It is our vision that everyone in the community has a better opportunity to learn and become further educated with the opportunity for self expansion. In order to do this we need to put in place strategies that will ensure our needs are being met and ongoing support is always available.

There are many more achievements the Renewal could share with you, these are just a select few. We are proud of our achievements and acknowledge, with a little bit of determination, dedication and co-operation anything and everything is possible.