A LONG-AWAITED plan for a stage at Port Fairy's Village Green appears set to become reality with Moyne Shire Council this week formally adopting the Railway Place Precinct Plan.
The council's chief executive officer David Madden told the council's meeting this week a stage for the Village Green was the only project identified in the precinct plan that had been included in the council's 2011-2012 budget.
The plan calls for either a permanent low-key platform stage or space for a temporary stage to be created at the Village Green at the corner of Sackville and Bank streets.
It also proposes the installation of paving and upgraded street furniture for the area.
The council's physical services director Trevor Greenberger told the meeting that another initiative in the plan, the provision of long vehicle parking in Regent Street, was yet to receive funding.
Other elements of the precinct plan, which was developed after exhaustive community consultation, call for the removal of the disused Port Fairy kindergarten and maternal and child health centre that face Bank Street. The plan calls for the two buildings to be replaced with separate commercial buildings that would accommodate a mix of retail and commercial uses.
The plan, which will be implemented over future years subject to funding, also calls for the establishment of a small forecourt adjacent to the planned new commercial buildings.
The forecourt would be of similar size to the Village Green and used for markets and events. The Railway Place precinct plan also proposes:
Developing the former Port Fairy railway goods shed into a multi-purpose public events space;
Retaining the existing Sackville Street toilet block in the short-to-medium term and establishing a disabled toilet as an extension to the existing building;
Continuing the Warrnambool-Port Fairy rail trail through Railway Place to King George Square;
Extending the Port Fairy Visitor Information Centre to the west and providing an additional public toilet block that would be open until 9pm;
Providing a low-level indigenous coastal display garden at the Regent Street end of Railway Place that would maintain existing vistas; and
Retaining the vehicular access to the Port Fairy Community House and formalising car parking in the vicinity of the house. Providing several speed humps along the access route and bollards to control car parking.
Cr James Purcell said the extensive consultation meant the community had ownership of the plan.