What you need to know
As COVID-19 restrictions ease and we enter the recovery phase, we are working hard to support our community and local businesses.
There are still challenges ahead, but together we will #RallyMooneeValley.
How local businesses are moving outdoors!
Your local cafe may not normally offer al fresco dining, but nothing is normal about 2020. As our local food businesses reactivate, we want to help them welcome patrons to outdoor spaces. We are supporting a range of innovative set-ups, including activated laneways and temporary street closures.
If you have a local business and you want to use private land (e.g. the car park of your business) to extend outdoor trading, or if you have a proposal for using road or laneway space, contact us and we will make a decision on a case-by-case basis.
All traders can apply, from clothes shops to cafes, and from gift shops to yoga studios for footpath trading. We want to get business happening in a safe outdoor environment, so footpath trading applications are fast-tracked. A reminder that you need the approval of your neighbour businesses to be successful in your application.
Summer parklets program
Good weather is coming and our resilient community is ready to enjoy street life again, so we’re turning car parking spaces into pop-up parklets.
Parklets are car parking spaces we’re temporarily transforming into places to meet, eat and relax with outdoor seating and greenery. Food businesses can use them to extend their outdoor dining options.
Learn more about our parklets and how to get involved here.
Moonee Valley parklet locations
Check out some of our parklets in action
Latest COVID recovery news
Mental health funding boost vital for locked-down residents’ wellbeing
Australia’s roadmap out of COVID-19 must include increased mental health support for a struggling community severely impacted by the lockdowns and restrictions they have had to endure over the last 18 months of the pandemic.
Council thanks local businesses for lockdown relief support
Moonee Valley City Council has thanked and praised local businesses who have stepped up to provide supplies and food relief to local residents hard-hit by the latest COVID-19 lockdown.
COVID19 Immediate boost for mental health
As Victoria is plunged into yet another lockdown, the community is becoming increasingly fatigued by the unpredictability of lockdowns and restrictions, with more needing to be done to assist with mental health.
How we are helping our community get active outdoors
With State Government restrictions having eased to allow outdoor physical activity with up to 10 participants, we want Moonee Valley’s personal trainers, coaches, yoga and pilates teachers, and all other physical activity practitioners to get active outdoors and find their own place in our parks.
If you're planning on running classes outdoors with four or more participants, you'll need to apply for a Physical Activity Permit - but as part of our commitment to supporting local businesses through this pandemic, we’ve waived all Physical Activity permit fees.
Fewer than four clients? Register your details now so we can help you find the best location for your needs.
Queens Park Swimming Pool summer season began on 9 November, and we look forward to welcoming regular and new swimmers to this scenic facility for a well-deserved summer of fun.
Libraries
As of Tuesday, 10 November, Moonee Valley Libraries are back open to the public, with a few precautions in place.
Your Library experience may look and feel a little different than usual, but as always, our team will be there to guide you through.
Please visit our library catalogue for details of the services we are able to provide.
We also have vibrant online programming. Avid readers of all ages can tune into our Read Now Podcast with Librarians Jenny and Jackie, or jump onto our YouTube channel to catch up on the latest Author Talks online. If you have kids at home in need of some educational entertainment, we have engaging online programs throughout the week including Toddler Time, Baby Rhyme Time, 6+ Club and more.
How we have been supporting our community.
In this unprecedented time, we knew that we had to provide our community and businesses with a new level of support.
- Over 800 rates hardship applications received and processed including payment plans and deferrals
- Approximately 70 Food Permit refunds have been processed
- Approximately 40 Health Permit refunds have been processed
- Approximately 50 Footpath Trading funds have been processed
Click the button below to learn more
Helping people get back to work
Employment and Entrepreneurship support
The Employment and Entrepreneurship team, funded through the Victorian Government’s Working for Victoria initiative, will employ four staff across six months to support jobseekers living on Flemington and Ascot Vale Housing Estates through:
- high-quality 1:1 employment assistance
- supporting employee confidence-building
- establishing and maintaining diverse and inclusive workforce cultures
- assisting in the identification of employee skills and strengths
- connecting employees to learning opportunities
- supporting pathways into sustainable and meaningful employment opportunities
They will also provide small business development support and opportunities for entrepreneurs living on Flemington Housing Estates to test their businesses.
Mamma's Kitchen
Mamma’s Kitchen is a six-month project funded by the Victorian Government’s Working for Victoria initiative. It employs 14 women living on Flemington and Ascot Vale Housing Estates to prepare and distribute culturally-appropriate and nutritious meals to 150 local households experiencing food insecurity. Based at The Clocktower’s commercial kitchen, our Mammas will be sharing their culture through food, and assisting local households impacted by COVID-19. Mamma’s Kitchen will be delivering ready-to-eat meals to Wingate Avenue Community Centre and the Essendon Baptist Community Church, to support their food relief programs.
Assembled Threads
Assembled Threads is a social enterprise passionate about local, ethical clothing manufacturing and dedicated to creating jobs for people facing barriers to employment in Australia.
The project prioritises locally grown and produced raw materials, and innovative sustainable alternatives. Their first manufacturing hub will run in collaboration with the Moonee Valley City Council and will work flexibly with people according to their complex and personal needs. There is industry training via Holmesglen TAFE, with the goal of creating sustainable employment, increasing self-worth and employability.
Learn more:
Support the establishment of their first hub in Moonee Valley via their crowdfunding page Chuffed - Assembled Threads.
Check out their website for reusable masks Assembled Threads - Masks.
Follow Assembled Threads via social media to keep updated on their Christmas gift launch:
Clocktower Centre artist residencies
During lockdown, the Clocktower Centre launched our first ever Online Residency – an opportunity for local artists to receive financial support to produce a work in a digital format.
Artists were offered in-kind marketing and online distribution through the Clocktower’s online channels as well as support and expert advice from our performing arts team. We had some fantastic submissions and were able to select four dynamic projects, which will feature on our digital channels in the coming months.
Strathmore Community Parklet - The next chapter of Strathmore's 20-minute neighbourhood project
The State Government's Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning have funded Council to deliver a community parklet and a mobile library in Strathmore.
Our community parklet on North Avenue is a place for all members of our community to sit, relax and connect with each other while supporting our great local businesses.
There'll be lots of activities over the coming months including visits from our new mobile library in early 2021.
Learn more:
Find out more about the 20-minute neighbourhood project here.