Flemington Hub and Debneys Park

A vibrant new community Hub will be delivered at Debneys Park, to replace the existing Flemington Community Centre and sports pavilion. In addition to the Hub, Council in partnership with the State Government is committed to delivering two outdoor basketball courts (that will be located on the current Flemington Community Centre site), new cricket nets, upgrades to sports lighting and realignment of the sports fields.

The existing community centre supports a wide range of community services and activities. However, the building is struggling to meet the existing community need. Demand for most services is high and there is an increasing need for spaces for classes, programs, training and community events.  While the sports pavilion in the park is heavily utilised, it is also in poor condition. It has no public toilets or social space and does not comply with sporting code guidelines.

The vision for the hub is create a new heart for the community and to provide a centre that brings all people together from diverse and multi-generational backgrounds. The Flemington Hub will be a vibrant, welcoming and flexible centre, with activity and program rooms, family facilities, creative spaces, consulting and office spaces and sporting facilities - as well as plenty of spaces to sit, meet friends and relax.

On the ground floor, the Hub will open into an inviting foyer with a café and space to meet friends, sit and study or work. The ground floor will feature community meeting rooms, classrooms to support family and children’s activities and other programs, consulting rooms for community organisations to provide outreach services and a prayer room available for all faiths. A multipurpose room with adjacent kiosk plus four gender neutral change rooms will support both sporting clubs and community programs. Umpires’ room, first aid and storage will also be available for our sports clubs.

Upstairs, three large community halls can be opened up into one larger space for community events, performances, dance groups, forums, conferences, workshops and more. A commercial kitchen adjacent to the halls can be used for micro-businesses, training and catering for events. The first floor also includes classrooms for language programs, training programs and meetings, a dedicated art room and a community lounge perfect for study, reading and our youth drop-in programs. A roof terrace will provide additional open green space, places to sit and a kitchen garden.

The Flemington Hub will be a Council owned and managed facility. The Welcoming Neighbourhoods team, who are currently based at Flemington Community Centre, will relocate and offer their services from the new Hub.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2021 and be completed in 2023. We will provide regular updates on our website, social media pages and through our newsletter as these dates become available. You can subscribe to our newsletter on the project webpage.

Council has committed $20 million to the construction of the Flemington Hub. Council was also successful in receiving a $5 million grant from the State Government, which will contribute to the outdoor sport and recreation infrastructure and sporting components of the Hub.

The new Hub will be located over the current sporting pavilion, adjacent to the existing carpark. It will overlook the sporting fields and sit alongside the tennis courts.

For further information around the exact location, please visit the Flemington Community Hub website

This location of the hub needed to consider a number of factors including previous feedback from the community, technical information including soil conditions and underground infrastructure, and project cost impacts.

The chosen location provides accessibility from the existing carpark, it has close access from Mt Alexander Road and enables Council to retain significant trees. This location also ensures the Flemington Estate is not cut off from the sports fields. After extensive consultation with key stakeholders during 2018 and 2019, these were identified as high priorities.

We will look at minimising impact to Debneys Park, however, as a safety precaution, sections of Debneys Park will be closed off during various stages of construction. We will keep the website and social media pages updated for further information.

Retaining trees on site is important to Council, we will be doing everything possible to retain existing trees and continue to monitor their health up to and during construction. We will be working with landscape designers to include additional trees and plants on site.

Council is working to achieve a 5 Star outcome under the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star building rating system. This outcome would classify the Flemington Hub as achieving Australian Excellence in sustainable building design and construction. 

This will be achieved through various aspects of the design including (but not limited to) rainwater harvesting, excellent solar-passive design, natural lighting and ventilation, plus designing a high performing building envelope to maximise efficiency of heating and cooling systems.

The material selection during the design process will be based on a strict criteria to ensure durability, use of recycled content, impact on biodiversity, and preference to sourcing from renewable sources and responsible practices.

We’ll be working closely with the sports clubs to ensure that during the construction phase, sports clubs can continue to offer their activities.

Two outdoor basketball courts will be constructed on the site where the current Flemington Community Centre is located.

Council is committed to continue providing programs and services currently offered at the FCC throughout construction. We will be able to provide further details on any impacts to the FCC as the project progresses. To stay up to date on all aspects of the project please subscribe to our newsletter via our website, follow Council social media pages or you can email FlemingtonHub@mvcc.vic.gov.au.

You can view latest updates on our Flemington Hub webpage and sign up for the newsletter here. You can also email the Flemington Hub team at FlemingtonHub@mvcc.vic.gov.au or call 9243 8888.