City Scene News from the Capital of Melbourne’s New West
wyndham’s first private hospital opens
Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital opens in East Werribee
werribee open range zoo unveils new arrivals precinct
edition five - autumn 2014
$4.25 million arrivals precinct marks a major milestone for the Zoo
spotlight on
Fifth Element Day Spa
5 minutes with
Scott Vickers-Willis, Executive Director at Techne Group talks to us about the growing Health Precinct in East Werribee
plus more inside …
Werribee’s first private hospital opens Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital is the latest addition to the growing medical precinct in the East Werribee Employment Precinct. The Clinic opened to patients on 8 October 2013 and is the first private hospital to be built in Werribee. Located adjacent to Werribee Mercy Hospital and the Wyndham Private Medical Centre in Hoppers Lane, Wyndham Clinic is part of a cluster of medical facilities servicing Wyndham’s rapidly growing community. Wyndham Clinic provides the first full private mental health facility in Melbourne’s west, eliminating the need for residents to travel to Melbourne or Geelong.
“This hospital has been in the planning for three years and it is a great result for our team to open the doors to our first patients after many months of work,” said Wyndham Clinic CEO David Gibson.
Meet the team at Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital
The purpose built facility includes thirty private single rooms with ensuite facilities featuring broad views, shared recreation and activity areas for patients and an outdoor visitor’s area in a friendly and comfortable environment. Services are based on a person-centred model of recovery and include individual and group therapy and day programs in behavioural therapies. Wyndham Clinic is the second facility to be built by project developers Techne Group in East Werribee following the construction of the adjoining Wyndham Private Medical Centre in May 2012. Techne’s recent sale of land adjacent to St Vincent’s Private will see the future development of an additional private hospital in East Werribee. Further expansion plans for East Werribee’s Health Precinct include a state-of-the-art day surgery facility at Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital scheduled to open in 2014, a new 54 bed Mental Health Facility at Werribee Mercy hospital currently under construction and due for completion in late 2016, and Victoria University’s new Inter-Professional Health Clinic (covered in edition 4 of Werribee City Scene) also
under construction with completion scheduled for 2014. The East Werribee Employment Precinct is one of six National Employment Clusters recently announced by the State Government in its forty year planning and transport blueprint Plan Melbourne. 58,300 local jobs, 7,000 dwellings and 170 hectares of open space and waterways are planned for East Werribee, to create a mixed-use city on the former State Research Farm. Plan Melbourne identifies the East Werribee Employment Precinct as the health employment cluster servicing Melbourne’s west. Together, the East Werribee Employment Precinct and Werribee City Centre are growing as the ‘Capital of Melbourne’s New West’. For more information on Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital visit www. wyndhamclinic.com.au or telephone: (03) 9731 6646. You can read more about Wyndham Clinic and the Techne Group in our segment “5 minutes with Scott Vickers-Willis’” interview on page 4 of this edition of the Werribee City Scene.
Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital entry forecourt
Werribee City Scene – News from the Capital of Melbourne’s New West
news bite Wyndham City and BMD Constructions were highly commended for the construction of the Wyndham Park Pedestrian Bridge at the Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) Earth Awards on 23 August 2013. Designed by architects Whitefield McQueen Irwin Alsop, the completed bridge was the winning competition entry for a 140m long bridge spanning the Werribee River and is a key project in the redevelopment of the Werribee City Centre. Careful consideration of the protected river red gums and platypus population in the Werribee River had to be taken into account during the bridge’s design and construction. For more information refer to the ‘News & Publications’ tab at www.bmdconstructions.com. au and Whitefield McQueen Irwin Alsop’s website
Wyndham Leisure and Events Centre
Werribee Open Range Zoo unveils its new arrivals precinct featuring the work of artists Phil Woodman and Sioux Dollman
Werribee Open Range Zoo Unveils New Arrivals Precinct Werribee Open Range Zoo has marked a major milestone with the opening of a new $4.25 million arrivals precinct. Supported by funding from the Victorian State Government, this development is a crucial one for the Zoo, which last year welcomed a recordbreaking 420,000 visitors. The new precinct includes a spacious new arrivals area with external café and amenities, a beautiful sculptural work by artists Phil Woodman and Siox Dollman, new ticketing windows for faster entry, an enhanced interactive retail area, additional car parking and a Werribee Satellite Visitor Information Centre operated by Wyndham City Council. The new entry has improved the accessibility of the Zoo and has made entry much easier and more comfortable for visitors, particularly during peak visitation periods. The new retail area and sculptural work also provide the Zoo with new ways to engage visitors in wildlife conservation.
The Visitor Information Centre (VIC) at the Zoo is now open and is a great initiative in connecting local businesses, accommodation providers and tourism operators, with the 400,000 plus visitors that pass through the Zoo each year. Intended to complement the existing Visitor Information Centre at the Wyndham Cultural Centre in Werribee, the new VIC will allow Visitor Information staff and volunteers to reach the more than one million people who visit the Werribee Park Tourism Precinct annually. For further information on Werribee Open Range Zoo visit www.zoo.org.au/werribee or telephone: (03) 9731 9600. Drop into Werribee’s Visitor Information Centre at the Wyndham Cultural Centre, 177 Watton Street, Werribee, or the Werribee Satellite Visitor Information Centre at K Road, Werribee South or telephone: (03) 8734 6006. For information on attractions and events in Wyndham visit www.experiencewyndham.com.au.
Wyndham Park Pedestrian Bridge, Werribee
about your city scene Werribee City Scene is a quarterly publication containing the latest planning and development news from the ‘Capital of Melbourne’s New West’. Copies of the latest Werribee City Scene are located at the Werribee Development Centre, Wyndham Civic Centre, Wyndham Visitor Information Centres at the Wyndham Cultural Centre and Werribee Open Range Zoo, Wyndham Libraries and Community Centres and selected businesses in the Werribee City Centre. This and previous editions are available online at wyndham.vic.gov.au/werribee under the ‘News’ tab where you will find a complete list of places at which Werribee City Scene is available. Become a subscriber online or contact Valerie McAndrews by telephoning: (03) 9742 0788 or emailing werribee@wyndham.vic.gov.au.
project update Enrolments are open NOW Enrolments are now open for the chance to study at Deakin University and The Gordon’s new facility in the Werribee City Centre, at 9 Bridge Street Werribee. Refurbishment of the building has just been completed in preparation for the 2014 academic year. The new centre will offer certificates, diplomas, an associate degree and bachelor degrees in: • Commerce (Finance and Accounting) • Early Childhood Education • Arts, Business and Science • Industry skills Coursework will be delivered in the classroom with tutor facilitated learning, as well as in “the cloud” through a virtual environment featuring large interactive screens and audio-visual facilities, conference and meeting facilities and wireless ‘connect’ rooms and workstations. The centre is a stylish and accessible space for education delivery, community functions and student engagement in western metropolitan Melbourne.
For course and enrolment information, please call 1300 334733 or visit deakin.edu.au/wlc. For general information about the new centre, contact Monika Schott, Western Metropolitan Community Relations, by emailing monika. schott@deakin.edu.au or telephoning: +61 3 43799 9397.
under the ‘News’ tab when notification of adoption into the Wyndham Planning Scheme is received from the State Government.
Wyndham Planning Scheme Amendments C150 and C151
The East Werribee Precinct Structure Plan has now been gazetted and formally incorporated into the Wyndham Planning Scheme. Tenders have been called for the design and construction of the new full diamond freeway interchange at Sneydes Road. The tender will close in early 2014.
Amendment C150 which contains the new Werribee City Centre Structure Plan and Activity Centre Zone was adopted by Wyndham City Council on 22 July 2013. Adoption into the Wyndham Planning Scheme is anticipated in early 2014. Amendment C151 which includes the Werribee City Centre Parking Precinct Plan and Parking Overlay Schedule was adopted by Wyndham City Council on 28 October 2013 following endorsement by Planning Panels Victoria. It was referred to the Minister for Planning for adoption into the Wyndham Planning Scheme in November 2013. Landowners will be notified in writing and information will be provided online at wyndham.vic.gov.au/werribee
East Werribee
The Metropolitan Planning Authority (MPA, formerly the GAA) is also in the process of selecting a consultant to undertake detailed environmental assessments at the precinct. Expressions of Interest for the purchase and development of the first areas of land will be called for soon. For further information visit www.mpa.vic.gov.au/east_werribee, or contact Paul Byrne, Director Economic Planning & Development at the Metropolitan Planning Authority by emailing: paul.byrne@gaa.vic.gov.au, or telephoning: (03) 9651 9631.
Edition Five - Autumn 2014
spotlight on
city scenes
Spa Relaxation Room, Fifth Element Day Spa
Fifth Element Day Spa Since opening their doors at 90a Watton Street, Werribee, Fifth Element Day Spa has gone from strength to strength winning a host of awards and receiving glowing customer testimonials.
area, three single rooms for private treatments, two dual rooms with private facilities for groups, a hammam steam room, geisha soak and relaxation lounge in an opulent environment.
In a relatively short time Spa Director Michelle Pearce and her dedicated team have won the award for National Day Spa Design of the Year in 2010 and received a national Customer Service Excellence Award in 2011. Fifth Element also won Wyndham City’s Small Business of the Year Award in 2011 and in 2012 was nominated as a finalist in the AsiaSpa Awards which recognises excellence in Asia’s Spa industry. More recently in 2013, Fifth Element became a finalist in the Day Spa of the Year category of the Australian Beauty Industry Awards (ABIA).
Fifth Element is one of a growing number of Watton Street businesses that are designing their premises to face the Werribee River and take full advantage of the beautiful views. Described as a hidden oasis, the Day Spa cleverly balances the intimacy of soft lighting and dark colours against a very relaxing view of the Werribee River and river red gums. Fifth Element Day Spa is a great addition to the lifestyle offered in Werribee.
Situated overlooking the picturesque Werribee River, Fifth Element boasts an inviting reception
5 minutes with
scott vickers-willis
For more information visit www.fifthelementdayspa. com.au or contact Michelle Pearce and the team on (03) 9974 1444. Fifth Element Day Spa is located at LG 90a Watton Street, Werribee. Why did you choose to develop in Werribee? Techne Group chose to develop in Werribee because we witnessed enormous population growth that didn’t appear to be supported by the job creation and health infrastructure that a community of this size requires. Can you tell us a little bit about your Werribee developments and their positioning within the context of Werribee? Techne Group developed the entertainment facility ‘The Brook’ in Sneydes Road and the Pinnacle Medical Centre, both in Point Cook. Our company acquired land in Hoppers Lane opposite the Werribee Mercy Hospital and have developed the Wyndham Private Medical Centre and Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital. We have also sold 4 hectares of land to St Vincent’s who will be developing a 150 bed hospital.
Executive Director - Techne Group
Scott Vickers-Willis is Executive Director of Techne Group, project developers with over 30 years’ experience in medical, commercial and community entertainment facilities. Techne have completed many projects in Wyndham and are staunch supporters of Werribee’s growth as the ‘Capital of Melbourne’s New West’. With the recent completion of the Wyndham Clinic Private Hospital, we spoke to Scott about the growth of the Health Precinct at the East Werribee Employment Precinct and Techne’s plans for the future. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your business background? As well as being Executive Director of the Techne Group property development company I am also CEO of Wyndham Health Services that owns a number of health businesses in Wyndham. I began my career in Finance in London and returned home to work in Media and Entertainment with leadership roles in marketing for FOXTEL, VRC and Etihad Stadium.
How have you found your experience of developing in Werribee? Our primary base is in Geelong, so we have always had an affinity and understanding of the Werribee area. We have enjoyed meeting many of the local business people and politicians. There is a real energy in Werribee and an understanding of the challenges ahead. Do you have plans or ambitions for future developments in Werribee? We do have some current plans for a ‘university village’ style project called Panorama360 in Hoppers Lane, which is an exciting project. We are also interested to see how the East Werribee Employment Precinct develops. What do you see for the future of Werribee? I believe that Werribee is on the verge of a new positive frontier and that if we receive the political support and can work together across local, state and federal agencies that we will be able to attract organisations that will want to locate their offices in the Werribee region. We need to be proud and sell our city, its diverse cultures, world class attractions, talented peoples and easy access points.
Zoo keeper Katherine Quinn with Parri, Eastern Barred Bandicoot
Werribee Open Range Zoo
It’s an exciting year of development at Werribee Open Range Zoo, with the unveiling of a new arrivals precinct and significant additions to the Zoo’s Australian Journey exhibit. Australian Journey provides visitors with an opportunity to learn about the Victorian basalt plains grasslands and native species including kangaroo, Emu and Brolga. Set on the banks of the Werribee River, the exhibit also features the beautiful Wirribi River Walking Trail and is a predator-proof release site for the critically endangered Eastern Barred Bandicoot. During the next few months the Zoo will be conducting a mass-planting of native grasses within the exhibit and will begin construction of a Nocturnal House that is expected to open in Autumn. The Nocturnal House will enable visitors to engage with the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, which is extinct in the wild of mainland Australia and exists only in Zoos and protected release sites. In the future, Australian Journey will also include a free flight aviary for the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot. Orange-bellied parrots are a migratory bird and this aviary will act as a type of pre-release ‘gym’, for captive-bred birds before they are released into the wild. Australian Journey will remain open to visitors throughout these developments.
contact
Werribee Development Centre 2/10 Watton Street, Werribee www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/werribee Craig Toussaint - Place Manager craig.toussaint@wyndham.vic.gov.au T: (+61 3) 8734 5459 Sofia Anapliotis - Place Officer sofia.anapliotis@wyndham.vic.gov.au T: (+61 3) 8734 5442