A total fire ban has been declared across Banyule and all other parts of Victoria for today. No fires can be lit or be allowed to remain alight in the open air at any time on 22 February 2025.
Published on 24 June 2024
Banyule Council welcomes the State Government’s announcement of 104 new social and affordable homes as part of stage one of the Bell Bardia Project in Heidelberg West. The Bell Street site will have a mix of 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom homes to increase much-needed social and affordable housing supply. Banyule Mayor Cr Tom Melican said that Council supported the government’s commitment to housing provision but stressed the importance of ensuring that new families living in these homes are supported with community services. Cr Melican said Banyule Council is advocating for an integrated community services hub to accommodate these necessary services close to where new families will be living. “It’s vital that people can access local wraparound support services when and where they are needed,” Cr Melican said. “We know that there is already significant demand for local support services, such as food relief, material aid, and financial counselling, and existing support services are stretched,” he said. Cr Melican said the proposed community services hub is designed to bring services together to support the West Heidelberg community to address significant local disadvantage and provide culturally sensitive services. West Heidelberg has welcomed more than 220 new families in recent years with the construction of several government and private social and affordable housing developments. Unfortunately, many of the new social and affordable housing tenants have been unable to access vital support services because local agencies are at capacity and experiencing long wait times. "Local agencies are recording the highest number of referrals ever and others are reporting a 100 per cent increase in the number of people requesting food and material relief,” said Cr Melican.