Southern Grampians Council commits $34 million towards new Hamilton community hub

Southern Grampians Shire Council has backed plans for a $34 million library and community hub in the heart of Hamilton, approving a design brief that could reshape the CBD - if the funding comes through.

The two-storey project, confirmed with a 5–1 vote at last Tuesday’s council meeting, promises a state-of-the-art library, digital hub, council offices, maternal and child health facilities, government agency tenancies and a café, all centred around a new civic square. 

However, the approval did not come without sharp divisions over risks, funding gaps and a lack of formal partnerships.

The council has already set aside $17 million from its newly adopted 2024–34 Long Term Financial plan, aiming to secure a further $17 million in state and federal grants before the project’s deadline to be “shovel ready” by March 2026.

The design work for the project has been funded through a $5 million grant from the federal government’s Regional Precincts and Partnership Program.

The council will soon go out to tender to engage an architect.

Council CEO Tony Doyle told councillors the design phase itself had been given an unusual boost by a rare grant program. 

“It is incredibly unusual to get design funding,” Doyle said. “This is the first time I’ve seen a grant program that does fund designs, we’re very lucky to have got this.”

Supporters of the project argued Hamilton could not afford to let the opportunity pass. 

Councillor Helen Henry, who called the hub “an intergenerational game changer”, said it would give young people access to “cutting edge technology” and rejuvenate “the heart of Hamilton”.

“I’m aware that this is not without risk, I just think it’s so exciting to see an investment that Hamilton and the Southern Grampians deserves.”

The vision aligns with council’s adopted CBD Master Plan, which calls for multi-storey developments to bring more life and activity into the town centre. 

But if grants fall short, CEO Doyle said the fallback option would be scaling the project back to a single-storey development.

Councillor Katrina Rainsford was the sole opponent, raising concerns about the absence of formal agreements with potential government agency tenants like the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority, along with doubts about financial viability.

“The only public consultation we’ve had in the last three years has been the design of the gallery on a location that we didn’t have public consultation for, so there were a lot of options that were never made public,” Rainsford said. 

“We’ve got some unknowns, we don’t know what the agreements are, we don’t know what the financial arrangements are.”

Despite her objections, the motion passed after a division was called, with Councillors Henry, Campbell, Barber, Calvano and Manning voting in favour.