The Dandenong Wellbeing Centre (DWC) Project will deliver lasting benefits for the community and local environment, following years of careful planning and consultation.
The project has had a rigorous and transparent planning process, including multiple rounds of community consultation, design refinement and Council approvals.
This includes:
- October 2020 – A specialist external arborist produced a Preliminary Arboriculture Report to identify the health and retention value of trees on the JW Mills site. The report identified high retention value trees to be protected or worked around in the design process.
- July 2021 – Two rounds of consultation were undertaken involving hundreds of residents and stakeholders, including discussion related to site vegetation.
- July 2022 – A Construction Impact Assessment Report resulted in minor design changes to optimise high value tree retention.
- October 2022 and November 2022 – the DWC Mills Precinct Advisory Group (MPAG), made up of the Mayor and several Councillors, was briefed on the proposed landscaping plan.
- May 2023 – at Council’s request, an independent review of the DWC design was undertaken by external consultants, Shames Harley. The outcomes were presented at the Council Meeting on 8 May 2023. This report noted minimal adverse impact on trees of very high or high retention value.
- 12 February 2024 – details relating to vegetation enhancements and removals at DWC were shared in a Council Report, based on the Arboricultural Construction Impact Assessment completed in July 2022. Council approved going to market for a comprehensive procurement process for the construction of the DWC.
- December 2024 – the Construction Impact Assessment was updated to assess the condition of the trees particularly those impacted by the project. The report highlighted a general decline in tree health, particularly the trees located within the yellow collars in the existing carpark area.
- 11 March 2025 – Council confirmed ADCO Constructions Pty Ltd as the contracted builder.
At all these stages, the full impact of the project has been transparent.
An early design principle was that as many mature trees as possible should be retained at JC Mills Reserve, especially those with very high or high retention value. Another principle was the footprint of the new building and carpark should be as efficient as possible to maximise the open space at JC Mills Reserve.
Happily, these have been achieved. Of the 209 trees at Mills Reserve, 166 will be retained. In some cases, this requires robust and careful protection measures. Tree protection zones and fences are in place to protect trees from any construction impacts.
A specialist, independent arborist regularly attends the site to ensure these tree protection measures are being adhered to.
No trees of high or very high retention value are being removed.
Mayor, Cr Jim Memeti, said the project balances the need for modern infrastructure with long-term environmental sustainability.
“Without action, the site at JC Mills Reserve was projected to lose around 5% of its tree canopy due to ageing and declining tree health,” Cr Memeti said.
With the landscape plan of this project, in the next 20 years JC Mills Reserve will see a 35% net increase in tree canopy cover compared to today.”
“There are a number of trees at the site that are not in great condition and have quite limited life expectancy, including 10 trees in yellow concrete collars in the middle of the current Oasis carpark. For their age, these trees might be expected to be much taller and have broader canopy, but they have been limited by the lack of air flow and moisture transfer around their roots, due to being surrounded by concrete.
“While 43 trees at the site will be removed in the course of the project, these are overwhelmingly of low retention value or in poor health.
“We’ll be replacing these with 143 trees around the new facility as well as 90 indoor plants and more than 25,000 shrubs and groundcovers.
“The new trees will be planted in better soil conditions with more natural landscaping and space around them and they are expected to flourish.
“We’re taking a proactive approach, removing trees in poor health and replacing them with many more. In the next five years, we will see JC Mills Reserve return to current canopy levels, while at the same time delivering a state-of-the-art centre that will feature a 50-metre indoor pool, two large hot pools, a gymnasium, dry program rooms and a suite of community
health facilities.”
Prior to construction of the Dandenong Wellbeing Centre there were 209 trees on site, and at the end of construction there will be a total of 309 trees across JC Mills Reserve.
“When the centre opens, there will be nearly 50% more trees on site than before construction began,” Cr Memeti said. “The new trees are being selected for their shade, biodiversity value and resilience to climate change.
“This has been a careful and considered process from the beginning. We’re proud to be delivering a facility that supports community wellbeing and creating a greener, healthier future for Dandenong.”