FORMER shire councillor Brian Stahl is lobbying to stop the closure of the Western Port Business Centre, the Mornington Peninsula's business incubator and the only one in the south-east region of Melbourne.
Mornington Peninsula Shire an-
nounced almost two weeks ago it would not renew the centre's lease on the former Shire of Hastings works depot in Pound Road, Hastings ('End of road for business centre', The Mail, 20/1/10).
It would take over from the incubator board at the end of June and wind up the operation.
The centre has helped more than 50 peninsula businesses start since it opened in 2000 after winning a $450,000 Federal Government grant and a $100,000 top up three years later.
Mr Stahl retired from the shire council before the 2008 elections, but remains a major contributor to the area through a number of roles including chairman of the State Government-funded Hastings Neighbourhood Renewal, a 13-year program to improve the town.
He played a key role in the establishment of the business incubator as chairman of Western Port Community Alliance, which first suggested the centre in 1997.
The alliance was worried the new Mornington Peninsula Shire, formed by amalgamation of the shires of Flinders, Hastings and Mornington in 1994, was planning to sell off the work depot as well as the former Shire of Hastings offices near the foreshore.
On Friday, Mr Stahl told The Mail he was "dissatisfied with the decision". The incubator was a "community initiative that not only provided support and guidance for aspiring business ventures over the past 10 years, but also retained the old depot site in community ownership".
"I am disappointed to hear of the council's decision and feel strongly that consultation should have been afforded the community and affected stakeholders prior to the decision being made.
"My best endeavours will be given to the board and tenants of the business centre in an attempt to have the council consider other options rather than closure of the centre.
"Hastings suffered severe economic downturn in the years following amalgamation in 1994 as a result of the closure of the shire office and depot, and transfer or dismissal of 200-plus staff employed by the former Shire of Hastings."
Mr Stahl said the alliance proposed using the shire offices for tertiary education in environmental best practice and Monash University was approached. It failed but at least the offices were not sold off.
Council staff returned to the Marine Parade site in the early 2000s, providing a boost for the town.
The depot became the business centre in 2000 after a three-year campaign to secure government funding. The shire council's contribution was to charge a nominal rent for the building and grounds for 10 years with a five-year option, which has not been granted.
Mr Stahl said some members of the board had volunteered their time for the full 10 years and, together with the centre's only paid employee, Peter Lees, had given many peninsula businesses a start.
"It is a community initiative that has brought acknowledgement and applause for the shire and is deserving of continued support and encouragement."
Mr Stahl's replacement on the council, Cr Reade Smith, stated the shire had not yet decided what to do with the depot, but "the shire is looking at using some more of the reasonably new Hastings depot [in comparison with the other shire depots] as a depot".
Shire contractors working in the Western Port area had to drive back and forth from the Mornington depot and one in Hastings would cut fuel and time wastage. This could occur with or without the business incubator staying at the site.
Cr Smith stated it was widely known by the Melbourne business incubator community that the business centre in Hastings was not financially sustainable, especially as it was no longer receiving funding from the Federal Government.
He would support the board or a new board deciding to keep the centre going in some form. "I am a big supporter of the concept ... but I believe the centre could have marketed itself much better to ... young people, schools, colleges, business and industry in general as well as those who funded them."
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