A proposal to grant a homeless RSL club a permanent space in a community centre in Melbourne’s north-east has left groups that already use the site fearing for their future.
The use of the council-owned Brookwood Community Centre in Doreen has become a flashpoint within the City of Whittlesea. The centre is currently available for public hire, and about 11 local groups are regular long-term users, including a church, dance schools and exercise classes.
The space has been earmarked as a future site for the suburb’s RSL sub-branch, which has been seeking a permanent home since it was established in 2017.
At a Whittlesea Council meeting on April 21, councillors voted to endorse an option that would grant the RSL exclusive use of one of the centre’s two main rooms. Under the proposed arrangement, the club would not be allowed to sell alcohol or serve food, establish an outdoor smoking area or broadcast sport on television screens.
The council knocked back three other options: to grant the RSL use of the entire centre; to grant the RSL partial use but allow the sale of alcohol; and to deny the RSL any exclusive access.
The endorsed option is open for community consultation until May 31,and the issue is expected to be finalised at a council meeting in July.
Doreen RSL president Wes Wridgway said although the proposed arrangement wasn’t ideal, it was an important step towards finding a suitable long-term site. Since its inception, the sub-branch has been holding informal meetings at a cafe, and more recently at a local sporting club.
“The journey of trying to find a permanent home for our veterans and their families has been a huge rollercoaster of emotions … Our veterans and members are very disheartened with the amount of time and knockbacks this pursuit has taken,” Wridgway said.
He emphasised that the sub-branch never planned to operate poker machines or other forms of gaming or hold loud functions at its venue.
“Unfortunately, if we don’t get a home of our own soon, we run the risk of folding and not being able to flourish,” he said.
The federal Labor government committed $1.6 million to the Doreen sub-branch in 2025, money which was allocated towards establishing a permanent placement at the Brookwood centre. In the council proposal, this funding is designated for any necessary modifications of the facility.
Local federal MP for McEwen Rob Mitchell, who was key in securing funding for the sub-branch, said the council’s endorsed option was “deliberately setting the RSL up to fail”.
“The City of Whittlesea have been disingenuous in the way they have dealt with the RSL, and it’s disappointing council decided at the eleventh hour to abandon our veteran community, who deserve a place to call home,” Mitchell said.
The partial occupancy option has also been criticised by groups that currently hire the space. Many users have said they would have no choice but to relocate if the RSL were allowed to move in.
Doreen Baptist Church has regularly booked a room at the centre on Sundays for more than 20 years. Its pastor, John Edmonds, said his church would struggle to find another site in the area if council plans were adopted.
“It will basically force us to be a home church. Because there is nowhere else in the Doreen area that has the facilities,” Edmonds said. “In the area we’re in, there is nowhere else to go. And it’s why we’re one of the only churches in the area.”
Edmonds said the centre was inappropriate for an RSL club because it was within a residential area, just metres from houses.
“None of us disagree that the RSL needs a home … what we are saying is that Brookwood Community Centre is not the place for it,” he said. “Unfortunately what it is is politics dividing a community … that’s a disappointing outcome.”
Donna Tieman, principal of Laurimar Calisthenics College, said her club had regularly hired both rooms in the centre for almost 15 years. Dropping to a single room would be unfeasible due to class sizes, she said.
“If it goes ahead, we will not have a home … we will be totally wiped out.”
Tieman said there were inadequate sporting facilities in the area, which would make finding a new venue particularly difficult. Although her club does use other spaces, she said these were already booked out.
“There is nowhere in Laurimar [estate]. There is nowhere in Doreen. Everything is being built in Mernda … This hangs over our head, because it’s unresolved,” she said.
Dance Power, a 400-student dance school, is the largest group that uses the centre. Its owners have voiced disapproval about potential exclusive RSL use at Brookwood, and an online petition on behalf of the club has attracted more than 1200 signatures.
Owner Lola Nikolaou said the school was “a vibrant lifeline to the community” and that it would be forced to find a new studio space if council plans were to go ahead.
“We are so proud [of Dance Power]. And really shattered for the kids, if anything happens,” she said.
The council-endorsed proposal is open for community feedback until May 31. There will then be a public consultation session, and the RSL will be required to submit a business plan. A final decision is expected to be made by councillors on July 21.
Whittlesea Mayor Lawrie Cox said the council understood and appreciated the perspective of the Doreen RSL and the views of the community groups that regularly hired the centre.
“Council’s preferred option for the Brookwood Community Centre aims to meet the needs of both the Doreen RSL and the wider community through a shared-use arrangement of the centre,” Cox said.
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