Building our local economy

PAKENHAM town centre is Cardinia shire’s major retail and community services hub, offering a great mix of retail, a range of commercial and larger businesses, and many health and business services.
Council continues to support the managed development of Pakenham and surrounds, through the Pakenham Structure Plan, focussing on bringing more businesses and thus more jobs to our shire, while still maintaining that main street, local feel.
Development of the old Pakenham Racecourse site is well underway and more than half of the lots are already sold. We look forward to seeing the development of the residential lots increasing the population so close to the town centre.
Nearby, Bourke Park and surrounding area has also been further developed and recent works have enhanced the park; more lighting, new paths, and landscaping have prepared the park to accommodate food trucks and provide access to power and water.
These services have helped create a vibrant and welcoming public space and provided much-needed services to support our less fortunate local residents. A three-storey office development adjacent to the park will bring more people to the area.
Over the past two years, Pakenham’s manufacturing sector has increased with more than 50 factories coming into the South East Business Park and 40 factories now operating in Bald Hill Road.
This increase in business activity has been a great boost to our local economy and provides more employment opportunities for local residents and young people in our community.
Council has continued to support our regional businesses with its partnership with the City of Casey for the Casey Cardinia Region including hosting four business breakfasts and many training and networking events.
Our annual business awards program continues to flourish; 107 applications were received this year and 48 of those were made by businesses connecting with the program for the first time.
These awards shine a light on the many successful businesses operating across the region and celebrate the success and innovation of our local businesses to the wider community.
Access and traffic flow has been improved with two lanes now in Cardinia Road and works completed in Bald Hill Road.
McGregor Road has also had an upgrade and council continues to advocate for better road connections and level crossing improvements in the VicRoads and VicTrack networks.
VicRoads recently duplicated the off ramp on the freeway at Kooweerup Road to improve safety and council continues to advocate to VicRoads for improvements at the Bald Hill Road roundabout and Kooweerup road rail crossing.
This year also saw the endorsement of Cardinia Shire as an Age Friendly City; a place where older residents have access to a wide range of services, employment, spaces and activities.
Pakenham town centre is a great example of a township that offers a vibrant, accessible space where older people can feel safe, secure and connected to their community.
Cr Jodie Owen,
Shire of Cardinia Mayor.