A new name for a new era

Built in 1971, the Frankston South Community and Recreation Centre’s purpose and programming has changed over the last 50+ years.

Over that time, the focus of programming has shifted from leisure and recreation to a more standardised community centre model. This change was driven by feedback received from the community in 2011 and 2023.

As the centre enters a new era, we need to register a formal name to go along with it and we want your feedback.

Engagement Summary

Purpose of Engagement

The purpose of this engagement is to seek community feedback on formalising the known as name for Frankston South Community Centre by removing the word ‘recreation’ from the name, as the purpose of the centre is no longer focused on delivering recreation services.

Participation

We aimed to engage approximately 100 people, representing 0.5% of an average Frankston City suburb (based on Profile ID data 2021)

During the engagement period, the page was viewed 289 times with 139 contributions received. Approximately 55 of the 139 responses were collected through in-person engagement.

Of the 139 contributors to the engagement, 56 were residents of Frankston South and 45 were residents of Frankston.

How did we provide participants with reasonable support to enable meaningful and informed engagement?

• Using an accessible, quick method of online engagement to encourage participation.
• Multiple methods of engagement, including:
• Online engagement
• In-person engagement at a pop up outside Frankston South Community and Recreation Centre
• Enabling translation into any language on Engage Frankston

How did we provide participants with access to objective, relevant and timely information to inform their participation?

• Simple explanations and project information on Engage Frankston.
• Centre staff were available to support participation for the duration of the engagement period.
• Promoting the engagement via a range of methods for multiple audiences including email notifications to Engage Frankston members (675 recipients), letters/postcards delivered to residents nearby, social posts, and signage.
• Community centre communications via their newsletter, social media, and signage (QR code scanned 57 times).

How will the community engagement process influence Council decision making?

• The community input will be used to report back to Council, as a naming authority, with the community feedback and seek a decision to approve the proposed name and proceed with formal naming with GNV.

How will we report back to the community on how this engagement has influenced Council decision making?

• Between engagement closing on 27 March and by 15 April, Council will publish an engagement summary on Engage Frankston. (this update)
  
• By 30 June 2025, Council will report back to community on the final GNV decision via its engagement platform. (Project Outcomes section on this page)
  
• Council will update signage with the successfully selected name

Engagement Results

Throughout this section, where a number is shown in brackets indicates how many times that option was selected. e.g. supportive (9) means 9 contributors selected the option 'supportive'.

How do you feel about the proposed name "Frankston South Community Centre"?

This question was answered by 139 contributors. The name was supported by 84 contributors and not supported by 55 contributors. "Very supportive" was the most selected option (71).

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From the list below, select up to three reasons why you do not support the proposed name.

For contributors who selected that they did not support the name, they could select up to three reasons why they felt this way. This question was answered by 53 contributors.

Reasons provided for being unsupportive were:

• It does not represent public interest or have a long-term benefit to the community (41)
• I do not like this name (5)
• I do not support commemorating this event, person or place (4)
• It could create confusion for transport, communication and mail services (3)
• The name is not relevant to the local area (2)
• It does not recognise and use Aboriginal languages in naming agreement from Traditional Owner group(s) (1)

The most selected reason for being unsupportive was "It does not represent public interest or have a long-term benefit to the community" To better understand this response, comments about this reason have been analysed, and can be summarised as:

• "Recreation" more accurately describes what is on offer at the centre (8)
• Concern that removing "recreation" from the name will mean recreation activities will be less supported at the centre or removed from the centre (5)
• Name change not needed (2)

Other reasons given

• "Many of the activities that run here are recreational. There will be too much confusion in the community as to what is offered."
• "Waste of money"
• "Unnecessary"
• "Indicates it will no longer support recreational activities"
• "I believe the name change is to remove support and maintenance for recreational usage"
• "Keep recreation" (2)
• "How will people know recreational programs run at the centre?"
• "Came to centre as knew it had recreation"

Was a gender impact identified in these results?

• Yes, people who identified as women were more likely to support the proposed name, while people who identified as men were divided almost equally between being supportive or unsupportive.
• People who identified as women or non-binary were 67% in support of the proposed name with 33% being unsupportive.
• People who identified as men were more divided with 49% being supportive of the proposed name and 51% being unsupportive.
• 43% of men and 21% of women who did not support the proposed name selected the reason "It does not represent public interest or have a long-term benefit to the community"

Frankston City Council is a naming authority under the Naming rules for places in Victoria 2022 - Statutory requirements for naming roads, features and localities and is responsible for the naming and renaming of roads, features and localities within the municipality.

It is important for places to have a registered name to help ambulance, fire and police services reach the location quickly in an emergency. Frankston City Council encourages names that act as a reminder of local history, culture and citizens, whilst being mindful of needing to achieve a balanced representation of:

• Indigenous Australia
• Gender equality
• Local historical events or figures
• A multicultural present

The Council-owned and operated facility at 55 Towerhill Road, currently known as Frankston South Community and Recreation Centre, was originally built in 1971 as a Frankston Police and Citizens youth facility.

The centre then became a leisure centre with Council taking over management and contracting the YMCA to run the facility. Council later resumed direct management, gradually expanding services to include community-focused programs similar to those in neighbourhood houses and community centres.

This shift was accelerated after two significant community engagement projects in 2011 and 2023, where residents expressed strong support for a full community centre model at the site.

Visit the Frankston South Community and Recreation Centre webpage for further information about current activities at the Centre.