An online campaign has started to preserve a historic Spotswood railway workshop and surrounding land as a community space.
The Way & Works Workshop at 561-569 Melbourne Road is the last remaining building of the former Spotswood Railway Workshops complex.
The 2006 Hobsons Bay heritage study classifies the building as having local historic, social and aesthetic significance because of its connection with the Victorian Railways and what was once a major employer.
A Facebook page titled Spotswood Railway Workshops Community space was launched last week and has more than 90 members.
Michelle Fisher, who started the page, was involved in a recent campaign to save Footscray’s Dancing Dog Cafe from development.
She said many people had put forward an idea to create a community space similar to the CERES environmental park on four hectares of rehabilitated landfill in East Brunswick.
“A lot of people have been putting forward a ‘CERES of the west’ idea … a community space where you can do workshops, or you could have a nursery and farming, education and sustainability and all that sort of stuff,” she said.
Ms Fisher said she had approached the owner of the property, VicTrack, and was told the building was available to buy or lease.
VicTrack’s property group sent Ms Fisher an email asking her to circle the areas of interest and submit an application for lease or purchase.
But when told of the community campaign, VicTrack spokesman Jason Murray said the workshop was not available for the community.
“Given its historical industrial use, the site is not in a suitable state for community use,” he told Star Weekly. “The land, strategically located on Melbourne Road and close to the interstate rail line, is subject to ongoing deliberations on potential future transport requirements.
“VicTrack and the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources are continuing talks on plans for the site.”
Last year, when in opposition, Williamstown MP Wade Noonan accused VicTrack of leaving the building to rot. “This is an important gateway to Hobsons Bay and provides a wonderful chance to showcase the area’s proud heritage,” he said at the time.
