Wonga Park Community Cottage has transformed into a welcoming village space with a new community outdoor dining area to sit, connect and enjoy a cuppa.

Louise Schweiger, Manager of the Wonga Park Community Cottage identified the need for a local place where people could connect and share a coffee together.

“With the closure of the local village shopping centre at Wonga Park, places to grab a coffee and have a chat were few and far between.

“We heard about the Placemaking funding and thought it would be great to create a Covid-safe space outdoors, where people could feel welcome to meet and connect with each other.”

Designed to improve community partnerships, the outdoor seating area and planter boxes were installed to create a friendly, happy space. 

“Council’s design team consulted with us and came up with a wonderful plan. They were mindful of the rustic bush surroundings where the seating and tables would be installed and reflected this in the wooden materials they used.

“The users of the Community Cottage really appreciate the initiative. What was a single use loading zone has now become a usable space. We’re now in the process of contracting a coffee van to visit the site.

Wonga Park Community Cottage collaborated with the local tennis club and adjoining Burch Memorial Kindergarten to determine how the outdoor seating area would meet their needs.

“The way it evolved was perfect. It already meets the needs of people attending the Community Cottage and will be a welcoming space for everyone in the community. We plan to use it for pop-up events for EACH Youth Services.  

“Importantly this new outdoor community space can be used by people from the nearby tennis club, kindergarten, walking groups and wider community. It really fills the gap by connecting people and creating a little village space until the new shopping centre development comes online.”

The project was funded under Manningham’s Placemaking program.