Pakenham Gazette - 12th July 2023

Thief hits shop

Upper Beaconsfield residents were left shaken last week after a heartless ram-raid at the town’s general store.

It is alleged a white ute reversed up to the Upper Beaconsfield General Store Bakery and Coffee House about 1.30am on 6 July before the driver, an unknown man, used a chain attached to the vehicle to force open the doors. He was seen entering the store wearing a camouflage jacket and black balaclava, but left empty handed.

Investigators believe the same vehicle was involved in a burglary at a butcher shop in Berwick about 30 minutes later, where the man was captured on CCTV stealing $5000 worth of frozen meat.

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‘No’ to worship

After months of uncertainty that saw councillors split, the proposal to construct a new place of worship in Pakenham has been definitively rejected by the Cardinia Shire Council.

The council held its monthly town planning meeting on Monday 3 June where the first item on the agenda was a recommendation from council officers to reject the permit for a new church on O’Sullivan Road on the ground that it did not fit the industrial precinct of the area.

This was held after the council voted to reconsidered its decision two months from a May town planning committee meeting when councillors initially voted against a recommendation to reject the proposal.

The vote went to a division again in July, but this time the votes were swayed in favour of rejecting the place of worship.

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Celebrating culture

The creative handy work of Cardinia’s young tykes has been on full display at libraries across the municipality, as the Celebration of Hands art installation platformed NAIDOC Week celebrations.

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Rental pressure

By Eleanor Wilson

A recent analysis of Australia’s rental property landscape shows Pakenham renters are at the forefront of crushing rental pressures currently felt across the country.

Pakenham was the only Victorian suburb listed in Suburbtrend’s top 25 Australian sub-

urbs worst hit by the rental crisis - sitting at number 20.

The data showed the average renter in Pakenham was putting 32 per cent of their income towards rent.

The rental vacancy rate was just 0.3 per cent and rentals in Pakenham shot up an average of 11 per cent over the last 12 months.

The bleak figures are consistent with fresh data from Realestate.com.au, which shows per-week averages continue to inch up across the South East.

Pakenham’s median average for per-week rent stands at $440, up from $430 in the month of May. Officer reached $480, up from $475. But Melbourne’s average rent is one of the

lowest compared to other capitals, such as Sydney’s average of $620 per week.

Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner said Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales seem to be the states in the worst shape with regard to the financial strain of renting.

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Pakenham Library engagement officer Fem with a kid’s handy work. 346150

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS