By Tanya Steele
Ferntree Gully Village has had a lovely freshen-up recently with a fairy light installation creating a winter wonderland for all to enjoy.
100 percent solar powered the 6,000 fairy lights have been installed in the village giving the area an instant lift as the lights sparkle in the night on ten trees at three sites.
On Wednesday 4 September, the lights all came on as one for the first time and the Director of the Bendigo Community Bank Ferntree Gully Ms Karin Orpen said it’s been an amazing enterprise and the bank fully funded the project.
“We called it a ‘winter wonderland’ and we hope it will activate the space,” she said.
The installation will light up the trees from dusk for five hours each evening in the Station Street and Forest Road restaurant areas.
The bank has been in its current location for nearly 25 years and the lights project is a thank you to the community around it.
“This is our way of giving back to the community, to say thank you,” said Ms Orpen.
The project involved some road closures as the lights were installed.
“I worked with the Knox City Council Director of Management, Grant Thorne and he was amazing,” said Ms Orpen.
“This is an amazing and amazing little shopping centre. It’s the only one in Knox that’s not on a main road – it’s this little hidden gem,” she said.
Chair and Bendigo Community Bank Board member Des Higginbotham said he would like to acknowledge Ms Orpen’s work.
“She’s the driver of this,” he said.
“We are very pleased with the outcome and hope that more things happen from here, really the bank’s focus is giving back to the community.”
With no local branches in Upper Gully or Mountain Gate, Mr Higginbotham said that the bank is always looking at more ways to regenerate the village.
“The actual village itself is a great place with great people centred around the train station – it’s just a matter of getting the right mix of shops, services and cafes and the bank will help in the ways that it can,” he said.
“The point of the lights is to brighten up the area a bit, there is a real need for some redevelopment in the area.”
Mr Higginbotham said that the lights are just a first step from the bank’s point of view.
“We are very pleased with the outcome it looks terrific,” he said.
Mayor Jude Dwight from Knox Council said Council has been doing a lot of work with the Ferntree Gully community and traders in recent years to create pride and community connection through facilitating community-led projects.
“The initiative was led by the Bendigo Community Bank Ferntree Gully,” she said.
“Council’s role was limited to approving the installation of solar panels and fairy lights on council land and providing traffic management for the works.”
“It’s great to see this community initiative get off the ground.”
Other changes are happening across the village and residents may have also noticed signage being replaced and a new free food pantry installed at the Hills Op Shop.
Ms Orpen said the Ferntree Gully Village area is in a unique setting with lots of parking and could really take off.
“It would be a beautiful restaurant precinct as well,” she said.
“It’s a magical little place.”
A community invite will be extended in a few weeks via the Community Bank Ferntree Gully Facebook page to celebrate the installations at a date to be advised.
