A buoyant crowd gathered at Maldon Community Centre on Thursday 21 August to hear the announcement from Community Bank Maldon & District about its BIG Project grant, which offered a million dollars over five years to create long-lasting impact within the local community. In fact the decision was made to support two projects and Thursday’s announcement was that $650,000 will be invested with the Mount Alexander Affordable Housing Trust towards affordable housing in Maldon.

The $650,000 BIG Project grant, along with a $400,000 contribution from Council, will deliver two modular homes for workers in Maldon through the Mount Alexander Affordable Housing Trust.

Chair of Community Bank Maldon & District Ross Egleton said: “The purpose of this grant is to be future-focused, strategic and have a significant impact on our community. We’re looking forward to working with Council to deliver these homes and are proud to be part of the Mount Alexander Affordable Housing Trust’s first project.”

Grassroots impetus

The project was initiated by Maldon community members involved with the Tarrangower Tomorrow strategic plan, who partnered with the Council to complete the BIG Project application. Tarrangower Tomorrow was developed in 2020-2021 through community engagement, during which a need for affordable, local housing was identified. The Bank’s Community Partnership Lead Sophie Guerin explained that this worked in the application’s favour. “It’s a community-led project with a partner behind it, that met the criteria,” she said. “It meant we could leverage the extra $400,000 from the council, it seemed like good ‘bang for buck.’”

Tarrengower Ward Councillor Cr Rosalie Hastwell said of the group: “The groundedness and knowing what goes on here, the deep understanding of what this community needs, makes all the difference”.

Model project

The homes to be built in Maldon will be the first project of the Mount Alexander Affordable Housing Trust, which was established in July last year by Council. The Trust will work towards providing affordable housing solutions for the local community, will be overseen by a trustee and informed by an advisory committee and is expected to operate independently from 2026. The two Maldon houses will demonstrate the Trust’s model and be scaleable across the Shire, which Ms Guerin described as the kind of broad impact intended by the BIG Project. “We can’t fix the housing crisis but we can have an impact. This helps launch the Trust,” Ms Guerin said.

Council’s Housing Solutions Broker Clare Richards explained when the Trust was announced that the houses would be secure, affordable rental housing available to eligible residents. “Anyone who can’t afford housing in the shire; that includes a lot of people, including people who are working. And people who have housing needs that are not typically met by the market, for example older or escaping domestic violence,” Ms Richards said. She also confirmed that the trustee would be subject to the same planning processes that apply to other home builders and said that homes built by the Trust would be to a high standard. The project will be managed by Haven Home Safe, a professional community housing provider working towards fair and expert tenancy management.

Mayor Rosie Annear said the project will make a tangible difference. “Like many other places throughout our shire, Maldon faces a critical shortage of housing for workers,” she said. “It’s also a fantastic example of what Council, community and philanthropy can achieve together. It’s exciting to be working with trusted local leaders to help launch the trust.” She thanked those involved with Tarrangower Tomorrow, calling them the “initiating leaders” of the project.

Big decision

The BIG Project grant was launched in July 2024 as a way for the Community Bank Maldon & District to support a transformative, visionary project towards its goals of fostering a thriving, connected, and sustainable community. Ms Guerin said it involved a vigorous decision-making process that included reference to the Community Bank Maldon & District’s original charter. A Bank sub-committee worked for 12 months to receive expressions of interest and applications, undertake site visits and make recommendations to the full board, who made the final call.

“Affordable housing means diversity, stability, belonging and the ability to engage in community life,” Mr Egleton said.

“Our workers need local and affordable housing, and we seek to address this issue in collaboration with Council.”

Stand by for part two

The Bank says it received outstanding applications and decided to fund two projects. Mr Egleton said: “We are pleased to also announce that the quality of applicants was so good that the overall fund has been increased to $1.5m, with a second grant to be announced soon.” 

This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 29 August 2025.