The family behind a Donnybrook restaurant and cheese shop has offered to build a museum dedicated to the region’s history if the state government agrees to shift a proposed town centre to align more closely with their existing businesses.
The Monteleone family has made a submission to the proposed Donnybrook-Woodstock Precinct Structure Plan, a state government document that maps out 1786 hectares of land for proposed development into neighbourhoods.
The family is requesting that a local town centre planned for the area be relocated from the north to the south side of their businesses.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Caz Monteleone said it made little sense positioning a small-scale town centre about 200-metres to the rear of their Monteleone Restaurant and Donnybrook Cheese shop, rather than directly to the south to align with Donnybrook Road.
“We have an existing cheese shop and restaurant that draws 400 to 500 visitors each weekend,” he said.
He said the family wanted to preserve the area’s indigenous and early settler history.
“We want to improve the heritage side of things,” he said. “We have a story to tell and a legacy to share.”
The Monteleones migrated from Sicily to Donnybrook in 1968.
The family’s submission is being considered by the Metropolitan Planning Authority, an independent state government body established to plan for the city’s growth.
Whittlesea planning and major projects director Steve O’Brien said the council had yet to consider the Monteleones’ submission.
The matter will be discussed at a council meeting on February 23.
