| Friday 14 August 2026 |
Issue #14 |
Frankston City, VIC |
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FREE · INDEPENDENT · WEEKLY
Your neighbourhood, honestly told — every Friday morning
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📬 A note from the editor — Issue #14
G'day Frankston,
Council's just posted its best-ever Community Satisfaction Survey result — record highs across nearly every measure council tracks, and the lowest concern about community safety on record. Full numbers below.
Safety Update this week is a road safety reminder rather than a rundown of individual incidents — Highway Patrol caught a Porsche doing 60km/h over the limit on the Peninsula freeway, and a two-day drug and drink driving blitz across our patch, including arrests in Carrum Downs, turned up a long list of offences. Worth a read before you next get behind the wheel.
Suburb Spotlight lands on Carrum Downs this week, and our Community Feature turns to Orwil Street Community House — 47 years of quietly holding central Frankston together.
Resident Voice this week isn't a compliment — it's a genuine question about what to do when you spot someone sleeping rough in a park or along the trails. We've got real numbers to call. And Only in Frankston delivers a classic: a "quick" coffee run that turned into a 45-minute car park chat, courtesy of Bessi in Carrum Downs.
— Topher, Editor · The Frankston Local
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📊 Council
Frankston City Just Recorded Its Best-Ever Satisfaction Result
Frankston City Council's 2026 Annual Community Satisfaction Survey — an independent, in-person survey of more than 800 residents — has come back with the strongest results since the survey began. Overall satisfaction with Council landed at 7.2 out of 10, the highest level on record.
The gains weren't isolated to one area. Customer service satisfaction hit a record 8.3, Council services and facilities rose to 8.1, planning and development climbed to 7.9, and Council's efforts on the city's image and reputation reached 7.8. Trust and confidence in Council, governance and leadership, and advocacy and lobbying all rose to 7.6, while satisfaction with community consultation and engagement reached 7.5.
The most notable shift was around safety. Residents reported feeling safer across Frankston City's public spaces than at any point since records began, with concern about crime and safety issues declining substantially compared to 2025.
What this means for you: Mayor Sue Baker and CEO Tennille Bradley both pointed to the results as evidence residents are noticing Council's investment in local services, advocacy and engagement over the past year — and Council says the feedback will keep shaping its priorities. Full results at frankston.vic.gov.au
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🎻 Also This Week
MSO Joins Frankston Arts Centre as Classical Music Partner
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has signed on as Frankston Arts Centre's 2026 Classical Music Partner, bringing three exclusive concerts to the venue featuring Chief Conductor Jaime Martín, conductor Chad Kelly and violinist Christian Li. A 3-show package went on sale today (13 August); single tickets follow from 30 October.
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| Fri 14 Aug |
Brewhouse Comedy Club 🎤
Frankston Brewhouse, 10 New Street · 7:30pm · Free. Five fresh comedians, second Friday of every month. Details at frankstonbrewhouse.com.au
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| Sat 15 Aug |
Flangipanis (QLD): The Final Flange-Down 🎸
Singing Bird Studio, Frankston · 6pm · All ages · From $25, selling fast. With The Murderballs, Miss Communication, Rat Taxi and Penalty.
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| Sun 16 Aug |
The Sunday Set 🎸
Frankston Brewhouse, 10 New Street · 1–4pm · Free. Weekly live acoustic session with a rotating lineup of local musicians. Details at frankstonbrewhouse.com.au
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| Sun 16 Aug |
Women's Circle & Sound Bath: True Expression 🌙
The Elements of Happiness Classes, Seaford · 6:30pm · From $54.26, almost full. Hosted by Goddess Reclamation Events.
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| Thu 20 Aug |
Bush Regeneration 🌱
28R Fenton Crescent, Frankston South · 9–11am · Free. Hands-on native bush restoration, weekly, no experience needed. Call 0412 844 112.
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| Thu 20 Aug |
Women in Business Mornington Peninsula 💼
The Cheeky Squire, Mall Frankston · 12pm · From $36.39. We Rise Networking session for local businesswomen.
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| Thu 20 Aug |
Free Pub Trivia 🍺
Moon Dog Beach Club · 7–9pm · Free to play, prizes on offer. Weekly.
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| Fri 21 Aug |
The Styes w/ Sargent Baker, Exiles, Mudbath + C.W.A 🎸
Singing Bird Studio, Frankston · 6pm · From $21.75, selling fast.
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| Fri 21 Aug |
Drag Bingo w/ Brenda Bressed 💃
Frankston Brewhouse, 10 New Street · 7pm · Free.
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This Week: Carrum Downs
The Suburb That Keeps Growing Around You
Carrum Downs sits at the northern edge of Frankston City, and it's been one of the municipality's fastest-growing pockets for years — home to just under 22,000 residents at last count, up from around 20,700 five years earlier. Drive through and you'll see why: newer estates backing onto older industrial and retail strips, with the Peninsula Link freeway cutting straight through the middle of it all.
It's a suburb that doesn't get much fanfare, but it works hard — light industrial estates, family-friendly parks and reserves, and a growing café and coffee-trailer scene that's turning quick pit stops into genuine social occasions (see this issue's Only in Frankston for proof).
Got a Carrum Downs favourite — a park, a café, a community group — we should know about? [email protected]
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A Responsible Driving Reminder — Frankston Police Service Area
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60km/h over the limit, in the rain. On Tuesday 4 August, Highway Patrol allegedly caught the driver of a Porsche Carrera overtaking an unmarked patrol car on the Mornington Peninsula Freeway — 60km/h over the limit. The vehicle was impounded for 30 days and the driver lost their licence. |
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Operation Drive Thru results. Across our patch, local Highway Patrol's two-day drug and alcohol operation resulted in 12 drivers losing their licence for drug driving, drink driving or refusing testing, 6 drivers caught driving unlicensed, 4 vehicles impounded, 8 penalty notices issued and 11 other offences detected — including arrests of drivers in Carrum Downs. |
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The two-day blitz also turned up burnouts with positive drug tests, a driver found passed out behind the wheel at 20km/h on the freeway, an unaccompanied learner who allegedly tried to evade police before crashing into a parked car, an Uber Eats driver who allegedly returned a positive drug test mid-delivery, and a driver who crashed into the Peninsula Link wire barriers after allegedly refusing a drug impairment test — a decision that carries a minimum two-year licence loss. |
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The takeaway from Highway Patrol is a simple one: if you're going to drive, don't drink, don't do drugs, and leave the burnouts at home. For more Frankston safety news as it happens, follow Eyewatch — Frankston Police Service Area on Facebook, or visit police.vic.gov.au |
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Watch
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Municipal Early Years Plan 2026–2030 — adoption outcome still unconfirmed
The plan went to the 3 August Council meeting for adoption. Council's website now hosts the plan without its "pending adoption" tag, but we haven't found published minutes confirming the outcome. Staying on Watch until we can confirm.
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Ongoing
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Frankston City First — still no candidate response
Council's itemised $17.05M state election ask (Issue #13) is now being formally briefed to candidates across the Frankston, Carrum and Hastings electorates. No public commitments yet, with November's election drawing closer.
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Frankston City's population keeps climbing. Council now estimates 142,826 residents, up from 139,281 at the 2021 Census, and forecasts growth to 162,673 by 2041. |
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Dolphins keep rolling. Frankston thumped Port Melbourne 79–49 at Kinetic Stadium in Round 19, had the bye in Round 20, and travel to face Williamstown at DSV Stadium this Saturday 15 August, 12:05pm. |
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Community Feature — Issue #14: Orwil Street Community House
A small house doing a lot of quiet work in central Frankston. Orwil Street Community House has been running for 47 years, offering low-cost activities for people of all ages and a venue for local community groups to meet — Tai Chi, dance classes for women 50+, community yoga and cooking workshops among them, plus a community garden with raised beds. There's no need to be attending a class to drop by — you can pop in for information, a referral, or just a cuppa and a chat.
They also run support groups and counselling services, and keep a list of after-hours contacts (Lifeline, Peninsula Mental Health Triage, headspace and others) for anyone who needs support when the office is closed.
16 Orwil Street, Frankston · Mon–Fri, 9am–3pm · (03) 9783 5073
orwilst.org.au
Each issue we spotlight a local organisation doing good quietly. Know one we should feature? [email protected]
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"I'm seeing tents around parks and walking trails. What services will help those during these cold nights?"
— Anon, Frankston
Frankston City has a single entry point for homelessness support, run locally by The Salvation Army – Homelessness Services. You can call (03) 9784 5050 Monday to Friday, 9:30am–4pm, or drop in without an appointment at 37 Ross Smith Ave East, Frankston. Outside those hours, including weekends and public holidays, call the Statewide Homelessness Helpline on 1800 825 955, available 24/7. If you're calling on behalf of someone in immediate danger, always call 000 first.
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TRUE STORY
Only in Frankston can a "quick" coffee run turn into a 45-minute chat in the car park. Bessi popped into one of the coffee trailers in Carrum Downs for a fast one — supposedly — and came out three-quarters of an hour later, coffee gone cold, having caught up on half the neighbourhood's news instead.
— Bessi, Carrum Downs · Seen something that could only happen in Frankston? Send it to [email protected]
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— 😄 Joke of the Week —
I told my wife I was going to make a bike out of spaghetti.
You should've seen her face when I rode pasta. 🍝
— Anon, Karingal · Got one? Send it to [email protected] — best ones get published with full credit.
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That's Issue #14 done. Council's best-ever satisfaction result, a road safety reminder worth taking seriously, and a coffee run that got seriously derailed courtesy of Bessi in Carrum Downs.
If you've got a tip, a story, or something happening in your street that deserves a look — [email protected] comes straight to me. That's how this stays local.
And if you reckon someone in your street would get something out of this, forward it on. No algorithm, no ad budget — just word of mouth.
See you Friday. ☀️
— Topher · The Frankston Local
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The Frankston Local
Written independently by a Frankston local, for Frankston locals.
Free every Friday · No council funding · No agenda · No spam
frankstonlocal.au · Frankston City VIC 3199
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