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OPPOSITION for the $10 million Hepburn Hub is gaining momentum, after more than 60 people protested at the site today.
The proposed hub will be located at the Daylesford Town Hall and Memorial Pool site, and will include a new library, visitor information centre and shire office.
But a groundswell of community concern was highlighted at today's public rally, where residents held hands and shouted "save our pool" in unison.
They agree the consolidated facility is not fitting for a small country town.
"The amount of opposition seen at the rally means the Hepburn Shire needs to start its plans from scratch," organiser and advocate Cate Graceson said.
"I don't have much faith that will happen though."
Major concerns include inconsistencies with the heritage overlay, parking and traffic issues, the truck routes which border the site and the loss of amenity in Daylesford.
The pool itself is safe under the plans but residents fear the hub will "impinge on the green space" and make the community facility unusable for families.
To demonstrate, protesters made a human wall where the proposed hub will be built - revealing how close it comes to the pool border.
"These plans really do shatter parts of the town that are vital for us to stay together as a community," Maureen Andrew said.
"All these beautiful things in our small town will be impinged on and we are just so concerned."
Fellow resident Marjorie Verey, who is 92-years-old and lives in a house bordering the site, is concerned her house will also come under threat because of the hub.
"I moved here with my husband after the war and we built it together - so I'm not selling my house for anyone, no matter how much they offer me."
Many residents also fear shire buildings are seemingly not required to meet the strict planning and heritage guidelines applicable for the rest of the town.
But Hepburn Shire chief executive Aaron van Egmond said the plans would be subject to the same scrutiny as any other.
"This is a work in progress and we are working through a range of elements, one of those heritage," he said.
"It will undergo a heritage assessment, which is in the forefront of our minds.
"I think it is in line with heritage but it will also be subject to a lot of detail work."
He said final plans would depend on community feedback.
