A LOCAL building designer says council is robbing Bendigo of business and jobs by hiring firms from out of town to design projects.
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Rodney Smith received a letter from the City of Greater Bendigo last Friday informing him that his company’s joint bid for the architectural design services of the Strathfieldsaye Community Hub had been unsuccessful.
The $144,500 contract was awarded to Melbourne-based firm Henderson and Lodge.
“I'm sure they’re quite capable... but there would’ve been at least half a dozen business in Bendigo which I believe would be equally capable of doing that work,” Mr Smith said.
“So why does the City of Bendigo see fit to award these sort of projects to firms outside of Bendigo?”
Smith Design Group’s tender application was submitted as a co-venture with another local firm which has designed several similar projects for neighbouring councils.
“We said 79 per cent of contract work would have been with local contractors, like engineers, soil testers and land surveyors, but in reality it would’ve been more,” he said.
But while Mr Smith was disappointed not to win the tender, he said his was not a case of sour grapes.
“Look, if another of my colleagues in Bendigo had won the tender, I would’ve said, ‘good on you mate, good job, hope you do well with it,’” he said.
“Because we all live here, we employ staff from here, we pay rates here, we're involved in local community in some way, either in local sporting clubs or social clubs that will potentially use this facility.
“We’ve got a vested interest in adding value to the community.”
Mr Smith and his wife and business partner Val have lived in Bendigo for more than three decades.
They raised their three children here, but two left because of a lack of opportunities. Their daughter, a nurse, and elder son, an engineer, now live in Newcastle.
“If the opportunities aren’t there for our young people, they’re simply going to move out of town,” he said.
“Henderson and Lodge is a large firm and they no doubt have lots of staff and lots of capability and experience, but it is disappointing that the business goes out of town, the expertise potentially goes out of town and they’ve got no vested interest in adding value to the community in Bendigo, whereas we all work here, live here and contribute to community.”