Montville’s Future

On the last Sunday in June 2025, the Montville Village Association (MVA) held a Community Forum to consider possible action that should be pursued after the results of a Futures Survey it conducted were published. The forum marked the culmination of some 20 months of gathering data through online and paper surveys, analysing responses, publishing results and holding workshops to identify key issues.

The key issues the forum was asked to address were Facility Usage, Community Events, Artisan Village Identity and Liveability Improvements.  Participants were then asked to consider what Montville might be like in 10 years from now.

The Community Forum attendees discussed key issues regarding Montville's Future

The forum was attended by over 55 participants including members of the MVA, the Montville Chamber of Commerce, the Montville State School and unaligned community and business representatives. The Hon Andrew Powell, State Member for Glasshouse and Andrew Wallace MP, Federal Member for Fisher participated in the discussions that occurred during the 2 hours of the forum. It was noted that the best the Sunshine Coast Regional Council could manage was an apology.

The conclusions of the forum on the four key issues were positive in suggesting potential courses of action.

On the issue of Facility Usage, the forum found that the only commercial facilities that met community needs were the IGA and Post Office. However, it found that key community facilities like the village hall, the village green, the sports ground and Russell Family Park were all under-utilised. Proposals to make these more relevant and improve usage included completing the performance amphitheatre and building the arts centre originally planned for Russell Family Park and increasing the number of community events using the other venues.

Although the consensus was that we could do better with community events, Andrew Powell noted that of all the villages/townships in his electorate, Montville offered the most community events. It was argued that one of the problems in organising community events was actually promoting them throughout the community. Another was that they were dependent on volunteers. One solution offered was to invite groups and individuals to organise small, monthly events that reflect on their particular interests, focussing on community awareness and participation.

There was almost universal agreement that identifying Montville as an Artisan Village was not only inaccurate and misleading, it was also damaging to the true identity of Montville. When an artisan facility was defined as a venue where artists worked on their art/craft, demonstrated or discussed aspects of it, promoted it and sold it, only one business in Montville was found to meet that criteria. Solutions that should be considered include rent assistance to such enterprises and the building an Artisan Centre based on a co-operative leasing model that would create a financially viable way of attracting a wide range of artists into the heart of Montville. In the past, Montville has been home to a number of facilities that offered such an experience but, until this was renewed, the forum felt artisan village was an inappropriate way to identify Montville.

Improving the Liveability of Montville came down to the isolation of residents from local and district amenities and services. The forum agreed that, although it was one thing to accept that Montville had limited amenities and services, it was another to deny Montvillians ready access to them in Montville and in nearby centres. A lack of footpaths and bicycle paths around Montville severely limits safe movement of pedestrians and cyclists to community and commercial facilities. With this in mind, it was generally felt that Montville did need one additional service, a community drop-in centre to support those in need. In addition, a lack of a regular bus services for those who need it to go Nambour and Maleny isolates the aged, those with mobility issues, and others that need and rely on such a service. Historically, such a transport option served Montville for most of the last century but now, despite Council promises, it cannot be delivered.

Most participants saw Montville 10 years from now with less than half the commercial outlets it currently has with the unneeded commercial properties rezoned for residential use. They saw this leading to the building of low-cost housing options to attract people to live within the village precinct and low-cost rentals to attract artisans back into the heart of Montville. Participants saw these changes leading to fewer commercial businesses catering to the tourist trade and more offering goods and services to residents.

It will be interesting to see how the MVA initiates and advocates the proposed changes the forum has come up with and how the Council and the State and Federal Governments support the community calls for these. This is the third time in the last 25 years that the MVA has represented the Montville Community in advocating for change to create a more liveable future for the village. To date, a lack of political will and inaction has created an environment where the future of Montville is bleak for both commercial and community interests.

Doug and Cate Patterson

Montville History Group