Year in review | A look back at council stories in 2025

The review came after Pamecs Pty Ltd was awarded the contract — believed to be worth more than $2.4 million — just two months after the company was formed to tender for the job.

The News understands Pamecs director Mayanak Gupta was employed in February 2024 as a team leader in council’s engineering services, leaving on August 1, 2025.

The News questioned the procurement process for this contract after several sources expressed concerns about the tender process.

Councillors voted to award the contract for the engineering at a special council meeting on October 7.

After the review, council said a policy where councillors were presented with all the different tenderers, identified only by letters of the alphabet, rather than business names, would be updated so that the council executive and councillors were informed of tenderers’ names at internal briefings, while names remained de-identified for council meetings to mitigate any risk of canvassing.

Other changes will also include that council report templates will be expanded to build on the current ‘conflict of interest declaration’ in the tender process, by also listing any interests that have been declared.

There will also be greater detail on all identified risks, ensuring comprehensive assessment of any potential reputational risks.

Akers elected deputy mayor

Cr Geoff Akers was elected as the new deputy mayor in October.

His election to the role comes in his first term as a councillor, representing the Pine Lodge ward, and only about a year since he was elected.

He replaces Cr Anthony Brophy in the role and will serve for one year.

KidsTown

The future of beloved Shepparton and Mooroopna playground KidsTown has been assured after City of Greater Shepparton councillors voted in August to approve a $650,000 budget allocation for this financial year to undertake rehabilitation work.

The announcement ends months of uncertainty for the community, with concerns being raised about the state of the playground by some community members in two separate articles in The News in May.

The playground was tired and needed sprucing up, with paint peeling and rust appearing, while other sections had been completely blocked off for use by the public.

All councillors voted in favour of rehabilitation work at the site and the development of a master plan.

GV Link

After almost 20 years, works on the GV Link Enterprise Park have officially begun.

Stage one construction began in April, after an announcement earlier in the year of $9.6 million in Federal Government funding to add to the $14.4 million committed by Greater Shepparton City Council.

The new enterprise park at 250 Toolamba Rd, Mooroopna will aim to encourage large-scale commercial and industrial investment in Greater Shepparton, and facilitate the expansion and growth of existing businesses, accommodating investment from local, national and international investors.

The project will help deliver critical enabling works, including road connections into the new freight precinct and the construction of a new roundabout and upgrades to Simson Rd, Mooroopna to enable large high-productivity freight vehicles to access the facility.

Dhurringile decision

After a four-four spilt, and a second deciding vote by the mayor, Greater Shepparton City Council voted in April to not move forward with the purchase of the former Dhurringile Prison site.

Councillors debated whether council should withdraw its tentative expression of interest to the first right of refusal process to purchase Dhurringile Estate.

A report recommended the purchase, stating the long-term benefits outweighed the financial risks; however, council management has pushed back, saying there were too many risks.

Cr Sam Spinks highlighted the costs associated with the purchase.

“The initial figures that have come back is that it’s going to cost $2.5 million to buy, another $3 million to repair the heritage buildings that are there, $400,000 ongoing to maintain the property and then miscellaneous other costs,” she said.

Other stakeholders are continuing to independently push for a new life for the site.

Princess Park Pavilion

Demolition of the existing clubrooms at Shepparton’s Princess Park began in June, signalling the official start of works on the long-awaited $4.9 million Princess Park Multi Use Events Pavilion.

The redevelopment marks a significant milestone for the sporting precinct, which was heavily impacted by the October 2022 floods.

The old clubrooms, originally a portable building relocated to the park more than 70 years ago — were deemed unfit for use after being inundated with floodwaters.

Key features of the new pavilion include gender-inclusive change rooms, trainers’ rooms, umpire facilities and amenities, and a social room with a commercial kitchen. Tiered seating built into a grassy mound is also part of the design.

It will also be elevated 2.4m above ground level to mitigate flood risk in the future.