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Have your say on planning matters

Have your say on planning matters

Southbank residents will have an unprecedented chance to have their voices heard on planning issues within the capital city zone next month, with the announcement of the Metropolitan Planning Strategy – Free Community Forum.

The forum has been organised by the Southbank Residents Group (SRG), in conjunction with the Docklands Community Association and the Eastenders.

The forum will focus on the Department of Planning and Community Development’s (DPCD) document Melbourne, Let’s Talk About the Future.

The forum will be held on Tuesday, March 19, and will run for an hour and half from 6pm. It will include a presentation from the DPCD and a question and answer session.

SRG president Michael Smolders said he was excited about the forum and was encouraging all residents to come along.

“People who have engaged with myself and Barry (SRG vice-president Barry Janes) since we’ve been on the SRG, one thing has always been consistent, and people are incredibly passionate about what Melbourne should be, and what Melbourne should look like and what our livability standards should be,” Mr Smolders said.

“This is an opportunity for people to come in and take a look at the macro view and shape and provide some feedback on what you think of it,” he added.

Mr Smolders explained the forum was organised to encourage members of the community who were interested in planning issues, but may not have known the correct avenues to express their opinions.

“The Minister late last year launched the Metropolitan Planning Strategy. And it’s out for consultation, but I have to say, what surprised us as a collection of residents groups was the lack of promotion that’s been around it, to get the community feedback.”

“People are tired of not having their voice heard. Now that we have a new council on board, we know there are councilors who sympathise to that cause and they’re trying to find ways of increasing the volume of the legitimate voice of residents,” he said.

The DPCD’s presentation will focus on the nine key principles in the discussion paper. They are:

  • Social and economic participation;
  • A globally connected and competitive city;
  • Strong communities;
  • Environmental resilience;
  • Melbourne’s distinctiveness;
  • Leadership and partnership;
  • Regional cities and a polycentric city model;
  • Living and working locally – a “20 minute” city; and
  • Infrastructure investment supporting the growth of the city.

 “What we’ve asked specifically of the DPCD for the forum is for them to certainly talk about these key principles but talk about them in the context and the potential impact on a capital city zone,” Mr Smolders said.

Mr Smolders was hoping the community would not only get behind the forum, but would enter it with a positive attitude as well.

“People could view it in a cynical sense and say ‘What’s the point? Because the State Government will do what they want anyway.’ But for me, I think we’ve got to go into it with a very positive attitude and say ‘We have an opportunity here to legitimately be heard, because the info will be captured and documented and put into public submissions’,” Mr Smolders said.

“If we miss this opportunity the State will say ‘well, you had your chance, we heard nothing from you, so we’ll go along and do whatever we want’.”

Mr Smolders said that, with the level of development in Southbank, the reality was everyone in the area will be affected and should therefore want to have their say.

“What we’re finding with the increase of development that’s going on here in Southbank, is that more and more people want to engage, because they’re all understanding it’s going to have an impact on them.”

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