Take your seat at the Docklands community forum

Do you have an interest in local issues? Want to know more about what’s happening in Docklands? Is there something you’d like to share with others in the community?

If you answered yes to any of those questions then there’s a seat with your name on it at the Docklands Community Forum (DCF).

The forum meets every two months and offers local residents, workers, business owners and community members the opportunity to hear about and raise current issues.

The next forum is on Wednesday, April 27 at the Library at the Dock from 6pm.

Originally formed in 2012, the forum is supported by City of Melbourne and Places Victoria and guided by a core group of representatives who each represent different stakeholder groups in Docklands.

The representative group facilitates the meetings, helps to set the meeting agenda and represents the community to Docklands Steering Group meetings with Places Victoria and City of Melbourne.

Among the group there is a voice for local residents, a voice for local workers, a voice for the waterways, a voice for local parents and a voice for business owners.

But more voices are needed. The DCF representatives want more people to attend and participate in the forum each month.

“We’re looking for broader engagement from the wider community,” DCF representative Andrew Ward said.

“You’ll get to hear from and ask questions of senior people working with the City of Melbourne and Places Victoria and there are real issues that need to be discussed by the community,” Mr Ward said.

“Docklands is unlike the CBD or a more traditional suburb and Docklanders have a real opportunity to influence how Docklands develops into the future.”

“If you want to learn more, if you have something to say or if you want to influence the way Docklands continues to grow, this is the mechanism available,” Mr Ward said.

“It’s also a great networking opportunity and you can find out some really interesting things about what’s happening in the area.”

Fellow forum representative Phil Spender urged community members not to become complacent.

“We’re only going to get the community we deserve through the effort we put in.”

According to Mr Spender, the forum provides an opportunity to work closely with the authorities that oversee development in Docklands.

“I would say it is easier when you’re working within the process than being an anarchist outside the process,” Mr Spender said.

He said more community support was needed to ensure the established priorities of the community forum, which include a school for Docklands, water activation and promoting a positive image for Docklands, continued to gain momentum.

The next Docklands community forum is on Wednesday April 27 at Library at the Dock from 6pm.

For the full 2016 meeting schedule and for further information about the Docklands Community Forum visit http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/strong-communities/Pages/docklands-community-forum.aspx