Hello again to everybody. Trust you are well.

Firstly on the social front, it has been decided to hold the social night on Thursday July 28 at the Mission to Seafarers on Flinders St West. All welcome. Non-members will be charged $15 per person which is extremely reasonable. Invitations and promotional material will be issued in early July.

Regarding the Harbour Esplanade development, VicUrban is planting the second row of trees along the west side following digging up the bitumen. They say, however, they still don’t know what will be done with the large concrete area down to the waterfront.   

At a formal meeting in May we obtained a commitment from City of Melbourne’s director of city design that no buildings would be erected along the foreshore by any developer.

It was indicated that further development of that area is a few years away with no commencement date in sight. The DCA continues to push for open space along the foreshore with provision of parkland not only for the local community but also for visitors.

In May, I joined with other members of CoRBA, the coalition of resident groups, in a meeting with council’s CEO arranged by the Lord Mayor to discuss issues. The main concern raised by the group was the lack of public consultation particularly on planning.  In relation to Docklands, I stated that we know that discussions take place on planning and development between council and VicUrban but without any community participation or consultation. The CEO undertook to introduce improved communication with the community.

Western Park development continues to languish in limbo.  Apparently there is no agreement on the Melbourne Football Club’s proposal which could also be jeopardised by lack of funding. Meanwhile, we have asked VicUrban to at least clean up the area to enable people to use it.

The DCA committee has decided to request a meeting with the Planning Minister Matthew Guy to present Docklands issues on which we will try and get his assistance.

In order to strengthen liaison within Docklands we plan to suggest the formation of a coalition of chairs of owners corporations. This could work in with the DCA on common issues and would enable a pooling of knowledge and ideas. 

Currently there is a lack of communication amongst chairs of the buildings in various locations.  The DCA has two chairs on our committee.

Whilst the OC chairs are primarily responsible for the management of their respective buildings, external issues such as parking, provision of open space and traffic management  overlap and affect everybody. Combined action can only assist.

We continue to email members a list of forthcoming events provided by the council at my request. This enables us to request action to protect resident amenity  where necessary.

Regarding a developer’s proposal to provide a primary school, library and community centre we are very concerned that it would not be crammed in like other developments in our area. Key requirements are provision of adequate access, off street parking and adequate playing area.

If any reader would like to become a member of the DCA or has any suggestions they wish to put forward regarding activities or issues, they are welcome to contact us on [email protected]

If you would like to talk to me about any aspect you are welcome to call me on 0412 097 706.  You can also keep up with things on our website http://www.docklandscommunityassociation.com

Sincerely
Roger Gardner
President DCA