COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY

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COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY



Community conversations

Phase two community engagement: Melton City community vision 2036

Melton City Council, November 2016

FINAL report
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY



Privacy

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For the purpose of program delivery, and on behalf of our clients, we collect personal information from individuals, such as e-mail addresses, contact details, demographic data and program feedback to enable us to facilitate participation in consultation activities. We follow a strict procedure for the collection, use, disclosure, storage and destruction of personal information. Any information we collect is stored securely on our server for the duration of the program and only disclosed to our client or the program team. Written notes from consultation activities are manually transferred to our server and disposed of securely.

Comments recorded during any consultation activities are faithfully transcribed however not attributed to individuals. Diligence is taken to ensure that any comments or sensitive information does not become personally identifiable in our reporting, or at any stage of the program.

Capire operates an in-office server with security measures that include, but are not limited to, password protected access, restrictions to sensitive data and the encrypted transfer of data.

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Consultation

Unless otherwise stated, all feedback documented by Capire Consulting Group and any person(s) acting on our behalf is written and/or recorded during our program/consultation activities.

Capire staff and associates take great care while transcribing participant feedback but unfortunately cannot guarantee the accuracy of all notes. We are however confident that we capture the full range of ideas, concerns and views expressed during our consultation activities.

Unless otherwise noted, the views expressed in our work represent those of the participants and not necessarily those of our consultants or our clients.



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Privacy 2

Consultation 2

1 Summary of findings 4

2 Introduction 5

2.1 Engagement purpose 5

2.2 Limitations 6

3 Engagement activities 7

4 Participants 8

5 Engagement findings 10

5.1 A connected and safe community 12

5.2 Business and local employment 15

5.3 Services, facilities and transport infrastructure 17

5.4 Environment and sustainability 19

Appendix A – Example small group discussion agenda 21

Appendix B – Workshop Invitation 22



  1. Summary of findings

The City of Melton is rapidly growing. To guide future development and establish priorities, Melton City Council have been collaborating with the community to define a community vision. An initial phase of consultation was undertaken in April 2016, identifying four vision themes. Using these themes as a guide, Melton City Council and Capire Consulting ran three small group conversations in November 2016 to further explore the priorities of the community towards the development of the vision.

Below is a summary of the aspirations for Melton in 2036 expressed by the community participants during these sessions.

A connected and safe community

… the streets are well maintained and community facilities are safe places that encourage civic participation.

… there is strong community spirit and connectedness through shared participation in localised events and activities.

... there are strong partnerships between the community and police with broader police coverage of the municipality.



Business and local employment

… a range of businesses are attracted to investing in the city by the excellent support initiatives provided.

… there are opportunities for education and local employment in emerging technology industries and trades.

… young people have a range of activities and employment opportunities in their local area.





Services, facilities and transport

… new residential developments incorporate planning for connectivity and provide public transport links.

… the public transport network is more frequent and accessible for people of all abilities.

… residents have easy access to local health facilities.



Environment and sustainability

… the community is informed and conscious of environmental issues and takes care of the environment.

… the community values environmental assets and preserves them as the city grows.

  1. Introduction

The City of Melton is a rapidly growing municipality in Melbourne’s western rural-urban fringe with a projected population growth of 136 per cent by 2036. In order to manage growth and delivery of services in line with the aspirations and needs of its community, Melton City Council (Council) has undertaken its first community visioning project.

The first phase of engagement commenced in April 2016 and asked the community four key questions which were:

The questions were posed to the community through a variety of engagement methods. Feedback received from these processes was correlated into vision themes.

At the first community conversation, the participants identified that the environment and sustainability was missing from the presented themes and was important to include in the vision discussions. The new theme was added, transport was group with services and facilities and the four themes listed below formed the basis of the community conversation sessions:

Capire Consulting Group (Capire) was contracted to support Council in the delivery of the second phase of the community engagement process.



    1. Engagement purpose

The purpose of the small group conversations was to:



    1. Limitations

Some limitations inherent in this engagement report need to acknowledged. These limitations are:


  1. Engagement activities

Three small group discussions were held between 6:30pm – 8:30pm on the following dates:



Figure 2: Small group discussion at the Melton Library and Learning Hub

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY

The sessions were run in two main parts (see Appendix A for the agenda). During the first exercise, participants were asked to reflect on the themes which had emerged from the first phase of engagement by answering the question ‘what do the themes mean to you?’ in pairs. It was an opportunity for participants to familiarise themselves with the themes and identify any gaps.

During the second part of the session, participants broke into smaller groups based on the themes they were most passionate about discussing. Each table was asked ‘what are the opportunities?’ for this theme and ‘what does this look like?’. The participants were asked to choose two themes to discuss in detail. Table hosts helped guide discussions.

After each table discussion, participants were asked to write down their top priority for the theme on a post-it note, which were collated on boards at the front of the room.

  1. Participants

For the small group conversations, participants were recruited in the following ways:

The engagement was also promoted in Council’s ‘Grants, community events and training’ newsletter.



A total of 33 participants attended the small group sessions as follows:

Most participants (43%) were aged 60 and over, followed by the 41-59 age group (27%). A comparatively low portion of participants were aged 16-25 (6%) and 26-40 (6%), as illustrated in Figure 3.



Figure 3: Age distribution of participants

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY















Figure 4: Distribution of participants per genderCOMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY

There was a relatively even distribution in the gender of participants, with 48% female and 52% male participants.


Figure 5 shows most of the participants (8) live in Melton West, followed by Melton (4) and Melton South (4). There was a relatively even distribution of participants residing in various surrounding suburbs such as Kurunjang, Toolern Vale, Caroline Springs, Diggers Rest, Plumpton, Hillside, Taylors Hill and Rockbank. Three of the participants live outside the City of Melton area.


Figure 5: Participation by suburb of residence COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY
















  1. Engagement findings

The following statements are a non-verbatim summary of what was heard at the small group conversations sessions.

In summary, the participants’ vision for the City of Melton in 2036 is a place where:



















Figure 6: Word cloud of the most commonly used words during the small group conversations

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY


    1. A connected and safe community

Community Places

In 2036… the community will be proud of their clean and well maintained streets and community facilities which will be safe places that encourage new connections.

Participants discussed the importance of community places such as libraries and sports facilities in fostering a sense of connectedness through social interaction. There was sentiment that many of these existing places are undervalued such as Macpherson Park.

Some comments from participants were:



Participants discussed the importance of keeping the ‘village feel’ whilst managing planning for growth.



There was mention of having localised community events within the neighbourhoods as a place based approach to building community connections. The importance of providing activities for youth was discussed as a priority for helping to build a sense of purpose.










Figure 6: Drawing by a participant at the small group session in Caroline Springs depicting a place based approach to building a connected community.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY



The role of designing streets and open spaces in creating a sense of safety was also highlighted by participants. It was also mentioned that public spaces need to be accessible and provide the opportunity for people with a disability to integrate with the broader community. This came across through comments such as:

There was also the sentiment that neat and well-presented streets can create a sense of pride of place which positively affects perceptions of safety. It was mentioned that this should be an all of community effort. These discussions were closely linked to ideas around improving the reputation of the City of Melton and in residents taking more responsibility for the care of their properties.

Participant comments included:


community engagement and involvement

In 2036… the community will have stronger relationships with Council and each other through events and activities.

Many participants asserted the importance of organised community events and activities in fostering community spirit and connectedness. Increased opportunities for community engagement with Council was another aspiration discussed.

Some comments from participants were:


There was also discussion about organisations such as Council, police and local businesses to work together in providing events and activities. This was mainly to strengthen community spirit and perception of safety. There was also a sentiment expressed that gambling is social problem that needs an integrated approach to solving.

Some comments from the participants were:



Confidence in police

In 2036… strengthened police partnerships with the community will ensure broader coverage of the municipality.

Participants discussed the importance of the community’s confidence in the role of the police in the City of Melton. Long-term aspirations for a safer environment that would not require high levels of police presence were expressed, however short-term aspirations to increase police presence, particularly in ‘blind spots’ between patrol areas were also raised.

There was discussion that police should be more involved with the community, particularly with youth, through events and activities to strengthen connections and confidence.

Participant comments included:


    1. Business and local employment

A place for investment

In 2036… a range of businesses will be attracted to investing in The City of Melton by the excellent support initiatives provided.

Participants highlighted aspirations for stronger council led support incentives to attract larger business investment in the City of Melton. Some industries discussed were retail, manufacturing and medical.

Participant comments included:



Technology and innovation

In 2036… there will be local opportunities for education and employment in emerging technology industries and trades.

Participants expressed aspirations for greater support and targeted attraction for start-ups, technology industries and IT education. This was linked to aspirations of a university presence in The City of Melton to establish the area as a knowledge and employment hub.

Participant comments included:



Youth Employment

In 2036… young people will have a range of employment opportunities in their local area.

A frequently discussed issue in this theme was ensuring the City of Melton can provide employment opportunities to the community, particularly for young people. There were aspirations to keep young people involved in the area by providing a vibrant community and a range of local career choices.

This was expressed in comments such as:




    1. Services, facilities and transport infrastructure

Integrated transport planning

In 2036… new residential developments will incorporate transport planning, greater connectivity and provide public transport links.

Participants discussed the importance of large scale residential developments incorporating quality urban design of streets and providing transport infrastructure such as extensions to bus routes and new arterial roads. There were concerns that the speed of housing growth is not met with adequate transport infrastructure upgrades.

This was expressed in comments such as:



Upgrades to public transport

In 2036… the community will value the public transport network as it will be more frequent and accessible.

Participants were excited about future public transport improvements such as track duplication and electrification to the City of Melton. There were aspirations for more people in the City of Melton to use public transport by making it easier to access for all people including people with disabilities. It was expressed that public transport needed to be more flexible and more attractive with a better reputation.

Participant comments included:

There were frequently discussed aspirations for bus services that were better suited to the needs of the community such as more frequent services and accessible bus stops.



access to health facilities

In 2036... the City of Melton residents will be proud of the easy access to the health facilities they have locally.

Provision of a new public hospital in the City of Melton was a frequently discussed aspiration from the participants as a way of promoting a positive perception of the area, creating jobs and providing easy access to health services in the area.

This was reflected in the participant comments below:

Some participants acknowledged the difficulty in achieving this aspiration and discussed leveraging existing health services in the area and centralising them to create easier access for the community.




    1. Environment and sustainability

Education and awareness

In 2036… the community will be conscious of environmental issues and take better care of the environment.

Many participants discussed aspirations for a more environmentally conscious community through education programs such as tips for recycling and using environmentally efficient energy sources.

This was expressed in comments such as:



Some participants raised ideas around encouraging engagement with nature within the community such as forest walks and camping to promote environmental education and provide tourism opportunities.

Participant comments included:



Sustainable growth

In 2036… we will value our environmental assets and preserve them while the city grows.

Participants discussed the value of environmental assets in The City of Melton such as the grasslands and aspired to have these preserved in the planning of new residential development. This included ideas such as enforcing smaller footprint sizes of buildings on lots and encouraging mixes of dwelling types to include larger gardens.

This was expressed in comments such as:



There were aspirations for stronger enforcement of Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) guidelines for new buildings and in creating a carbon neutral target. Comments included:





ACOMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY
ppendix A – Example small group discussion agenda

ACOMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PHASE TWO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MELTON CITY COMMUNITY ppendix B – Workshop Invitation




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