Liveable Yarra

Rob Salter

The City of Yarra, covering inner Melbourne suburbs like Richmond, Collingwood, Fitzroy and North Carlton, needed to update its Planning Scheme. So, on the initiative of Greens Councillor Amanda Stone, the council engaged a consultant to set up a 'Peoples Panel that met on four Saturdays in August and September 2015 to learn about, discuss and give its views in a wide range of areas to be addressed in the planning scheme, including transport, housing, building densities, zoning, business development and parks. 

The 60 panel members consisted of about 40 who were randomly selected and about 20 selected on the basis of some kind of relevant expertise, and I was fortunate to be selected through the latter process. As well as the Peoples Panel, the council also drew on the views of its ongoing Advisory Groups (covering areas such as Heritage, the Environment, Disability and the Arts) and a range of special groups that met separately in community workshops (for example, elderly Greek women, Indigenous people, public housing tenants, young people and business folk). In addition a household survey was conducted. The whole consultation process was known as 'Liveable Yarra.

The Peoples Panels four four-hour sessions were held in a senior citizens centre, and involved a range of activities each time. In the first two sessions a lot of information was provided by council officers, but across all four sessions there was also much time devoted to discussion of questions put to us, and these discussions predominated in the final two sessions. In addition to information provided during the sessions, we were kept well-informed through initial discussion papers, emailed reports between sessions, and had the chance to have any questions answered.

We discussed what we liked about Yarra and what concerned us, and we were asked to come up with specific policies to make the city more liveable. Tables discussed different topic areas, such as Access and Movement, the Built Environment, and Business and Employment, and then all panel members registered their approval or otherwise of each tables policy recommendations and could make specific comments. The recommendations, plus their rating and comments by other panel members, were submitted to Council as the collective views of the Peoples Panel, and similar processes conveyed the views of the advisory groups and community workshops.

In our panel discussions many contentious issues were addressed. In the past few decades Yarra has seen significant gentrification and soaring house prices. Population density is growing as more apartments are built to house those wanting to live close to the heart of Melbourne, while ever-growing numbers living further out are commuting through Yarra, resulting in increasingly congested traffic, crowded public transport and a rapidly expanding cycling population. The panel addressed the challenge of accommodating all these needs while maintaining Yarras liveability – its heritage streets, beautiful parks and street trees, vibrant and often edgy shopping and activity areas, and other services and attractions for the diverse population that makes up the city.

Council staff were reportedly a little concerned about giving the community such a say in these complex and difficult issues. (The Council is not obliged to adopt our recommendations, but neither can it afford to disregard them.) However, staff were pleasantly surprised to find that, when we were provided with the necessary information and had a chance to thoroughly consider and discuss the questions before us, what we came up with was well thought through and forward-looking. 

Two examples illustrate this. Firstly, there was a strong view that much better provisions were needed for cyclists, while motorised traffic should be further calmed and restricted in local streets. Secondly, while Yarras architectural heritage is greatly valued, the need for controlled densification to accommodate the growing demand to live in Yarra was also recognised, and many also accepted that this in fact helped to make Yarra and Melbourne as a whole more sustainable.

Moreover, people felt good about participating. There was a buzz in the air, discussion was lively but respectful, there was no sense of 'them and us dividing council and community, and the whole process was interesting and informative. Its the kind of process I would highly recommend to any council wishing to engage its community in the complex issues it faces in shaping a citys future.

Anyone wishing to learn more about the Liveable Yarra process should contact David Walmsley, Manager City Strategy, who can be contacted at David.Walmsley@yarracity.vic.gov.au

Photo: Liveable Yarra Peoples Panel final session. Yarra City Council