Respect Wurundjeri connections to Country

Monday 13 February marked the 15th Anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. As part of the ongoing work towards reconciliation, we are in the process of acknowledging, recognising and paying tribute to the Stolen Generations by establishing a marker within the municipality. The Victorian Aboriginal Community – including those who are part of the Stolen Generations and their families – are invited to provide feedback on three potential shortlisted marker locations.

Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elder, Uncle Dave Wandin, shares the importance of understanding an Acknowledgment of Country and how to deliver it with respect.

Find out more about Melbourne’s Traditional Owners and Aboriginal peoples’ deep connection to Country.

Community venue and swimming pool access

We are continuing our mission to alleviate period poverty with the extension of our free period care pilot program until 30 June 2023. Since the launch of the trial in September 2021 more than 6,700 period care products were dispensed from vending machines across six Council-owned facilities at: Library at the Dock, City Library, Carlton Baths, Melbourne Town Hall public toilets (on Collins Street), North Melbourne Community Centre, and Kathleen Syme Community Centre.

Our libraries have recently launched their own Disability Inclusion and Accessibility Plan with action to improve accessibility to our libraries, services and resources.

We are embedding equity of access and inclusion across our tourism services, programs, events and information. We have worked with Guide Dogs Victoria to implement virtual beacon technology to aid people with vision impairment in navigating Swanston Street and Bourke Street. We are also investigating improvements to our tactile street signage across the city.

Our neighbourhood centres for older people including Jean McKendry Neighbourhood Centre are undertaking the Dementia Friends program, which provides training about dementia, the challenges faced by people living with dementia, and how to help people with dementia remain connected. The centres are being reviewed using Dementia Australia's environmental checklist, in consultation with people living with dementia. We are developing an action plan for the centres to better meet the needs of people living with dementia.

We rolled out a quiet room at the North Melbourne Town Hall (Arts House) with soft furnishings.

Practical car-parking and safe and convenient transport

We are working on a study which identifies a range of road safety and pedestrian improvements projects in Kensington and North Melbourne. We convened a community reference group for each of these neighbourhoods to inform this work. Further consultation with the broader community to help prioritise projects will take place over February – March 2023.

We’re working to deliver protected bike lanes along Macaulay Rd and Arden St and expect to consult with community shortly to help finalise these plans.

Raised zebra crossings have been installed at the roundabout of O'Shanassy St and Errol St, North Melbourne, resulting in safer pedestrian movements. Construction completed December 2022. Work is continuing to upgrade to permanent lighting to replace the temporary lighting.

Work is continuing on the roll-out of 40 km/h speed limit along Arden St, Abbotsford St and Victoria St, North Melbourne. We’re collaborating with Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) for modifications to traffic signals.

We’re working with the Department of Transport and Planning to inform its evaluation of the e-scooter trial and decision on the legalisation of e-scooters. The Victorian Government extended the trial until 31 March 2023. To date there have been more than 3 million e-scooter trips across the city as part of the trial, many of which are replacing car trips and providing increased access to city attractions.

We’re collaborating with other nearby councils as part of M9 to develop actions that encourage more people to ride. We supported Ride to Work Day activities in October that showed an increase in bike and scooter users by 48 per cent compared to 2021.

Major construction of the Metro Tunnel is continuing around the Arden Station precinct. Find out more at Victoria's Big Build.

Green living solutions and a community-sharing economy

We're working to make it easier to access affordable renewable energy. Our Power Melbourne project will install a network of neighbourhood batteries around the city to help renters, people living in apartments, and those running small businesses access more affordable renewable electricity. Late last year we consulted with community on ideas for where neighbourhood batteries should be installed and how we design retail plans with an energy retail partner. Keep an eye on the Power Melbourne page for opportunities to get involved in the next stage of engagement activities, opening soon.

Caring for each other in an emergency

We’ve become one of six cities around the world to appoint dedicated Chief Heat Officers to raise awareness about extreme heat risk, provide local leadership and collaborate to deliver solutions. We’re currently delivering Heat Health Preparedness seminars with a range of community groups across February and March. We're also working on developing a plan to make the city safer from the impacts of heat and will be engaging with people who may be vulnerable to the experiences of heatwaves across each neighbourhood.

Vibrant shopping, dining and nightlife

We’ve launched the Melbourne Economy Snapshot, a free seasonal activity guide designed to help businesses make data-led decisions by understanding Melbourne’s new rhythm.

The first edition shows a sky-high December, with a record $1.1b spent across the city. Friday and Saturday remain the busiest days in Melbourne, while our night-time economy continues to flourish. Delve into the nitty gritty and explore weekday, weekend and night-time activity.

Dusk 2 Dawn applications were open throughout November and December. Applications are currently being reviewed, with successful activations commencing in May.

The City of Melbourne’s social enterprise grants program supports social enterprise businesses to thrive in Melbourne. The program supports startups and existing enterprises which are expanding or developing new products or services with a distinctly social purpose. Applications are currently open and close at 2pm Friday 10 March 2023.

Between October 2022 and January 2023 our Business Concierge service have had 5000 interactions with businesses across the municipality. The range of enquiries have been simple support requests over the phone and email, face to face interactions and supporting new businesses in their start up.

The Christmas Collective program is an initiative as part of the Christmas Festival. One of the objectives is to increase visitation and spend supporting the economy. A total of $74,726.00 in funding was allocated to 15 businesses/groups to deliver an event or activity.

To support local businesses, we lifted the holiday spirit with our Christmas Decoration program, including the Melbourne CBD, East Melbourne, Carlton, Docklands, Southbank, North Melbourne and Kensington.

The North and West Melbourne Precinct Association hosted the Dance This Way on-street activation across multiple weekends in November. There was music, totem poles, decals, in-store activities, prizes, and gift vouchers. Christmas activations were run by the North and West Melbourne Precinct Association for two weeks including buskers, roving Christmas characters, Santa, choir, and Christmas raffle.

Usable green spaces and lively laneways

Through our Urban Forest Fund, we’re supporting five new greening projects that will beautify and cool our neighbourhoods, creating 1000 square metres of new green cover. Tram stops will be transformed into lush eco-installations and community gardens will pop up in unlikely places through $500,000 in matched-funding to create a greener, more sustainable city.

A historic fire station in North Melbourne and now residential apartment building, will become an inviting communal garden for residents to enjoy.

We planted 13 new medium sized street trees on Little Baillie Street. Three car spaces were repurposed for the introduction of trees and native understorey plants, with 20 on street car spaces retained.

We planted 41 new street trees in Provost and Little Provost Street and introduced speed bumps at each end of Provost Street as a part of the plans to reduce the number and speed of 'through-way' vehicles.

We met with the Provost Street residents in February 2023 to discuss how City of Melbourne can support community led greening and to inform the Provost Street design intention.

Control over-development and safeguard heritage

The Neighbourhood Portals have been updated with links to planning register entries relevant to each neighbourhood, making it easier for community members to find local planning applications. Weekly Planning Applications and Decisions Lists are now sorted by neighbourhood for ease of reference. Sign up to receive these weekly emails.

Places for children and young people to thrive

Our Mel-van is dedicated to bringing free wi-fi, books, games, craft activities, events and educational resources to people across the City of Melbourne who may find it difficult to access our libraries. We regularly visit North Melbourne Language and Learning Centre for Neighbourhood Networking.

Safe and welcoming streets

As part of Victoria Police's Neighbourhood Policing initiative, a Local Safety Committee meeting was held for Melbourne West and North on 9 December 2022, and included representatives from Carlton, Parkville, Docklands, Kensington, North Melbourne, West Melbourne and the western part of the Melbourne CBD.

Ageing in place

Our Connect Cafes are hosted at the Jean McKendry Neighbourhood Centre and provide one to one tech help with a trained and skilled Lively Tech Helper. Learn more about how to use your mobile, laptop or tablet to connect better with family and friends and research or discover new interests.

Book-A-Librarian has kicked off again for 2023 where people can book one on one time to get some digital literacy support with online platforms and use of digital devices.

Strong neighbourhood spirit and relationships

We have supported various community projects with Connected Neighbourhood Small Grants including the following in North Melbourne:

Healing Mind through Music aims to collaborate with Paving The Way Forward, Co Health, Chinese Elderly Dancing Group and Vietnamese Elderly Association in North Melbourne to bring elderly people of all backgrounds together, to help people to improve mental health by healing the mind, body, and soul.

River Nile Learning Centre (RNLC) students are all newly arrived refugee and asylum seeker women who struggle to survive on limited or no welfare payments. The grant will be used to purchase Myki’s for participants in English language classes at our learning centre in North Melbourne.

A pet-friendly neighbourhood

We are currently working on developing 'dogs in the park' events in neighbourhoods. These events, in partnership with behaviour trainers from the Lost Dogs' Home aim to raise awareness and provide education of dog behaviour, enrichment and responsible dog ownership to improve dog and human experiences in public places.

Grants of up to $2000 are available to increase community participation, connection, equity, diversity and inclusion through our new Connected Neighbourhoods Small Grants. Applications are open all year until the budget has been fully allocated.

Applications for our Inclusive Communities Grants open twice a year. This includes operational support grants of up to $2000 and for larger projects and initiatives up to $20,000. Applications for projects taking place from July 2023 to June 2024 are open from Monday 20 February and close Monday 20 March.

Community Events Grants of up to $10,000 per event are available to not-for-profit organisations to work in partnership with the City of Melbourne. Applications open annually. Applications for events held between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024 will open Monday 20 February and close Monday 20 March

Check out other grant opportunities on the Community Noticeboard.

The following projects in North Melbourne have recently received Connected Neighbourhood Small Grants:

• HEALING MINDS THROUGH MUSIC - Healing Mind through Music aims to collaborate with Paving The Way Forward, Co Health, Chinese Elderly Dancing Group and Vietnamese Elderly Association in North Melbourne to bring elderly people of all backgrounds together, to help people to improve mental health by healing the mind, body, and soul.
• Removing Barriers to Education - River Nile Learning Centre (RNLC) students are all newly arrived refugee and asylum seeker women who struggle to survive on limited or no welfare payments. The grant will be used to purchase Myki’s for participants in English language classes at our learning centre in North Melbourne.

Projects from other neighbourhoods include:

• Growing Stronger Communities Together - This project aims to provide a new outdoor gathering and bbq space at the Kensington housing estate.
• The Creative Youth Coding Program - This project is aimed at providing outcomes for children (aged 11-12) in the City North area where there is currently limited low-cost weekend programming for children and young people.
• Book Club - This is a unique idea to bring together diverse groups of women in the CBD neighbourhood to support each other and learn together about financial and business skills.
• Docklands Primary School End of Year Celebration - This project is aimed at bringing together the Docklands community, beyond the school community, for a concert and celebration.
• Carlton High Rise Elder Citizens project - This project aims at increasing community connection for older men living in the Carlton Housing Estate.
• Unity makes Community East Melbourne - This project aims to be an event inclusive of all the community to encourage post pandemic re-connection and assist residents to get their bicycles running again in a community setting.
• Baby Wearing Boogie - This event will help new parents in the COM connect with others, move their bodies, have some fun and enrich their babies lives with new sensory experiences.
• Community Cooking Club - The Community Cooking Club will meet weekly at Carlton PS to plan recipes, budget for shopping for the following month. Meals will be cooked and shared by participants with participants leading the program. Participants will be encouraged and supported to set up a fortnightly school lunch program, become involved in site activities including community events involving food. The grant will be used to purchase a fridge/freezer for use by Community Cooking Club, healthy lunch program and other programs at Carlton PS. To be used to store fresh/frozen produce for community/school programs and food from Foodbank.
• Growing Kensington's Community Food Forest Together - Growing Kensington’s Community Food Forest Together will rebuild a team of volunteers to refresh this newly established food garden based on permaculture principles which‍ have both (volunteers and garden) suffered years of decline from COVID lockdowns. A new volunteer team will help to restore and maintain the garden’s food abundance for fair share harvesting amongst Kensington Estate’s (former public housing, now 50:50 public private new housing) 2000+ residents and neighbours.
• Celebrate at Yarra's Edge: The Docklands Connection - A one off event to bring the community of Docklands together to connect and showcase: local talent, businesses and government services. The event will be held at Shed 21, 206 Lorimer Street Docklands on Saturday 26 November, 12pm - 3pm. This will also help to reactivate the site. We have approached a number of organisations to determine interest in the event eg. Development Victoria, Mirvac, various social groups etc.
• Mushroom Growing Workshop Series - The funding will provide access to four mushroom-growing workshops at the Kensington Stockyard Food Garden during 2023. The workshops will provide an opportunity for social connection and community building at the Kensington Stockyard Food Garden where participants will learn how growing mushrooms can be cheap, easy, and a sustainable way to produce their own fresh mushrooms at home and in the community.
• Gardening@33 - Gardening@33 is a social gardening project aimed at facilitating increased social connections between community members, building community resilience, and contributing to greater mental and physical health. This will be achieved through fortnightly sessions involving hands-on gardening alternating with theory-based guest lectures. The project is resident-led, and will build awareness of food systems, growing and cultivating, the importance and function of native plants in our community food garden.
• LITTLE KENSPACE - The DRUM Youth Committee would like to design and furnish a vacant space at the bottom of the Kensington Housing Estate building - has a small room at 56 Derby St corner office space we propose can be used by young people Wednesdays 4-6pm. This $2K funding will be used for items such as a couch, and Xbox and television and some beanbags or similar to upgrade the space.
• East Melbourne Community Christmas Picnic - ‘Building Community Spirit’ is an inclusive Community Picnic to celebrate the festive season and bring our community together. The event will take place on the grounds of Bishops court and residents are invited to bring along a picnic and enjoy an afternoon of music, entertainment, social interaction, and community connection.