Community feedback on the Draft Yarra Junction Place Plan
Published on 13 August 2024
Community members are being invited to review and provide feedback on the Draft Yarra Junction Place Plan.
The Place Plan develops a vision, establishes priorities and creates an action plan for the future of Yarra Junction, which is an important service centre in the Upper Yarra.
O’Shannassy Ward Councillor, Jim Child, said that the Place Plan was 12 months in the making, following extensive consultation with the community to help identify the issues and opportunities within Yarra Junction and an understanding of what is valued in the township.
“We have spent a lot of time engaging community to understand what they value and what they would like to see prioritised in Yarra Junction for the future,” Cr Child said.
“We’ve taken their feedback and consolidated it into five priority areas, which have then been workshopped with community representatives to develop the Action Plan that is in this draft.
“The community have really driven the direction of the Plan, so I strongly encourage everyone to take a look over the draft and to provide feedback on what actions we should be prioritising to make Yarra Junction the best place it can be.”
A community reference group for the project was also established, with one of the members Monica Blanchfield having this to say about the experience:
“I really enjoyed being part of the reference group, especially meeting lots of different people from Yarra Junction,” she said.
“A Place Plan is quite a high-level document, but that’s where you need to start before you drill down into the specifics.”
“It’s really important that local people are getting involved, having their say on the future and making their voices heard.”
“We also want to hear from a diverse group of people within the town from all backgrounds, age groups and abilities to ensure that the plan is taking into consideration everyone’s needs.”
“The other exciting outcome from the reference group is that myself and a few others have begun forming a Yarra Junction Community Group, which will look at the wellbeing and prosperity of Yarra Junction going forward.”
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Cr Sophie Todorov, said that given the community had been so invested throughout the consultation process, Council were keen to continue that momentum by releasing the Draft Plan for feedback.
“We’ve received a great deal of feedback throughout the consultation process in a variety of different ways, with 127 contributions being made online, 268 face-to-face interviews and written submissions and contributions from school-aged children and families through workshops,” Cr Todorov said.
The Draft Yarra Junction Place Plan will be open for community feedback until the 8 September 2024.