As one of Western Australia’s most sought after residential addresses, the City of Melville is located eight kilometres southwest of Perth CBD. The City has a population of just under 99,800 people, and this is expected to increase to 107,000 by 2015.
Some of Melville’s many attractions include the Heathcote Museum and Gallery, Point Walter golf course, Wireless Hill Telecommunications Museum, Piney Lakes Environmental Education Centre (an innovative education centre set in an urban bushland setting, showcasing the latest in renewable energy technologies and sustainable building design), and major shopping centres. This is in addition to the City’s 18 kilometres of river foreshore and 24 reserves containing natural bushland.
 Raffles Hotel on the Applecross foreshore near Canning Bridge. |
Planning for the future
The City of Melville has significant developments on the books and is planning for its future as an exciting key urban centre.
Council aims to continue to evolve and achieve appropriate development and growth in and near commercial areas and along activity corridors, while keeping the amenity and feel of the City.
Mayor Russell Aubrey said one such development is a planning study of the Canning Bridge Precinct. Council is working with the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC)/Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the City of South Perth on the project.
“The planning study’s purpose is to consider the creation of a vibrant activity centre at the bus and rail interchange at Canning Bridge in the medium to longterm, based on Transit Oriented Design principles,” Mayor Aubrey said.
“It is planned that the draft report resulting from this study will be advertised for public comment in July.
“Another major development is the Murdoch Precinct. Featuring the Western Australian Government’s $1.76 billion Fiona Stanley Hospital and ancillary facilities, this precinct will become a major activity centre in the State.
“In the long term, it will have some 30,000 people living and working in the area, which is equivalent to the whole of the City of Fremantle’s population.
“Additionally, Council staff are currently finalising a draft Local Planning Strategy 2008–2023 for endorsement by Council and the WAPC.
“The Local Planning Strategy will be the key strategic urban planning document for the City and will complement the new Melville Local Planning Scheme No. 6.
“The strategy is intended to provide a longterm vision for sustainable planning that integrates diverse issues such as residential densities, activity centres and corridors, community hubs, transport corridors, and environmental resources.”
The City of Melville’s redevelopment of an old primary school site into a vibrant community hub was given a boost in May, with the announcement of $2.6 million in Federal Government funding.
The funding comes from the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program – Strategic Projects.
Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia, Gary Gray, announced the funding at an onsite meeting, which was attended by Mayor Russell Aubrey, along with other key proponents of the project.
Mayor Aubrey said that partnerships between different spheres of government are essential in helping to realise the aspirations of local communities.
“The City of Melville greatly appreciates the Federal Government’s contribution to this significant project, which we expect to be an attractive, safe and accessible open space for the whole of the City and the region,” he said.
CEO Dr Shayne Silcox said the funding will help progress the project, which includes an iconic public open space with landscaped gardens, a playground and natural bushland areas.
“We are keen to progress the various phases of the project, which will take approximately 18 to 24 months to complete,” he said. “This project is essential for the City to achieve its vision of providing the community with high quality public open space, which has been identified as lacking in this area.
“With demolition of old buildings having already occurred, a majority of the Federal funding is to be spent on major site preparation, earth works and construction of the playground and parkland.
“The completion of these stages will give the community full use of the playground, picnic facilities, toilets, car park, bushland and parkland. The latter stages of the project will include mass planting.”
The City of Melville is one of several Local Governments in Western Australia working towards international standards of accreditation in areas including the environment, safety, quality and customer service.
The City has also received the Gold Diligence in Safety Award, which is based on AS/NZ 4801:2001, for its efforts in Occupational Health and Safety.
Melville CEO, Dr Shayne Silcox, said that simply put, this ongoing process involves looking at the business’ operational priorities and formulating plans to improve in those areas.
“We need to ask ourselves ‘where are the gaps?’ and reduce any risks to improve our business and ensure we are doing the best job we possibly can,” he said.
In the area of customer service, Melville recently achieved certification from the Customer Service Institute of Australia (CSIA) in line with the International Customer Service Standard (ICSS 2003 – 2006).
Earlier this year, a CSIA assessment team spent two days onsite at Council’s buildings to undertake a process that resulted in gaining the certification.
The assessment forms part of Council’s Best Practice Journey.
“High quality customer service is something that the City values in its employees, and we will not be resting on our laurels,” Dr Silcox said.
“This process has set one of the foundation stones to help us move forward in the area of customer service and business excellence. It has provided us with improvements to drive the organisation forward.
“It is satisfying to have achieved this goal, and we are confident that accreditation in other areas will be forthcoming.”
