Many in the local community have expressed serious concerns about the consultation process. Local people are keen to see the possible design options and to understand the constraints on them, to ensure the best outcomes are achieved and any potentially negative impacts are managed. The process thus far has not engendered confidence in the community that the potentially positive impacts of the project for the people of Coburg and Brunswick will be fully realised.
— Community Vision Document
On 25 May 2019, 70 members of the local community attended a meeting held at Coburg Library between 1-3pm. The meeting was called in response to the LXRP Drop-In sessions and was advertised on social media (a variety of Facebook groups active in Brunswick, Coburg and beyond, email groups and Twitter), council’s website, leafleting at stations, the Upfield Shared User Path and other informal channels.
The meeting was run as a semi-structured workshop facilitated by members of the local community. In the first hour, in a single large group, participants expressed their main concerns based on what they had seen and heard at the LXRP Drop-in session, which was distilled into five broad areas of focus.
In the second half of the workshop, participants gathered in five groups to brainstorm solutions to the problems identified earlier. Respectful and robust discussions were held, where all people were encouraged to be heard and listened to. A safe environment was created to allow for creativity, disagreement and dispute resolution.
The result of this community facilitated meeting was a 13 page consensus statement containing a community vision for the Upfield Corridor, which was then presented to the LXRP at their ‘consultation’ on Tuesday 28 May 2019.
Upfield Corridor Coalition 