Dear all

At our next General Meeting on Monday 25^th August, our guest speaker is Hon. Dr. Barry Jones, AO, FAA, FAHA, FTSE, FRSA, FRSV, FAIM. Barry is a writer, broadcaster and former Labor politician. Barry’s topic will be “Australia and World Heritage: the push to inscribe cultural sites.” Barry has many claims to fame and accolades as reflected in his many awards. There are a few facts that you may be unfamiliar with including:

· the naming of Barry Jones Bay in the Australian Antarctic Territory and Yalkaparidon jonesi, a rare extinct family of marsupials.

· His book Sleepers, Wake!: Technology and the Future of Work (1982), having been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Swedish and braille, is now in its 26th impression.

· He was a member of the Executive Board of UNESCO in Paris 1991-95, Vice President, World Heritage Committee 1995-96 and a consultant for OECD. He is a member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and was Vice President of Australia ICOMOS 1998-2000; 2002- .

· In February 1998 he was Deputy Chair of the Constitutional Convention and also chaired the Corowa People's Conference in December 2001.

· In 1998 he became a 'Living National Treasure'; one of 100 people nominated by the National Trust as Australian icons and received a John Curtin Medal in 2001.

· And of course Barry is a frequent visitor to Carlton: often sighted in Readings and Brunettis deep in conversation.

We have invited Barry to speak on World Heritage with a keen interest to hear how the nomination of the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens is progressing.

The General Meeting will begin at 7.30pm with a business meeting, followed by Barry’s presentation at 8pm. All are welcome. We have also invited a speaker from the Office of the Ministry of Housing to brief our business meeting on progress on the redevelopment of the Housing Estates and Queen Elizabeth site. Please note that entrance to the Kathleen Syme Centre will be through the glass doors at the back of the building from Cardigan Street, rather than from Faraday Street.

On the same day as our General Meeting, Part 2 of the Eastern Precinct VCAT Appeal will begin and run from 25^th August to 12 September (except Fridays). The following people will make presentations on behalf of the Association: MEMBERS’ REPORTS: Sue Chambers Overview; George Tibbits Neighbourhood Character & Urban Design; Don Chambers Heritage; Peter Sanders Planning & Urban Design & Amenity; MEMBERS David Aitken; David Bartlett; Marilyn Behenna; Ian Bird; Greta Bird; Lee Bradshaw; Anna Duran; Warren Green; Helen Macnamara; Michael Moylan; Mark Ridgeway; CARLTON COMMUNITY Mark Rubbo, Director, Readings Book Shop; OTHER RESIDENT ASSOCIATIONS Ray Cowling, President, North & West Melbourne Association Inc.; Tim Todhunter, President, Parkville Association Inc.; EXPERT WITNESSES: Allan Willingham Heritage; Jim Holdsworth Planning & Urban Design; Philip Goad Design; Bruce Echberg Urban Character, Built Form & Landscape. We expect our evidence will take four days to present and have cross-examined. The Hearing is open to the public and is held at 55 King Street from 10am to 1pm and 2 to 4.30pm. If you are interested to attend and want to know who is likely to be presenting, contact us at 9349 1558. More details of the presentations can be seen on our website at www.carltonresidents.org.au

There have been some favourable recent decisions at VCAT which we are pleased about, particularly a review of the Minister’s decision on a development at 420 Spencer Street. The plan was refused on the grounds that the planning scheme did not provide clear guidance. This ground is very relevant to the Eastern Precinct case. However there is a long way to go in the presentation of our evidence. We will let you know how we are going. Thanks to those who distributed AND are displaying the “Save Carlton” posters. They do provide an easily recognizable sign that the Carlton neighbourhood opposes the proposed development.

C60 Amendment: I have been working on a Coalition of Residents Association's submission to a Panel which is hearing submissions in the week beginning the 18^th August. Our submission will be heard on the 21^st. There appears to be an unclear relationship between the proposed Municipal Strategic Statement, the Melbourne Planning Scheme zones, design and development overlays and heritage overlay, and the Lygon Street Activity Centre proposed in the Melbourne 2030 Strategy. If there is no consistency reached across these planning controls and strategic directions, we can expect more VCAT cases for new developments in Carlton.

NCCCS Report: The Northern Central City Corridor Study Draft Report was released this week. It is available on the DOI website at http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/ . The approach relies on extensive research on the impact of different strategies to manage the increase in car traffic expected if no changes are made. The main finding was that although the car volume can be held at about the same level as today, this will only be achieved IF there is an increase in public transport use, particularly for commuter traffic.

· Three strategies were on a par for achieving this outcome, but with very different price tags: two versions of DART (Doncaster Area Rapid Transit) with either a light rail ($230 million) or a heavy rail ($610 million) solution; and an east-west tunnel connecting the Eastern and Tullamarine Freeways ($810 million). It was recommended that a further feasibility study for a DART solution should be conducted. This will be very relevant to the Carlton area since the city end of the link may either go down Nicholson Street or along Elgin Street and down Swanston Street. There is bound to be discussion about the surface impact of a major link through Carlton. The feasibility of an extension of the City Loop to Carlton was not mentioned in the report, but could be considered in further discussion on the DART link at the Carlton end of the route.

· Other recommendations in the NCCCS draft report include improved integrated public transport (tram and bus) in the inner north;

· a functional road hierarchy (it is pleasing to see Rathdowne Street retain its connector status rather than an upgrade to an arterial road);

· review of car parking (rationalize permit availability to match on-street parking spaces, more permit-only areas, increase permit prices)

· emphasis on short-term CBD car parking; reduce park-and-ride schemes near the CBD such as the Melbourne Museum),

· improve cycling network (priority to Alexandra Parade-College Crescent route, Nicholson, Lygon and Swanston Streets),

The package of initiatives needs to be implemented as a whole to gain the predicted outcomes. Submissions in response to the NCCCS Draft Strategy should be sent to DOI before early November.

Ian Bird and I have represented the Association on the Community Reference Group which consisted of community representatives, Councillors, Council and Department of Infrastructure Officers, institutional and traffic stakeholders, and experts responsible for the research and technical input to the project. The process was constructive and consultative with much goodwill. There was quite a delay in the launch of the draft strategy, but it is now open for public comment, and by the next budget round it is to be hoped that implementation of the strategy will start to be funded. This is more likely to happen if people in the inner-north lobby to have funds allocated. The Committee is interested in members' responses as input to our formal submission.

Argyle Square: Two more meetings are being held regarding the brief for the surface redevelopment of the northern part of Argyle Square. As a result, it is expected that a draft will be available for public consultation by October. The two givens are that the south section of the park will remain as is, and the name Argyle Square will remain.

Carlton Parking and Access Study: The eagerly awaited Parking and Access plan for Carlton is expected to be presented to the MCC Planning Committee on Thursday 4th September. Not an easy plan to manoeuvre through the stakeholders interested in parking their car, their visitor's car, other peoples' cars clogging the neighbourhood etc. It will be very interesting to see the recommendations.

BREAKING NEWS!

Carlton History: We now have a LAUNCH DATE:

Monday March 1st 2004

More news on details ASAP.