Like most people, the Drysdale & Clifton Springs Community Association (DCSCA) has had a busy year! We continue to encourage local people to express their views on local issues and we've responded to their concerns, but we've made a special effort to involve more local people in our activities. For example, we are exploring collaboration with local schools and youth organizations; our public meeting on December 2 about local shopping attracted 100 people and we're planning another in March 2010 about local transport; we've initiated a quarterly print/electronic newsletter; and we've just launched our 'blog', Dryclift Days (http://drycliftdays.blogspot.com/).This year, DCSCA has worked hard to encourage the City of Greater Geelong to improve its public communication and consultation processes. We participated in Council-run public meetings about reshaping Drysdale town centre and yet - like many local residents - we believe that the final proposals fail to reflect the range of local views and ideas. We are concerned that the Council's 2009 Structure Plan for the area does not reflect the range of local views that an earlier draft attracted; and that its vision of future business and employment is limited to a few more shops and some tourist accommodation. These won't provide the high-skill, high-wage jobs that offer young people real alternatives to commuting to Geelong or Melbourne.
These experiences led DCSCA to propose improvements to the Council's public consultation processes and to circulate them to councillors and to other associations. We also initiated Bellarine 10-20 - a community review of the Council's Bellarine Strategic Plan, to be convened in 2010 by the Affiliation of Bellarine Community Associations.
Finally, DCSCA has started to plan a Drysdale Festival of Glass! This major social and cultural event brings together art, craft and industry in late 2010. To find out more, see the separate posting - 'A Drysdale Festival of Glass'.
Happy Christmas and New Year!
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