By REBECCA BILLS
PROJECT Upwey members are blown away by the community’s response to the Upwey Community Conversation and Workshop.
Last Monday, more than 140 community residents and members came together, sharing hundreds of ideas facilitated by Peter Kenyon from Bank I.D.E.A.S at Upwey’s Community Hall.
Project Upwey leaders and event organisers Michelle Johnson and Andrew Fullagar said it was wonderful to see such community commitment towards achieving a positive future for the town.
“It’s so great seeing people come together not in the face of adversity or an issue, but to come together in such a positive way to move forward as a town,” Ms Johnson said.
“There was a really strong sense of community and a need for people to connect.”
Mr Fullagar said in general there seemed to be a sense that the theme of community was falling away and that volunteering was a dying art, but this meeting exemplified that there was a huge nucleus of people who wanted to be a part of working together for the community.
“We could see barriers being broken down and people beginning to really work together,” he said.
“We are now busily working together as a community to collate all the information from the night to get the projects going.”
Councillor Noel Cliff said he was absolutely blown away from the response from Upwey residents who attended the evening.
“I saw an incredible cross-section of the community there,” he said.
“This is the best turn up I’ve seen for people taking an interest in their immediate community.
“In the past there have been attempts to get the community involved, but it’s never really fired, this one fired.”
Cr Cliff described residents flocking to the Upwey Hall as an avalanche with over 600 ideas being discussed across the board.
“Council says we work for the community, but I never see enough of the community at consultation meetings that we hold,” he said.
“This meeting, now that’s what I call a community consultation.
“This is how I get to find out what residents want and I can now help where I can to ensure the community gets what it wants.”
Mr Fullagar said in the near future they wanted to commence some of the short-term projects that were discussed to capitalise on the success of the night.
For those who could not attend the meeting, but still want to connect and stay up-to-date with projects in Upwey, email projectupwey@outlook.com or ‘like’ Project Upwey on Facebook.
“We are now in the process of collating all the ideas together so we can meet again with those who put their hands up to lead the projects to get the ball rolling,” Ms Johnson said.
