Melrose Park Urban Renewal (2016-2023)

In 2016, BROOKS was tasked with delivering long-term community consultation over six years for the Melrose Park Urban Renewal. Working closely with PAYCE to ensure the success of the project, our team informed and consulted the diverse community of Melrose Park in a variety of engagement activities to gain their understanding and involve them in the project.

We worked closely with PAYCE to plan the delivery of a number of key community engagement services over a seven-year period, which included:

2500+ hours of face-to-face community engagement
- 25+ stakeholder groups engaged, enabling connections with key stakeholders
- 70+ households in the area engaged via phone, email and face-to-face
- 60+ community stakeholder meetings held
- 10+ Communication channels e.g. Phone line, social media, newsletter
- 8+ Community Information Sessions delivered
- 54+ community events delivered directly or as part of a partnership

The Village Talk

BROOKS created the Village Talk Newsletter, a monthly publication that we developed and distributed in the Melrose Park community to provide updates and news about events, initiatives, and happenings in the community. It aimed to keep residents informed and connected with their neighbours, local government, and community organisations. Typically, this included project updates on the urban renewal, local news and events, community services and resources, and feature stories about the local community.

10 Editions and over 20,000 copies of the Village Talk newsletter were printed and distributed in the Melrose Park Community

Melrose Park Village Talk Winter Edition 2020

Community development initiatives were an important part of BROOKS’ engagement strategy in Melrose Park as they allowed us to build relationships, address community needs, create a positive reputation, and enhance community cohesion. Over the last seven years, we have developed a series of community development initiatives, including;

The Melrose Park Meal Share

The Meal Share which was established in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, delivered free meals to struggling local community members. Working with the young trainees at the Kickstart Cafe, Meal Share was an excellent opportunity to empower young people in a time of need to support the community. By training young people in large-scale catering and delivery, we were able to provide access to healthy and nutritious meals for the whole community.

Meal Share serviced over 400 clients and has delivered 25,000 meals to the people of Melrose Park and surrounding areas.

Melrose Park Meal Share Program delivers free meals to struggling local community members during COVID

The Melrose Park Community Cup

We also developed the Melrose Park Community Cup, an annual event that aims to raise funds and create awareness for local youth focused community groups serving the Melrose Park area. It is one of the most successful events facilitated by PAYCE in partnership with the Melrose Park Community Group. All funds generated through the sale of sponsorships are shared between the six organisations.

The community group includes six organisations that have come together as one, raising over $500,000 for Melrose Park community groups.

Melrose Park Community Group celebrates raising over $500,000 at its annual Community Cup event

“This is one of our favourite events of the year. It’s got such a vibrancy. And the fact that you’re bringing together different organisations together, who don’t normally work side-by-side, is something very special. They experience a great sense of camaraderie in that they’re working together to support the local community.” Karen Waud, Melrose Park Community Group Representative