Latest articles by Jon Fleetwood
East Melbourne hailed as “extraordinary” heritage suburb as council moves to tighten protections
East Melbourne’s heritage is a step closer to receiving stronger safeguards, with the City of Melbourne voting to pursue interim and permanent planning controls based on a major new heritage review.
Read More
Citywide posts higher revenue but overall loss as major divestments reshape operations
The City of Melbourne–owned company Citywide Service Solutions has posted a mixed financial result for 2024–25, recording higher revenue from its core Victorian operations while undergoing major structural changes, including the sale of its Waste Management division.
Read More
Council claims $80m boost from Melbourne’s largest-ever Asia trade mission
The City of Melbourne has reported significant economic and diplomatic outcomes from its largest-ever business delegation to North Asia, with councillors returning from a two-week mission across China and Japan claiming tens of millions of dollars in projected trade and investment benefits.
Read More
City’s $2 Pool Splash to make a summer comeback with more free lessons
The City of Melbourne’s $2 Pool Splash initiative will return this summer, slashing weekday casual pool entry fees to just $2 across selected city pools in January.
Read More
Heritage overhaul to protect East Melbourne’s post-war and postmodern icons
The City of Melbourne is moving to strengthen heritage protections across East Melbourne, with more than 100 properties to be reassessed under a sweeping new review that expands recognition beyond Victorian and Edwardian architecture.
Read More
Council moves to lock in eight pocket parks across the city
Eight long-standing community parks across the City of Melbourne will be officially recognised and protected as public open space.
Read More
Residents divided over East Melbourne traffic works
A wave of new zebra crossings and speed humps rolling out across East Melbourne has divided the community, with some residents calling for the works to stop and others insisting they are long overdue.
Read More
Council backs sale of Haymarket Walk to support infectious disease institute
The City of Melbourne will sell Haymarket Walk to the University of Melbourne, paving the way for the $650 million development of the Australian Institute for Infectious Disease (AIID).
Read More
Future Dreaming exhibition off to a flying start
The Torch’s Future Dreaming exhibition has kicked off to a phenomenal start, with more than half of the artworks already sold.
Read More
City of Melbourne progresses with a review of the Royal Park Master Plan
The City of Melbourne has appointed an architecture firm to review and update the Royal Park Master Plan.
Read More
Carlton to come alive for Shared Futures Festival
As part of RMIT’s plans to develop an Innovation Precinct in Melbourne’s inner city, Carlton will be home to a vibrant street festival for the City North Shared Futures Festival this October.
Read More
Parkville “left out” of Westgate Tunnel traffic mitigation works
Parkville residents have raised concerns that the impact that the West Gate Tunnel project will have on its inner city roads has been overlooked.
Read More
Hundreds of East Melbourne residents call for traffic mitigation works to come to a halt
With a 30 km/h speed limit on the cards and the rollout of new zebra crossings under way in East Melbourne, the leafy suburb is no stranger to traffic mitigation.
Read More
The Torch Gallery’s Future Dreaming exhibition returns
Sean Barker’s artistic journey began in Daly River in the Northern Territory, where he would watch his mother paint when he was a child. However, his journey to behind the canvas was not without its challenges.
Read More
The man behind the East Melbourne Community Choir
Since stepping in as choir director in March, Richard Lawton has brought decades of vocal expertise and breathed new life into the East Melbourne Community Choir.
Read More
Public housing residents already being impacted by relocation
As the first of Melbourne’s public housing towers begin to be vacated, clients are reportedly experiencing distress throughout the process, according to a lawyer involved in the class action appeal.
Read More
Removal of infamous Haymarket “roundabout of death” on the cards
Melbourne’s notorious “roundabout of death” is being considered for removal, following a near decade-long campaign from stakeholders in the Parkville biomedical precinct.
Read More
How La Mama can remain one of the country’s leading cultural institutions
When John Brumpton left the Victorian College of Arts in the late ‘80s, he didn’t know what to do with his spare time.
Read More
East Melbourne Group embarks on VCAT marathon
The East Melbourne Group (EMG) has found itself back at Victoria’s planning tribunal over two developments, which they argue will have adverse effects on the neighbourhood’s amenity and character.
Read More
Concerns raised over whether the council’s animal management plan goes far enough
The City of Melbourne is reviewing its animal management plan, but a leading Royal Park advocacy group is concerned that the proposals do not go far enough to protect native wildlife in the park.
Read More