Docklands, Victoria - Response and Reception

Response and Reception

The planning of Docklands has raised a large amount of public debate and the area has created significant controversy, particularly the failed Ferris wheel.

In 1999, Melbourne City Council Director of Projects criticised the disconnection of the precinct to the CBD, claiming that the lack of transport links, particularly pedestrian, meant Docklands was "seriously flawed".

The problem was exacerbated in 2005, when the pedestrian link between Lonsdale Street and Docklands proposed in 2001 was cut from the final design of the Southern Cross Station development due to budget blowouts.

In 2006, Royce Millar of The Age referred to it as a "wasted opportunity".

In 2008, the City of Melbourne released a report which criticised Docklands' lack of transport and wind tunnel effect, lack of green spaces and community facilities.

In 2009, Neil Mitchell wrote for The Age declaring Docklands as a planning "dud". The Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, has been openly critical of Docklands, claiming in 2009 that it lacks any form of "social glue".

However despite the local criticism, in 2009, Sydney travel writer Mal Chenu described Melbourne Docklands as "the envy of Sydneysiders".

In 2010, VicUrban's general manager David Young acknowledged that Harbour Esplanade "doesn't stack up". Kim Dovey, professor of architecture and design at the University of Melbourne, added that Harbour Esplanade was "too big" and claimed that Docklands was "so badly done" that it required a "major rethink".

The Docklands area has come under heavy criticism for the failure to provide a school with families being forced out of the area or needing to commute to state schools already under pressure from the critical shortage of schools in the inner suburbs. Currently Docklands nearest school is the privately owned Melbourne City School.