Christmas wishes: Amanda Forsythe

Amanda Forsythe says 2014 has been an interesting and challenging year, with many new projects and developments for Melville.

At the beginning of the year, consultations were held on the City’s proposed densification of the Empire-Perth Road corridor along the BRT route.

“Thanks to the active participation of many community members, we managed to make our concerns heard and to a large extent, these were incorporated into the revised plans,” she said.

According to Forsythe, Melville is no longer targeted for densification.

“I am hoping that we will be able to use Melville’s status as a feeder area for the corridor to motivate for road resurfacing, improved pavements and other much-needed infrastructure upgrades.”

Another success for Melville was The Fête de la Musique, which was held in June.

“It is an event that attracts visitors from all over Johannesburg and even further afield, and continues to be a great marketing tool for the suburb. I have no doubt that many of the fabulous new establishments in Melville were in some way inspired by the wonderful atmosphere it creates and the type of foot traffic it encourages.”

According to Forsythe, Melville now boasts some of the top restaurants and coffee shops in Johannesburg, including The Leopard, The Great Eastern and La Luna.

The site development plan for the 27 Boxes development at Faan Smit Park was also approved this year and many believe that it will become a great attraction, bringing even more new customers and visitors to the Melville business node.

Much has been done over the past few months to improve and market the Melville Business node.

“The Melville Business Association (MBA), which I started two years ago, is now a completely independent body, making a very positive impact in the suburb. Thanks to Clyde Terry and the MBA committee we can look forward to another Christmas market on 6 December, which will include the rehanging of our Christmas lights in 7th Street. I would like to thank for all their efforts in this regard.”

Forsythe thanks the Melville Resident’s Association and the Melville Sector Crime Forum for their continued efforts to defend and protect the suburb.

“Crime has increased all over Gauteng and has been a subject of great concern in Melville, particularly after the very tragic death of Thulane Popoyi. All the community organisations have been involved in pushing for better security and law enforcement in the suburb and we are hoping to soon have cameras up in the suburb through the Melville Security Initiative. I would like to thank those policemen and -women, as well as our security companies, who try very hard to keep us safe.

“As we continue to see the positive effects of our recent Visible Service Delivery campaign, I would like to appeal to both businesses and residents to pick up where the City has left off and continue to clean up and beautify our suburb.”

Forsythe also thanked residents and businesses who contribute to the suburb by logging service delivery issues and sharing inspiring ideas on the community WhatsApp groups and the ‘I love Melville’ facebook page.

“I look forward to interacting with you and working together again in the New Year. I wish you all a very safe and peaceful festive season,” she concluded.