The following link gives a brief report on these meetings and outlines the eight major questions the group wished to ask the Woolworth’s representatives at the meeting:  Woolworth’s update20oct11

The Group has produced a poster which highlights what is and is not acceptable as development in our local area.  The Association is supportive of the principles underlying this approach to planning: FINAL_RAID Poster

There have been a number of briefings already held but the Association believes that the implications of these Structure Plans for our suburb and community are so profound that we we need to work strongly on raising public awareness of their contents.  They do not conform with our views about how the future of our local area should be managed and  so we need to be clear on what is being recommended and what avenues are available to us to make inputs into their adoption process.

You can view the documents on the plans at the City of Melbourne website.  Please use the following links.

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/getinvolved/StructurePlans/ArdenMacaulay/Pages/ArdenMacaulayStructurePlan.aspx

http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/getinvolved/StructurePlans/CityNorth/Pages/CityNorthStructurePlan.aspx

We encourage all members to attend and please invite any other committed North and West Melbourne people who are interested in our future.

The minutes for the July Meeting will not be circulated until the September Meeting.  The September meeting will also host Kate Greer from Climate Communities, Sustainability Victoria, as a speaker, to follow up on initiatives in the inner area of Melbourne and  on the issues raised in the vertical gardens proposal, which was discussed at the July meeting.

We are inviting all candidates for election to the House of Representatives Seat of Melbourne to participate. Nominations have only just closed.

Please put this date in your diary.

Regards
Kevin Chamberlin
Deputy Chairperson

MEDIA RELEASE 29 JULY 2010

PLANNING CATASTOPHE FOR MELBOURNE AS VC 68 PASSES PARLIAMENT

This morning Planning Minister Madden’s revised Planning Amendment, now re-badged VC 68, was fast tracked through Parliament with the support of the coalition  – Liberals and Nationals – who had,  over the past year,  held out against inducements to approve this toxic planning amendment. (Only the Greens and DLP MP’s stood firm.)  This represents a catastrophe for Melbourne as it will see rezoning of land from rural to residential on the City’s fringe and so extend our notorious urban sprawl. 

Brian Walters SC, President of Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. comments:

” The community opposes these changes. Extension of the urban growth boundary will destroy green wedges, the lungs of Melbourne.  This amendment will take 43,600 hectares out of the western, northern and Cranbourne South green wedges for housing development, freeways and freight terminals. The losses include: 5,000 hectares of environmentally significant Western Basalt Plains grasslands; the grassy woodlands of the Maribyrnong and Merri Creek catchments, with their magnificent red gums; and 4,000 hectares of the South East food-bowl, where highly productive market gardens using recycled water double as Southern Brown Bandicoot habitat.  Our Green Wedges have been sacrosanct for generations. There was no mandate from the people to dispose of this legacy.” 

Julianne Bell Secretary of PPL VIC: points out :

“It is also forecast that extension of the urban growth boundary will result in the creation of numbers of “dormitory” settlements without advance provision of infrastructure and services.  It will greatly increase car dependency with people needing several cars per family and so worsen Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions.  (This is ironic given the Brumby Government’s recent announcement of work to control carbon emissions by the part closure of Hazelwood power station.) Monash University Centre of Population and Social Research forecast that from 1.97 million cars registered in Melbourne in 2006 there will be over 3 million by 2036.  Our city will then be in permanent traffic gridlock.”

Community groups are now waiting for another bombshell from Planning Minister Madden – he is reported to be attempting to put through another planning amendment which will approve high rise (22 stories plus) along tram, bus and light rail routes as a means of accommodating the expected 1.5 million more people in Melbourne by  2036.  This will result in further congestion of the major transport routes and condemn the population of flat dwellers to ill health. (Anyone who lives within 500 metres of a main road is threatened by developing asthma and cardiac-respiratory diseases.) The Brumby Government is fast turning Melbourne into one of the great unliveable cities of the world.

Inquiries: Julianne Bell Mobile 0408 022 408 Brian Walters SC Mobile 0411 020 967

Around thirty local residents of this Roden Street vicinity attended a briefing meeting in the Zagame showroom on Monday, 26 July at 6.00pm.  The meeting, hosted by the Zagame Family and their advisors, outlined the details of their application for the residential development of their very large 5000m site – Remember;  large sites equal extra large developments. The application has been made to the State Department of Planning as the project is over 25000m2 in size.

The project features 259 units             -           119 one bedroom

                                                                        118 two bedroom

                                                                        8 three bedroom

                                                                        Plus a number of multi-storey units facing the streets.

The boundary units are the only part of the development which conforms with the current Design and Development Overlay(DDO) over this area in that they are not over 14 m(4 Stories) in height.  Unfortunately, the main body of units are part of a ten storey ‘boomerang’ spine that stretches from close to the Roden King Streets corner to the middle of the site on the south west boundary ( allowing for a 5m setback) and then parallel with that boundary toward Stanley Street.  It is this ten storey development that is of most concern to the residents.  It is completely out of kilter with the heights that have been traditionally part of this area.  We do not need this sort of Docklands style development in West Melbourne.

Other concerns that come immediately to mind.

1                    If we believe the developers, and we do not have much reason not to, they were strongly encouraged, by both the Council and the State Department of Planning to develop this site to this level of density and height, and possibly even more.  This is our State Government and our Council, so democratic in their image,  that are so clearly working against us as residents.  The up-coming State election in November provides us with the opportunity to test the responsiveness of all candidates, and especially the incumbent ALP, on these matters.  As for the Council, we have been dudded by both the Kennett and Bracks/Brumby Governments who ensured that the Council does not represent us as resident ratepayers.

2                    The developers seem to believe that resident objections are only based on their loss of lines of sight toward the City.  Our concerns are broader than that.  Privacy and overlooking are certainly part of this, but this was trivialised by the developers at the meeting.  We are also concerned that we do not need the shadows cast by these towers denying broad areas to the south access to the sun.  The designers thrive in a planning environment that stipulates all shadow diagrams should be done at the equinox and ignore the rights of others who are overshadowed badly through the winter months around the June solstice.  This project shows commendable commitment to using solar energy on its rooves.  However,

• How many other sites are they disadvantaging through the shadows that they create, unless they go higher and higher. 
• How many lines of sight will also be lost by this wasteful competition?
• And what about aesthetics?  What ugliness and bulk do we have to look at on a daily basis! 
• What congestion do we have to tolerate on the streets and in the shops?  There are not enough car parks on site for one for each unit.

3                    When placed under some resistance to their plan, the developers threatened to ignore the residents and plough ahead with the support of the Department of Planning and the Council.  They claimed they did not have to brief us.  They did not concede that this proposal would have benefitted, had they consulted with residents before the plans were prepared.  When questioned, they stated that they would not compromise on height.

•  When will the locals have some constructive say in the future development of the ‘community’ in which they live?

4    The orientation of the high rise does not utilise the northerly aspect in an efficient way.

Where to Now?

The developers agreed to inform all participants who provided their email and postal addresses of where they could access a copy of the plans.

Future Action

1        We have a list of email addresses to form the basis of future communication

2        We need to clarify the right to object and the process we must follow with the Department of Planning.

3        We need to maximise the number of objections and letters to the press and appropriate authorities.

4        We need to work on the Minister’s process for making a decision and try to make it transparent, in terms of how and where the decision is made and the criteria on which it might be based.

5        Do we want to appeal the Department of Planning decision to VCAT, should it go against us, as it may well do?  We will not have the Council’s back to ride on as we did with 87-101 Roden Street.

6        Our activities do need to have as much support as we can generate. Every one must be prepared to pull their weight and provide funds, if necessary.

7        Do we need to exert political pressure especially on Bronwyn Pike as our local member and a senior Minister in the Government that allowed these projects to be taken out of the hands of the Council?

8        Do we wish to organise some public protest meeting/s to let the politicians know what we think of their planning scheme?

9         We also need to consider the future impact on our area of the Council’s new Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) It has the potential to make the planning of this area between Roden Street and Dudley Street much worse in terms of allowing height limits to increase and towers to proliferate.  The developers made indirect reference to these proposed changes in justifying the project.

10    Dare I suggest a meeting to consider these issues?

presumably others in Railway Place) received in the letterbox on

Monday 13 July a further update about the Regional Rail Link. Items of

interest include:

• the two new tracks between Southern Cross Station and Sunshine will

be built at surface level largely within the existing rail corridor

and through the Footscray area

• a new rail bridge will be built over the Maribyrnong River

• there will be new dedicated rail tracks from West Footscray to Sunshine

• existing V-Line track will be used between Sunshine and Deer Park

• some privately held land will need to be acquired for the rail

link’s construction

• major works are expected to begin in 2010

Information sessions are being held at several locations between 15

and 20 July.

Our local one is at North Melbourne Town Hall next

Friday, 16 July, between 3.30 and 7.30pm. Regional Rail Link team members will be in attendance.

The community is encouraged to attend and to provide feedback on the project at the information sessions. There will be feedback forms there. We can also make written submissions by

Thursday 19 August 2010, addressed to:

Mr Corey Hannett, Executive Director

Regional Rail Link

Department of Transport

PO Box 2797

Melbourne Vic 3001

More info from:

W: www.transport.vic.gov.au/rrl

E: rrl@transport.vic.gov.au

P: 1800 107 925

Please disseminate this information to everyone you think should know

about it.

Department of Transport Website www.transport.vic.gov.au

Melbourne Leader: funding plea puts east-west tunnel back on agenda/

Dear PPL VIC members and friends

Here is the reminder notice of Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. AGM 2009. I am sending this out to members and contacts.

Dr Paul Mees is the guest speaker. He has been a great supporter during campaigns opposing the East West Link which would have devastated inner city Melbourne and Royal and JJ Holland Park. Our joint community action helped ensure that the East West Link – the extension of the Eastern Freeway – with its super size road tunnels was deleted (albeit temporarily) from the Victorian Transport Plan. We hope groups can show support for PPL VIC by attending. We would be pleased if you can advertise the meeting amongst your members.

Here are the details of our meeting:

Time: 1:45 pm for a 2 pm start

Date: Saturday 5 December 2009

Venue: Meeting Room 1 Upstairs North Melbourne Library 66 Errol Street North Melbourne. It is one building along from the Town Hall and Post Office on the south east corner of Errol and Queensberry Streets. Tram up Elizabeth Street from Flinders Street Station to Errol Street. Parking in surrounding streets. Disabled parking in front of Library.

Guest Speaker: Dr Paul Mees, senior lecturer in transport planning at RMIT, will speak on “The Cars that Ate Melbourne” – Public Transport Solutions for the State.” Stay for afternoon tea and make contact with other groups, including transport action groups.

Background Note: See below link to Dr Mees’ Age article of 22 November 2009 “We can keep our leafy suburbs and still save the planet”. This was presented on 18 November as a paper at a “State of Australian Cities” Conference in Perth. His book “Transport for Suburbia: Beyond the Automobile Age” will be released in December.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/we-can-keep-our-leafy-suburbs-and-still-save-the-planet-20091122-isqz.html

Contact: Julianne Bell Secretary Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. jbell5@bigpond.com Mobile 0408022408

Regards

Julianne Bell

Secretary

Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc.

26 November 2009