Mont Albert substation to be turned into tiny house

It’s smaller than some garages and will have “basically no private open space”, but this disused Mont Albert electrical substation will soon be someone’s house. Here’s what you’ll find inside.

The building at 16A Victoria Crescent in February. Picture: Andrew Batsch

A disused eastern suburbs electrical substation is set to be converted into one of Melbourne’s smallest houses.

VCAT has approved a plan for the minute brick building — which covers the entire 33sq m of Mont Albert’s 16A Victoria Crescent — to be transformed into a double-storey, one-bedroom home.

The existing structure, which is about 6.45m by 4.67m, will be renovated to contain a living space, kitchenette, powder room, shower and staircase, while its front wall will be recessed to make space for a porch, where the house’s rubbish and recycling bins will be stored.

A house at 16 Victoria Crescent is being built centimetres from the disused substation.

A second-storey extension will include a bedroom, a balcony and the stairwell.

The future house is just centimetres from a double-story house going up at 16 Victoria Crescent, and will not include windows on the northern or eastern sides to maintain its neighbours’ privacy.

The tribunal’s decision to grant a permit for the conversion on September 26 came after Whitehorse Council refused to do so in March, arguing the plans did not fit with the neighbourhood’s character and would not provide acceptable amenity for residents.

Councillor Blair Barker said he was surprised and disappointed to hear of the “crazy” decision.

Whitehorse Council rejected the owner’s planning application in March.

“Allowing development on a tiny site of around 30sq m with basically no private open space is extraordinary and one hopes does not signal a precedent,” he said.

“I’m all for innovative land use and affordable housing, but this seems crazy.

“It’s taking the tiny house revolution to a whole new level. My garage is bigger than that.”

He said street parking on Victoria Crescent was already under pressure from people working and shopping on nearby Whitehorse Rd, and allowing a new dwelling without any parking would “dismay” residents.

But the tribunal found the plans to repurpose the old building reflected a “high quality, responsive” design, saying the “contemporary, minimalist” plans complemented the station’s architecture while fitting in with the neighbourhood character and landscape.

A home has been built around a disused substation on Saxton St in Box Hill North.

Tribunal member Sarah McDonald said the “modest” 1.5m increase in the station’s height would respect the streetscape, while the view of the building would be obscured by the tree growing on the nature strip in front of the structure.

“The proposal will sit comfortably in the neighbourhood,” she said.

The tribunal was concerned with the building’s lack of private open space, and ordered the size of the bedroom be reduced to make way for a 1.6m-wide balcony.

A house has been built around a disused substation on Margaret St in Box Hill North.

According to the planning application, the substation is owned by a Box Hill woman, and the renovations were expected to cost about $95,000 when she first applied for the work in February.

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The substation was bought by the owner for $116,000 on September 14, 2018.

And it’s certainly not the only disused substation still lurking in Whitehorse.

Houses have been built around two other redundant brick stations near Victoria Crescent with one at Margaret St and Saxton St, Box Hill North.