Bayside councillors vote unanimously to fight plans to build 30,000 new homes in it’s wealthy suburbs

Melbourne's wealthy Bayside Council has challenged Premier Jacinta Allan to build high-rises in her own backyard, as tension escalates over plans to transform suburban railway precincts.

A council covering some of Melbourne’s most valuable real estate has slammed the government’s push for high-density development close to railway stations, questioning if the Premier Jacinta Allan would welcome the high-rises in Bendigo electorate.

Bayside council — which covers blue-chip suburbs including North Brighton, Middle Brighton, Sandringham and Hampton — says the government’s Activity Centre Program, which aims to boost housing around railway stations, could flood those suburbs with more than 30,000 new dwellings ruining the area’s “village look and feel”.

Apartments being built close to Sandringham railway station. Picture: Josie Hayden

Councillors voted unanimously to submit their analysis on the government’s expanded Activity Centre Program, which predicted maximum housing numbers should be fewer than half of what the government has proposed.

The council report states: “Any development that will be occurring outside of these four areas will grossly tip the housing capacity significantly above and beyond what is necessary, and what is to be planned for”.

The council also accused the government of a “lack of transparency” claiming it had not released the analysis behind the Activity Centre Program despite requests from council officers earlier this year.

With the government delaying the release of the data, the council ran its own “high-level capacity modelling work” predicting maximum housing numbers should be fewer than half of what the government had proposed.

“The total potential yield for all land within the ‘North Brighton to Sandringham cluster’ and Hampton East is somewhere in the range of 10,765 and 12,875 dwellings,” the analysis showed.

Bayside City Council is arguing that some of the developments in the outer catchments would be more than 800m from train stations, which extends past the government’s goal of 20-minute neighbourhoods. Picture: Bayside City Council

To prevent a glut of housing, the council is arguing any development more than 800m from railway stations extended well past the government’s plan for 20-minute neighbourhoods and should be shrunk.

On Tuesday night, councillor Geoff Leigh labelled the activity centres as “another dumb act from a dumb government”.

Cr Robert Irlicht said “it’s clear (the government) do not represent the community”.

“There has been a clear backlash from the community against these activity centres yet true to form from the Labor government they know better than we know what is best for us,” he said.

North Brighton locals fear Bay St could loose its “village feel” to overdevelopment.

“I just find it really disappointing that in this day and age, in this sort of democracy that we live, that they couldn’t care less what their constituents think.

“Would there be any consideration in the submission to consider an activity centre in the heart of Bendigo?” he said.

Bayside councillor’s questioned whether Premier Jacinta Allan would want 30,000 dwellings in her home of Bendigo. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The council also wants the entire proposed extent of the inner and outer catchments across the four centres scrapped altogether to preserve the “distinct village look and feel of Bayside”.

It is also demanding height limits — up to 12 storeys in each suburb — be reduced to protect the “foreshore environs”, alleging there is “no strategic evidence” supporting the push for apartments of that size.