Calls for investment to infrastructure as pressure builds on public transport hub

SOUTH Yarra’s Forrest Hill Precinct has only seen the start of high rise development, with fears the influx of new residents will place further pressure on stressed local infrastructure.

South Yarra station is Melbourne’s busiest station outside the City Loop. Picture:Rob Leeson.

SOUTH Yarra’s Forrest Hill Precinct has only seen the start of high rise development, with fears the influx of new residents will place further pressure on stressed local infrastructure.

The concerns come as a new 26-floor building containing 268 apartments is slated for Claremont St, next to the aged and busy South Yarra railway station.

Yarra One, which received a planning permit in April last year, is higher than Stonnington Council’s preferred building height for the street, which is 50 metres.

It is also dwarfed by the nearby Capitol Grand development, which sits on the old Fun Factory site and features two towers, one stretching up to 50 levels high.

The council tried to block the Capitol Grand project, but the developers won building approval in 2015 after they took the case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Stonnington chief executive Warren Roberts said Forrest Hill, which is the area bounded by Toorak Rd, Chapel St, Alexandra Ave and Yarra St in South Yarra, was zoned for higher density development, and the council expected to receive further planning applications similar in scale to Yarra One.

A picture of the Yarra One development to be built on Claremont St, South Yarra. Picture: supplied

Prahran state Greens MP Sam Hibbins said investment needed to be made to infrastructure to ensure it continued to serve the community’s needs.

And opposition planning spokesman David Davis said Yarra One reflected “the massive intensity” of development in the area.

Minister for Transport Jacinta Allan announced $2 million to develop a business case to revitalise the station last month.

But the Government has consistently rejected a push by Stonnington Council, Liberal and Greens politicians to include it as a stop on its new rail project, saying it would be too costly and of little benefit to the community.

CBRE’s managing director of residential projects Andrew Leoncelli, who is managing sales for Yarra One, said the developer, EcoWorld Salcon Y1 Pty Ltd, would put the entrance for the car park on Daly St in an effort to limit traffic congestion in Claremont St.

Plans for the building also included 179 basement car parks for residents, reducing the project’s impact on parking in nearby streets, he said.

“The Forrest Hill precinct has been an extremely important strategic decision for Stonnington Council to provide high-density activity in South Yarra,” he said.