Elsternwick residents to stage rally in latest move against Woolworths high-rise plan
Elsternwick residents will stage a public protest to fight Woolworths’ controversial plan for a retail and apartment tower. And the supermarket giant is tight-lipped about whether high-rise property development is a key focus for their future.
Inner South
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Scores of angry neighbours are expected to rally at the Elsternwick site of a planned Woolworths apartment development this weekend.
The retail giant has pursued plans for two apartment towers with a ground-floor supermarket and other shops for nearly two years.
And Woolworths is remaining tight-lipped about whether high-rise property development is a key focus for the future, as they fight to get the towering Elsternwick complex approved.
Their latest amended plan, for two towers at 10 and 14 storeys high, has attracted 115 objections, and spurred plans for this weekend’s rally.
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Glen Eira Council will then make a decision on Febuary 5, 23 months after Woolies snapped up the former ABC building on Selwyn St for $45 million in March 2017.
Woolworths has been attempting to get the green light for the soaring mixed-use towers ever since.
Woolies are also powering ahead with a controversial 300-apartment two-tower development in Arden Garden North Melbourne, expected to open early this year after VCAT quashed community opposition and ruled the proposal would “lead the way” for the urban renewal.
But when the Leader questioned Woolworths property development manager Martin Lohan about future direction, he declined to reveal details on on how many other high-rise stores were planned for 2019, or what the retail giant were spending on property development.
Mr Lohan said the company was always looking for new opportunities to build more stores.
“Some of these locations align with areas of population growth and this has seen a shift towards mixed used developments in these cases,” he said.
Woolies resubmitted plans late last year following 115 objections, to include a community centre, increase setbacks and include a brick exterior.
But Stop Elstenwick Towers lead campaigner Karen Boyd-Jones said the changes did not go far enough and feared it would set a “dangerous precedent” for the leafy suburb.
Ms Boyd-Jones, who said she would consider selling her house and moving elsewhere if it goes ahead, said the main concerns included height and scale, traffic congestion, parking, loss of heritage, and overshadowing on nearby houses.
She said Woolworths’ own traffic report had stated there would be 5000 cars travelling to the site every day, plus 112 semi-trailer trips on the nearby residential roads per week.
“These are our homes, our little castles, and these towers are an invasion on the village feel and we’ll live in shadow,” Ms Boyd-Jones said.
“Lives are going to change and it reminds me of The Castle — fighting against a giant and not knowing if you can win.”
Ms Boyd-Jones said even if they couldn’t stop the development, they were desperate to get it reduced down to six storeys or less.
“We feel we can’t not do anything because this will have such an impact on overshadowing and overlooking,” she said.
Glen Eira Council will consider the revised plans at its February 5 meeting. The rally will be at 10:30am this Saturday in Selwyn St Elsternwick.
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