Neighbours fight ‘overdevelopment’ of old Windsor Smith site on St Georges Rd, Northcote

NEIGHBOURS of a former shoe factory in Melbourne’s north are crowdfunding to fight against a proposed 10-storey redevelopment next to their single-storey homes.

Neighbours of the old Windsor Smith factory on St Georges Rd are hoping to raise $16,000 to fight an “overdevelopment” of the site at VCAT.

NORTHCOTE residents are passing around a very big hat to raise enough funds to contest a proposed 10-storey development next to single-storey homes on St Georges Road.

The St Georges Road Resident Action Group last month launched a gofundme.com page asking for $16,000 to engage a planning advocate and expert witnesses to fight the proposal at a February Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal hearing.

The proposed development at 195-209 St Georges Road — the former Windsor Smith factory — would include a high-rise with about 170 apartments, eight shops and a supermarket.

Darebin Council knocked back the proposal in June, as it doubled the Darebin Council Design and Development Overlay’s preferred height limit of five storeys for the area.

Action group member Rebecca Passlow said the proposal was a clear overdevelopment of the site.

“This is a very imposing development that really does threaten the very things we love about our community,” she said.

St Georges Road resident Alice Shaheen said her family expected the development to be so disruptive they could be forced to move house.

Neighbour Tim Ellis said the proposed ten-storey height of the development would be “absolutely insane”, and raised concerns with increased traffic congestion.

Darebin Council confirmed the developers would contest the decision at VCAT.

Preston Leader has been unable to contact the site owners, listed as Wortex Pty Ltd in Darebin Council’s June 27 Planning Committee minutes.