Furious residents slam development proposal for 109 Victoria St, Seddon

Almost a year to the day since planning approval was granted for an 11-storey monolith in Buckley St, Seddon, locals have a new fight on their hands after “crazy” plans were lodged for a seven- storey development in Victoria St.

An artist’s impression of the seven storey building proposed for 109 Victoria St, Seddon. Picture: Supplied

A multi-million residential and commercial development planned for Seddon is slated to bring an environmental focus to Melbourne’s west.

But residents are rallying to block the proposal, which they say is too big for the site.

Dubbed a “hybrid house” by developer Vlad Kennedy, the seven-storey mixed use tower proposed for 109 Victoria St would include three commercial premises on the ground floor as well as 19 residential units in the upper levels.

No onsite parking is included — Mr Kennedy said he would buy electric scooters and bicycles for residents to own and use instead.

Increased ventilation throughout the building would also completely eliminate the need for airconditioning, he said, and help offset Co2 emissions.

“Residents will feel a sense of community in this building (with) shared laundry, roof top gardens and vegetable plots,” Mr Kennedy said.

“It’s a concept which is leading the way in energy efficiency and carbon output.

“We’re actually trying to lead the way in the west.”

Seddon’s Rachel Dann, who’s called the suburb home for 16 years, said the sheer height of the proposal meant it would tower over everything in the street.

Rachel, who prefers gender neutral pronouns, said developers saw Seddon as “ripe for the picking” due to its public transport links and location near the city and shops.

But the suburb’s liveability was in danger of being eroded if development was left unchecked.

“I’m not anti-development at all, I think development is important but I think a development needs to be considered and measured,” Rachel said.

“(With developers) it’s about pushing the limits so it’s easier for other developers to build similarly big or bigger buildings.”

The development proposal comes almost a year to the day after developers won planning approval at VCAT to build an 11-storey residential tower at the site of Seddon’s old bus depot at 43-57 Buckley St.

Locals fiercely fought the project at the time but lost.

And Seddon’s Andrew Talbot told the Leader the council and the tribunal had a history of approving developments that soared well beyond established height limits for the area.

“It’s also the quality of the buildings which is an underlying problem,” Mr Talbot said.

“The question is why is this systematically happening to the extreme detriment of the community.”

Social media users have reacted with outrage to the latest building proposal, slamming the height of the proposed building as “crazy” in a Facebook post on a Maribyrnong community page.

Some said surrounding streets would not cope with the additional traffic and parking required by the building’s residents, while others said overshadowing would be an issue.

Maribyrnong Council is due to make a decision on the proposal for 109 Victoria St by September 16.

Nigel Higgins, the council’s director of planning services, said new development was needed to house Maribyrnong’s growing population.

The council’s Housing Strategy 2011-2018 set out guidelines for development and ensured new buildings fit with the character of the area, he said.

“Four planning applications in Seddon were refused by Council over the past 5 years and 50 per cent of these decisions were supported by VCAT,” Mr Higgins said.

“Council has a relatively high success rate at VCAT, with 71.5 per cent of decisions upheld in (financial year) 2019-20 and 81 per cent in 2018-19.”

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