Port Phillip Council takes development fight to state government
Fishermans’ Bend is a key growth precinct for Melbourne’s future but the local council and state government are at war over how it should be developed.
Victoria
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The Andrews government is being urged to reject three big development applications in Melbourne’s Fishermans Bend urban renewal zone.
Port Phillip Council has asked Planning Minister Richard Wynne to knock back the projects in Port Melbourne and South Melbourne.
The council has concerns about “excessive height” and massing, open space, wind tunnelling and parking issues in the planning applications, which have been called in by the government.
The minister will decide the fate of a proposal to build a 32-storey hotel and retail building featuring a triple-level penthouse with 213sq m terrace at 240-246 Normanby Road, South Melbourne.
He will also have final say on plans for a 25-storey commercial tower at 91-95 Montague Street in South Melbourne, and multistorey buildings for shops, offices and affordable housing at 18-22 Salmon Street, Port Melbourne.
Mayor Louise Crawford said the plans should go back to the drawing board, with councillors unanimously voting against each proposal on the advice of town planners.
“What we would like to see is a thriving place that is a leading example for environmental sustainability, liveability, connectivity, diversity and innovation,’’ she said.
Ms Crawford said the proposals “departed from the preferred precinct character” and height controls and failed to provide “satisfactory access to daylight’’.
A spokeswoman for Mr Wynne, Lorraine Haase, said the council’s recommendations would be considered and applications judged on their merits.
“All planning decisions in the precinct will be made in consultation with councils and in some cases an expert planning panel,” she said.
The Normanby Road development would turn a two-storey warehouse into a mixed-use building with six-level podium, 120 homes including seven “affordable dwellings’’, 81 serviced apartments and three shops.
Council planners said the building — on land “in an ‘area of cultural heritage sensitivity’ under the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018’’ — should be no more than 20 storeys.
Developers want to demolish one and two-storey buildings on the Montague Street site and construct a retail and office tower with a five-level podium with rooftop terrace wrapping around three sides.
“The proposed height would result in adverse amenity impacts including a reduction in pedestrian comfort at street level due to wind and visual amenity induced by excessive visual bulk,’’ a council report said.
It said the proposal should have a maximum roof height of 22 levels.
The Salmon Street application proposes demolishing existing buildings and constructing a series of towers up to 21 storeys for commercial and residential buildings.
The government called in all three proposals as part of 26 planning applications in the Fishermans Bend precinct taken out of the hands of councils.
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