Southbank ‘neglected’ by City of Melbourne with slow City Rd masterplan pace

Southbank residents claim they have received “next to nothing” from City of Melbourne with major project delays, cost blow outs and “squandered” funds because of “poor management”.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp and the City of Melbourne have been accused of neglecting Southbank. Picture Rebecca Michael

Lord Mayor Sally Capp and the City of Melbourne have been accused of neglecting Southbank – one of the most densely populated suburbs in Australia.

Southbank Residents Association president Tony Penna said local property owners contributed significantly to Town Hall’s coffers but got next to nothing in return.

“We have absolutely been taken for granted and that’s been the case for many years,” he said.

“Southbank collectively is the biggest rates contributor to the council’s finances and in return we get very little.”

Mr Penna said a prime example of Town Hall’s neglect was the glacial pace in progressing with the City Rd masterplan – a suite of proposed projects to beautify the area and improve safety.

All projects in the masterplan were scheduled to be completed by the end of this year but the majority of them have not been started.

Southbank Residents Association president Tony Penna on Southbank Boulevard. Picture Rebecca Michael

One project included in the masterplan, building a public sports court in the undercroft, has been delayed several years.

“It’s a travesty to the community that they haven’t made any progress on the undercroft,” Mr Penna said.

“We have so few open spaces for the community to use – particularly sport and recreation facilities.”

“They (the council) haven’t invested enough in open space for the community and they know that.”

Several sections of Southbank Boulevard have been upgraded by the council but the project suffered immense cost blow outs, with the original budget of $15.9m exploding to $47m.

Mr Penna said the poor management of the project meant millions of dollars that could have been used to deliver more projects locally had been squandered.

“It’s delivered a good outcome now but so many millions of dollars were wasted on that project,” he said.

Town Hall also quietly dropped plans to upgrade Southbank Promenade to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists and instead delivered a scaled-back version of the project.

Council estimates Southbank is home to more than 24,000 residents, with 98 per cent living in apartments.

Police target speeding cyclists and scooter riders along Southbank. Picture: Mark Stewart

The City Rd masterplan was designed to be delivered between 2016 and 2023 — but one of the only projects completed by the council — has been a dog park under the southern end of Kings Way, which opened in March last year.

A council spokeswoman refused to answer when work would start on converting the remainder of the unsightly undercroft into a usable space for the community but said the council had lowered speed limited and removed a taxi rank in the area in April.

“Council is working on concept designs for the Northern Undercroft Project, which could include a multipurpose recreation area – and we will engage with the community prior to construction,” the spokeswoman said.

“We’ve also arranged a licence agreement with the Department of Transport and Planning to secure the area for the community.

“Due to the size and complexity of the proposed works and wide range of stakeholders involved, the implementation of Master Plan actions will be staged and budgeted over a number of years.”