By Rachel Eddie and Adam Carey
A bitterly contested housing development has been approved in Melbourne’s south-east after a seven-year dispute, paving the way for a bigger project.
Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has approved two towers with 148 apartments and 11 storeys above a new Woolworths on the site of the former ABC studios in Elsternwick, angering the local council.
A render of the Woolworths/Pace proposal on Selwyn Street in Elsternwick.Credit: Woolworths
The retail giant and its developer, Pace, had been issued a permit by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2022 to build 134 apartments up to nine storeys at the Selwyn Street site.
The tribunal and Glen Eira City Council had previously rejected Woolworths’ proposal for a larger development – first submitted in 2017 – due to concerns about its impact on Glen Huntly Road’s heritage streetscape, unreasonably overlooking neighbours and increased traffic.
But Woolworths, using the state government’s new fast-track planning laws that bypass councils and VCAT, sought approval to add another 13 apartments.
The proposal met the threshold to be assessed under the “development facilitation program” because it is valued at more than $50 million and includes 10 per cent affordable housing.
An anti-Woolworths development demonstrator alongside a supporter of the project at a community rally in Elsternwick in March.Credit: Wayne Taylor
In February, Elsternwick was declared one of 50 “train and tram activity centres” in Melbourne, where the government aims to facilitate the building of 300,000 new homes by 2051.
Kilkenny approved the new permit on Friday, arguing the 148 homes would be walking distance from public transport and other services.
Glen Eira mayor Simone Zmood said the decision to approve the development was a setback for the community.
“It is deeply concerning that this decision blatantly contradicts the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s (VCAT) own ruling on building heights and residential impacts, raising serious questions about the credibility of decisions being made through this fast-track process with no independent oversight,” Zmood said.
She said the government should have established an advisory committee to give residents “a fair opportunity to be heard”, calling out failures to incorporate changes such as minimising “unacceptable disruption” from truck haulage.
“Like the community, we are frustrated that our repeated calls for meaningful design improvements have been ignored.”
Zmood said the council still had no clarity on how the government’s “unilateral” decision to make Elsternwick an activity centre would reshape the zone.
Kilkenny said about 4950 homes had now been approved under the development facilitation program since it was expanded in September 2023.
“Victorians are telling us they want more homes in well-connected areas and this project will deliver almost 150 homes right in the heart of Elsternwick, close to the train station, tram and bus stops,” Kilkenny said.
One tower would reach up to 11 storeys at the northern end, a one-storey increase from the 2022 permit, and a second would go to 10 storeys at the southern end, three storeys taller than previously approved. Setbacks at the south that had been imposed by the tribunal would be removed.
The one, two and three-bedroom apartments would be built above the Woolworths store. The development – across the road from Melbourne’s Holocaust Museum – would include retail, office and community spaces, and parking for more than 400 cars and 100 bicycles.
Pace, the developer, framed the revamped proposal as a response to the housing crisis.
About 100 people – joined by opposition housing spokesman Richard Riordan and local MP and shadow minister David Southwick – protested against the proposed development in March.
Locals campaigning against the development argued that a win for Woolworths would undermine VCAT’s authority.
Four residents supportive of the development disrupted that rally, with signs that read, “Let others live here too” and “Don’t be selfish, share Elsternwick”.
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