By Cara Waters and Josh Gordon
A battle has erupted over a plan to build a six-storey apartment block at the site of a kebab shop and car wash on a busy road in Melbourne’s inner north.
The case highlights the buck-passing and red tape inherent in the planning system, development advocates say, warning it threatens to undermine the state government’s ambitious plan to tackle the housing crisis.
Fitzroy North resident Michael Lock is fighting the proposed six-storey development on Nicholson Street. Credit: Chris Hopkins
Residents near Nicholson Street in Fitzroy North have banded together against the development of 34 apartments at the site of a former service station.
The Save Nicholson Street Village group has raised almost $15,000 to oppose the development, which is headed to a hearing at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in May after it was knocked back by the City of Yarra.
However, advocacy groups and planners warn developments like that proposed for Nicholson Street need to go ahead to counter Melbourne’s growing housing crisis.
Jonathan O’Brien, lead organiser of housing activism group YIMBY Melbourne, said the proposal should be welcomed as a medium density development close to the city centre and with good public transport links.
Instead, he said, it has become the latest development to be dragged through VCAT, “in an immensely expensive process” that adds delays and costs to every housing project.
“We’ve got a system that says no by default instead of yes,” he said. “This sends a message to anyone who wants to build homes where people want to live, that councils are going to make that as difficult as possible.”
O’Brien said there was now an almost 12-month backlog at VCAT for planning decisions.
“They have an interest in kowtowing to the noisy minority NIMBY groups,” he said. “It sends a message that this is a high-risk investment and it’s going to make it harder to finance these projects down the line as well.”
Last September, the state government announced plans to tackle housing affordability by delivering an average of 80,000 homes a year over the next decade, promising to boost the supply of lower cost homes in existing suburbs as part of a push to densify Melbourne.
A key part of the plan was to strip local councils of decision-making powers for significant developments, particularly those in key development zones close to public transport, such as those along the Suburban Rail Loop.
However, few in the industry believe the target is realistic. Victoria has never managed to build 80,000 homes in a single year.
The latest figures show Victorian councils granted approvals to build a total 51,068 houses, flats and townhouses over the year to January – down 17.6 per cent on the same 12-month period a year earlier.
An artist’s render of the proposed development at 786-794 Nicholson street in Fitzroy North.
The Save Nicholson Street Village Group has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to fight the kebab shop proposal amid concerns it “will forever change the nature of the Nicholson Street village”.
Several individuals have donated $1000 each to fund up to $35,000 in legal costs.
Resident Michael Lock, who helped organise the GoFundMe page, said the Nicholson Street village was mainly made up of one- and two-storey buildings and a “six-storey behemoth” not in keeping with the rest of the area.
“I’m certainly not against development and appreciate that people need a place to live and that there is a housing shortage,” he said.
The site of the proposed development which houses Adana Kebab and Car Wash. Credit: Chris Hopkins
“It is about what is the right development for us and what makes sense to the local area that respects the heritage overlay which is really important to Fitzroy North.”
Lock said residents were not fighting to keep the existing car wash and kebab store, but wanted a more low rise development.
“I really like the kebab store and I use the car wash as well, but I’m not against development,” he said.
The current rate of home building in Victoria cannot even cover expected population growth.
Government estimates suggest Victoria needs to build at least 57,000 homes each year with the state’s population expected to swell by about half to 10.3 million by 2051, up from the current 6.8 million.
The state’s building sector has also been hit by rising interest rates, soaring costs of raw materials and international supply chain disruptions linked to the pandemic. House building has been particularly affected.
In January, Victorian councils gave the green light to build just 2370 detached houses, the lowest monthly total since October 2013.
A City of Yarra spokeswoman said council officers had recommended approval of the proposed development subject to conditions, but councillors refused the development.
A building with 34 apartments is proposed for the Nicholson Street Village.
“Council’s planning decisions committee resolved to reject the application based on the scale, height and lack of setbacks, and that the proposal wasn’t in keeping with Yarra’s heritage context,” she said.
The proposed development was designed by architects Kennedy Nolan and comprises 14 one-bedroom apartments, 12 two-bedroom apartments and 8 three-bedroom apartments.
It includes 46 basement car parks, 35 bike parks and 189 square metres of ground floor retail.
Peter Forsyth, managing director of Outline, which is undertaking the proposed development, has already begun work decommissioning underground fuel storage tanks at the site and commencing an environmental remediation process by pumping out contaminated groundwater.
“I am committed to developing high-quality zero net carbon homes with Kennedy Nolan Architects that make a meaningful and enduring contribution to a wonderful part of inner-city Melbourne and its community,” he said.
Patrick Kennedy, director at Kennedy Nolan Architects, said the proposal was a commercial development, but tapped into broader issues around sustainability through increasing density in places well served by public transport.
He said a commitment to build 80,000 houses a year requires action from all sectors of the housing market.
“It is time to stop taking up large amounts of spaces with car washes, service stations and kebab vans and get some high-quality housing in there,” he said.
Planning Institute of Australia Victorian vice president Jane Keddie said while the institute does not comment on individual cases, accepting mid-rise developments in suburbs with close to public transport and services, was fundamental to good planning policy.
She acknowledged this caused tensions between groups wanting to protect local interests and the government’s aspiration for more housing.
Keddie said there was a clear need for statewide planning reforms, but she did not believe this would dramatically increase housing supply.
“Skill shortages, construction, material shortages, financing issues – I suspect that most people would agree that those are the key barriers to the delivery of more housing at the moment,” she said.
A spokesperson for Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said Greens-led councils were “all about the fight and not the fix”.
“The Greens like to preach about the need for more homes, while Greens-led councils actively block projects in their own backyard,” the spokesperson said.