When the Victorian government plonked a public acquisition overlay over a stretch of land along the east side of Punt Road, it had ambitious plans for an “LA style” freeway through to inner Melbourne.
Nearly 70 years on, the freeway never eventuated, but the overlay – from the Yarra River down to the St Kilda junction – is still there, restricting owners’ ability to renovate and extend their homes.
“We’ve waited so long”. Punt Road property owner Simone Heydon is protesting against a near 70-year-old overlay on Punt Road. Credit: Wayne Taylor
On Saturday, Punt Road property owners gathered outside the Arcadia Hotel in South Yarra on to call for the removal of the overlay.
They want a 20-year “use it or lose it” limit to be placed on public acquisition overlays. Failing that, they say, the state government should offer to purchase the properties from those who wish to sell.
Landlord Simone Heydon and her husband bought two units on Punt Road in 2006, intending to join them into one family home. However, the looming threat of the overlay tainted those aspirations and they decided to rent out the units instead.
“We basically chickened out and realised that we weren’t prepared to lose all of our renovation money in case the government came knocking and wanted to use the land,” she said.
Punt Road property owners gathered outside the Arcadia Hotel in South Yarra on Saturday.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Heydon’s units are among 140 properties on Punt Road that, due to the overlay, could one day be used for public purpose – such as widening the road.
She said she was aware of the restrictions of the overlay when she purchased the units and acknowledged that made the properties cheaper – but she never imagined it still being there after nearly 20 years.
“We’ve waited a really long time and there’s obviously no plans to make a freeway. So why is the overlay still here?” she said.
Andrew Carrasco, a spokesperson for resident group Drop Punt, said the community had been lingering in a state of “uncertainty and stress” for decades.
“We’re in limbo-land here, just sitting and waiting for something that is never going to happen,” he said.
“There is no longer an appetite for [the freeway] and the government needs to acknowledge that.”
A spokesperson from Roads Minister Melissa Horne’s office said on Saturday there were no plans to change the public acquisition overlay on Punt Road.
Green’s MP Sam Hibbins, who holds the state seat of Prahran and attended Saturday’s protest, said the overlay had been an issue for decades.
“This overlay was put in place 70 years ago when we had a dystopian vision for freeways cutting through the inner city,” he said.
“That vision has been well and truly discredited.”
Hibbins said the state’s housing crisis was a “pressing reason” for the overlay’s removal and called on the government to take action.
“The overlay is a barrier to building more homes along this stretch of road,” he said.
“It’s unconscionable for the government to just sit on this land with an indefinite overlay.”
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