A glimpse into the future for the C60?
Minister ignored advice on tower
Reid Sexton
May 25, 2011
PLANNING Minister Matthew Guy ignored the advice of independent consultants commissioned by the Department of Planning when he approved a 25-storey tower in Footscray this week, with the development more than double the recommended height.
The 80-metre, $90 million development on Moreland Street will dominate the skyline of Melbourne’s inner-west when it is completed in 2013.
The Age revealed yesterday that the announcement had triggered a bitter stoush between Mr Guy and local ALP mayor Sarah Carter, who said Maribyrnong Council had not been consulted on the decision. She said Footscray’s infrastructure would struggle to cope with the people who moved into the tower’s 222 apartments and flocked to its shops.
Mr Guy denied the claim, suggesting yesterday that Ms Carter may be taking the stand to further her political career.
But a report written by urban designers SJB Urban in June last year and commissioned by the Department of Planning and Community Development said ”the maximum number of storeys, regardless of land use or building configuration” should be 12 storeys on the site.
It based this recommendation on previous reports into the former industrial area, which settled on the 12-storey limit based on transport, landscape and economic considerations, among others.
Opposition planning spokesman Brian Tee said yesterday Mr Guy had ignored the community, council and important advice paid for by the department. ”People have to ask: who does this man listen to?” he said.
But Mr Guy said last night that the report was commissioned by the previous government and was intended to provide advice only.
He said the large-scale development was necessary to cope with Melbourne’s soaring population and would rejuvenate the former industrial area. ”The Planning Minister is the responsible authority for this area and the development fits with the provisions of the vision for the [area],” he said.
ALSO FROM TODAY’S AGE
The Baillieu government has approved a 25-storey apartment tower in Melbourne’s inner-west, sparking a furious reaction from a mayor who warns it will ruin the local amenity.
The 80-metre, $90 million tower in Moreland Street, Footscray, will be more than double the height guidelines for the area, says Maribyrnong mayor Sarah Carter. It will contain 222 apartments and dominate the local skyline. It is believed that building will start this year and be completed by 2013.
It has sparked a war of words between Ms Carter and Planning Minister Matthew Guy.
Ms Carter, an ALP member, said Maribyrnong council’s local planning scheme recommended height limits of no more than 12 storeys because of community concern. She said the tower would be the tallest in Footscray and would create an eyesore. Footscray would not have the transport services to support the people the tower would bring and council would have to spend about $25 million on pedestrian bridges, road and footpaths to cope.
The biggest shock was Mr Guy’s decision to go public without consulting the council. She said he had never indicated he was about to approve the tower despite his assurances he wanted to work with council. “He expressed he wanted to have an open dialogue with council [and] that he wanted to work with us to get the best outcomes,” she said. “He’s indicated that’s what he was prepared to do [and] now he’s backflipped completely.”
Mr Guy said last night the council was consulted throughout planning and that a big development was a necessary response to Melbourne’s population growth. He said it was misleading to claim the tower would cost council millions of dollars and he was shocked Ms Carter would reject a housing development in an area with numerous transport options.
“I met with the mayor last week where we discussed the need for large-scale development in [areas] such as Footscray,” he said. “At no stage did she offer any objection to these comments [or] bother to raise the issue of this Footscray development.
“I have never met the mayor prior to this meeting, thus her comments of me providing an undertaking to her are false.”
Opposition planning spokesman Brian Tee said: “If the Baillieu government rides roughshod over Footscray then no community is safe.”
Planning Institute of Australia (Victoria) and Urban Development Institute of Australia (Victoria) chief Tony De Domenico said the tower would provide cheap housing near public transport
Glen Eira Debates 
May 25, 2011 at 1:51 PM
“…no community is safe”. That’s unusually honest from a politician. I suppose screwing people is the job of Government, and pretending you care is that of Opposition. What this decision does highlight though is that the Planning Minister is special, and doesn’t have to deal with all the pesky matters that Responsible Authorities like councils have to under the relevant legislation. Councils quite rightly can and should complain about lack of investment in infrastructure to support these megaliths. Neither State Government nor VCAT is legally obliged to provide any funding when they override Councils.
I wonder how Director of City Development Jeff Akehurst feels, given the Government keeps appropriating his policy without credit. According to Jeff, “…when the state government put out its Melbourne 2030 policy it copied our council’s local policies. We were there first…”. If only there was a treatment available for people suffering from Edifice Complex.