PS: BREAKING ALL RECORDS, HERE’S THE LATEST APPLICATION FOR EGAN STREET, CARNEGIE. PLEASE NOTE AGAIN THE DEFICIENCIES OF COUNCIL’S PLANNING REGISTER WHEN REAL DETAILS ARE NOT PUBLISHED.
Construction of a 16 storey mixed use development (shop and dwellings); waiver of loading bay; reduction of car parking
+++++++++++++
The total devastation of local residential streets is nowhere more evident than in what has been happening in Bent Street since the introduction of the new zones.
No account has been taken of the CUMULATIVE IMPACTS on neighbourhood amenity, much less parking, drainage, open space, overshadowing and so on. For example: Bent Street comprised approximately 70 lots of land. The overwhelming majority of these lots contained one house – many of them stunning Californian bungalows. In the past 15 months permits have either been granted, or awaiting decision for an additional 178 dwellings. In other words, the potential rise in dwelling stock is to the order of 300%.
Below we feature the sad history of this once lovely street –
14-18 Bent Street BENTLEIGH VIC 3204 – Construction of a four (4) storey building comprising of 55 dwellings (above basement car parking) (up for decision)
64-66 Bent Street MCKINNON VIC 3204 – Construction of a part three and part four storey building comprising 31 dwellings above a basement car park and reduction of the requirement for visitor car parking (up for decision)
22-26 Bent Street BENTLEIGH VIC 3204 – Construction of a four storey building containing up to 36 dwellings above a basement (permit)
15 Bent Street BENTLEIGH VIC 3204 – Construction of a three-storey building comprising up to seventeen (17) dwellings and a basement car park (permit)
23 Bent Street BENTLEIGH VIC 3204 – Construction of a four-storey building comprising up to 27 dwellings with basement car parking – Amended (permit)
67 Bent Street MCKINNON VIC 3204 – Construction of two double storey attached dwellings (permit)
TOTAL = 178 dwellings
What is unclear is how 64-66 Bent Street’s application wasn’t rejected outright since it is our belief that this part of Bent Street is actually zoned as General Residential Zone 2 – ie supposedly 3 storey dwellings. What makes this application even more interesting is that both 64 and 66 Bent Street went up for auction on this weekend (according to the Age’s Auction results) selling for $1,750,000 each. Thus with an ‘investment’ of $3.5 million we can be assured of one thing – the developer(s) will attempt to squeeze every ounce of profit they can from this land and it’s all thanks to the zones in our view.
Unless this council starts taking account of the CUMULATIVE impacts of its permits then hundreds of streets in Glen Eira will go the way of Bent St. A five fold increase in dwellings in a previously quiet residential area of several hundred metres is not sound planning. It is destruction on a major scale that is not in accord with any planning document or concern for residents.
Glen Eira Debates 
December 2, 2014 at 1:51 PM
Off the top of my head I can think of many other streets where this pattern of overdevelopment is happening
Belsize
Mavho
Loranne
Robert
Tucker
Jasper
Hawthorn
Neerim
December 2, 2014 at 5:31 PM
Taking the devil’s advocate view. The development is large, but where else would you rather have it if not along the rail line. Bent St is ideal for development with walking distance to the station and supermarket. If you take the Frankston line from Caulfield station you encounter Queen St, Station St, Royal Ave, Katandra Rd, Cadby Ave, Station Ave, Bent St, and Bendigo Ave in Patterson. With level crossing disappearing these are probably the areas of greatest development. Whether it is 3, 4, or 5 storeys should be resolved through its impact on neighbourhood. Agree with Reprobate view.
December 2, 2014 at 5:56 PM
Having higher density next to rail lines is the stated position and in theory it sounds very good. I think everyone wants consistency and there isn’t any in the way that Glen Eira has been carved up. I’ve had a close look at the maps of this area and can’t find any consistency at all. Some of Bent is zoned for 4 storeys, then we get 2 and closer up to McKinnon Road it becomes 3 storeys. Maybe the case can be made that closer to Centre Road this is an activity centre but this doesn’t hold for the other side of the railway like Nicholson Street and the zoning there. I don’t think there is any heritage overlays on the houses in Bent so it’s hard to understand why a handful of houses remain as 2 storeys and the rest of the street is allowed to be developed to such a greater extent. Anyway, having over 100 new buildings in one street is going to impact on those zoned for 2 dwellings, regardless of what the zoning says. I honestly believe that someone sat in an office and simply drew pretty little lines on their maps and they became the new zones without anyone thinking about the overall effect of what they were doing.
December 2, 2014 at 9:19 PM
The trains are full, some people on some mornings cannot get on the trains, sustainable development is needed, not the developers free for all, driven by greed and profit.
Remember council owned land in Station Street McKinnon 50 meters from the end of Bent Street, this land could have served as open space, and what did Newton do? he sold the block to Port Phillip Council to build some of their assisted housing infrastructure on, how stupid and dumb was that.
There is, as many people continue to say on this blog and elsewhere, there is little to no logic or planning credibility in Glen Eira, and this creditability gap goes to very top, our officers that should have their finger on the trigger have their fingers in there ears, or up their … you-know-what,
because something smells really rotten in GE