Aesthetics as covered by The Age article above is one thing. Public safety, and treating council’s laws with absolute disdain is another. Not for the first time have we featured photos sent to us by residents of development sites that should be closed down or at the very least fined severely on a daily basis. Council however seems to be unable to enforce its own and state regulations – or worse, simply turns a blind eye despite the fact that residents do ring through time and time again over individual sites and complain bitterly.
The following photos all come from Mimosa Road, Carnegie where two major 4 storey developments are currently under construction. Please note the following which are all contraventions of council’s Local Law as well as state legislation:
- No display of any hoarding permit which mandates that there must be at least 1.5 metres provided for pedestrian use. Plus, non securely attached hoardings!
- Turning footpaths into lunch areas with chairs etc. contravenes council’s Local Law and also represents a pedestrian/disability hazard by blocking the footpath
- Forcing people onto the road without clear sightlines is another no-no and the orange etching on the grass plus the pathetic piece of wood designed to act as a plank for wheelchairs is also unacceptable. Then, simply parking over this ‘access’
Council could literally be raking in thousands of dollars per day if they were to do their job properly. Are they? And if they’re not, then why not?
Glen Eira Debates 
May 26, 2017 at 11:51 AM
I suspect someone is raking-in some of those thousands of dollars a days, they are just not issuing receipts.
May 26, 2017 at 12:13 PM
Add in dust, disruption for ages, dirty water, mud, streets parked out with tradies cars, noise, building rubbish everywhere and that’s the reality. Some don’t give a stuff and will do whatever they like because any fine is a tax deduction and they reckon they own the streets.
May 26, 2017 at 4:11 PM
Forcing pedestrians onto the roadway unprotected is a safety issue. Somebody needs their arse kicked.
But why is the footpath closed at all? It’s not for the safety of the public given there isn’t a gaping excavation. A hoarding permit doesn’t allow a builder to store materials and tools on council land. Doesn’t allow them to rip up a footpath either. Surely they’d need a Road Closure permit, with “footpath occupancy” being the Activity Type and it be issued by somebody with the authority and expertise to do so.
If the area occupied is say 130 square metres, that’d be 130 x $2.50 = $325 per day, or $30000 over a 3-month period. Less than $1000 over 3 months if they’re only required to obtain a Hoarding Permit—not much of a price signal. Who is pocketing the missing $29000?
Photos show breaches galore. Placing a Chair on a footpath—10 penalty units. Building material on council land—10 penalty units. Contravention of the Building Site Management Code of Practice—2, 5, 10 penalty units.
If somebody wilfully refuses to comply with their permit conditions, their permit should be cancelled.
May 26, 2017 at 4:12 PM
Standard stuff all over. Take a drive down Bent street or Neerim road and you take your life in your hands. Fine them every single day and that’s how you change behaviour.
May 26, 2017 at 5:17 PM
Wonder if that’s the same developer who used to put down witches hats on the opposite side of the road to reserve extra car parking spaces for themselves.
May 26, 2017 at 9:06 PM
Hoardings look anything but safe. A potential Swanston street.
May 27, 2017 at 11:04 AM
The amount of rubbish that spills out from some of building site is over the top.
Few take care to stop muddy water rain water flowing out of their work sites into the local gutters and drains, a lot dig small trenches to encourage the excesses water off their sites onto the footpaths.
It’s the good old fashion boom times are here again, and the safe guards and environmental requirements have been swept away along with common sense, respect for most things excepting fat profit margins.
May 27, 2017 at 11:50 AM
That would be a breach of the Building Site Management Code of Practice and Local Law 330. What action if any did Council’s “enforcement” officers take?
May 28, 2017 at 12:49 PM
Then rot starts at the top. I believe that the CEO spends her time making herself look good instead of actually being good. She is paid a lot of money to protect the interests of the ratepayers and residents. She is clearly failing. No good blaming the enforcement officer she is the one that should be held to account.
May 29, 2017 at 8:47 PM
Council should also look at the development on Neerim Road close to the railway gates near the Caulfield Racecourse. No proper pedestrian pathway , had to go on the road with a baby in pram.