The City of Melbourne has now received permission to advertise its long awaited amendment that seeks to protect its public parks and open spaces from overshadowing. See this article from today’s Age https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/rule-revision-aims-to-keep-the-winter-gloom-out-of-melbourne-s-parks-20190909-p52plw.html

Readers should also remember that when one resident asked if Glen Eira City Council would support Melbourne City Council in its endeavour she was met with a bullshit answer about the review of the Open Space Strategy. No support was offered to Melbourne.

The reason why is clear when we compare what Melbourne is proposing and what Glen Eira is prepared to sanction at the mega development at Virginia Estate: we refuse to call this a ‘village’!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the relevant part of the Melbourne draft amendment:

Please note:

  • the hours (ie 5 for June 21) for the majority of parks
  • 4 hours for the outer lying parks

Glen Eira in turn proposes the following in its schedule for the Comprehensive Development Scheme

Thus, Glen Eira is quite prepared to allow high rise development to overshadow open space at the winter solstice. Instead of 5 hours, the residents of Glen Eira will only be assured of 3 hours of sunlight in 75% of the park. What happens at 10am? How much of the parks are in shadow at this time? What about 3pm, 4 pm? Are we still talking 25% or is it more likely to be 80% late afternoon? and what does ‘unreasonable shadow’ really mean when there are no specific controls to define, assess, and evaluate this meaningless phrase?

We again have to ask: what on earth are our councillors doing? Who are they working for? Surely not residents when we are presented with proposals that grant everything to the developer and with very little to residents! Well done council. The tradition of pro development and sabotaging residential amenity continues!