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| 134 - Ferrars St, cnr Ferrars and Thistlethwaite St, Montague |
Not unexpected because the proposal failed the Council's assessment on a range of tests - most importantly that it greatly exceeded the height and scale preferred in the Council's adopted Montague Structure Plan. The environmental performance of the proposal was not considered adequate.
The proposal was assessed against the Montague Structure Plan in the absence of a plan for the Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal Area (FBURA). There is also no development contribution plan in place. The planning report recommended that no permit should be granted until such a plan is in place and added that 'this is preferable than piecemeal agreements between the Minster for Planning and developers, which may result in ad-hoc, uncoordinated and inconsistent works within the FBURA.'
Port Phillip Council's adopted Precinct Structure Plan is sensitive to the fine grain of the Montague precinct - of which more in future posts on Port Places.
Never has there been such wholehearted support for urban renewal as in the Montague area - it is the scale, integration and coherence of the precinct that is the issue.
Minister Guy told the Herald Sun on Wednesday 24th April that "We are deeply worried about liveability in some of our outer urban areas in places that we've inherited, which had no infrastructure upgrades for a decade or so"
Observers are equally concerned that liveability is created in the FBURA. Liveability is not an artifact in itself, but the product of a range of attributes. Considering one application in isolation when there are another 21* apparently in the pipeline in the absence of any plan for development contribution, cumulative impact, community facilities and streetscape improvements does not give confidence that liveability is being created here.
*Marc Pallisco The Age 27 April 2013
The taller the better, as long as there is public space and community amenities then the height is not a problem. If we have the proper infrastructure of schools, transport etc then the height of these new developments should not be of concern.
ReplyDeleteAgree Lee about the public space, community amenities, schools and transport. That's the part that isn't clear at this time
ReplyDelete