Notting Hill Community: April 2008

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Recent Developments Bring Out Objectors in Notting Hill

Some recent planned and not so planned developments have upset local residents.
More than 30 locals turned out on a cold night last week to consider the latest assault on the grace of the suburb by developers and the merely opportunistic.
Residents in the eastern streets of Notting Hill are concerned that the Monash Council may be about to authorise the activities of businesses that are encroaching into the buffer zone between houses and the industrial area. This is the strip known locally as the “horse paddock”.
It is actually a road reserve owned by VicRoads and set aside for an outlet to the Monash Motorway running down to Westall Road. The reserve has been there for years and the motorway extension may never be built, given the financial woes of VicRoads. Meanwhile businesses on the far side have been using the land as a dump. They have been doing this for years but recently became more brazen.
They appear to be aided in this by Vicroads, which is offering leases through a real estate agent apparently without any requirement that the leaseholder obtain planning approval.
Residents recently alerted the Council to the moves on the reserve, involving the construction of a large workwork, and the erection of hard stands and security fences to store construction equipment and containers. Apparently this was news to Council who asked the infiltrators to cease.
Now they have applied for retrospective permits that will legitimise their land grab.
No one has heard from VicRoads. How is it that a State Government agency can lease land without letting the public know? There are many possible uses the road reserve land could be put to, such as forms of recreational use by the residents, but they are not offered leases.

The other development is still in the proposal stage and seeking planning approval.
It is an extension of the Gateway Motel on Blackburn Road onto several housing blocks along Blackburn to Finch Street, already acquired by the Motel. The current plan is for a three-story residential hotel development on the side of the existing motel with conference rooms, more than 20 units and car parking.
The neighbours are not happy, fearing further congestion in the residential streets, noise and disturbance. In addition the planned building overlooks their homes and gardens, and destroys the current street landscape. Other residents of Notting Hill will find it looming on the western horizon.
The Notting Hill Community Association will put in to council objections to all three of these proposals.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Latest News: Monash Council and Primary School Site

Laurel, Melinda,their kids and I attended the meeting last night. Very interesting. Half the councillors got up and said that they supported our position on the primary school site - that a school on the site was the best outcome and that the education department was performing with enormous selfishness and greed - and then they all voted against our position. No that isn't fair; they voted for a compromise which got as much public land for us in one spot as they thought possible, and which preserved as much as possible of the school buildings so that a community school may still buy the site (though at market rates they would need to be a rich community). I attach here the maps showing the reserved land and the land saved for trees. The full report is at Monash Council (click on this link or directly on) http://www.monash.vic.gov.au/reports/papers123.htm
And we have made it very clear that we don't consider ourselves bound by any agreement between the council and the department concerning the secondary school site. We aren't doing too badly. Marian

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Responding to the Council about the Primary School

Statement from the Notting Hill Community Association

The Notting Hill Community Association believes that the best future use for the Monash Primary School site would be as a school – either government or private.
Therefore the Association and its members believe that the Education Department should make every effort to ensure the site is sold to or leased for a school and respond positively to groups interested in re-establishing a school facility on the site.
If the area is to be transferred for continued school use, the Association believes that residents would support the whole area of the school being transferred and no land being retained by council for public access.
The community would seek to have a co-operative arrangement with any new school facility and seek to transfer the extra public access land or space needed by the community, to the site of the Monash Secondary College.
The Association, at no stage, has ever suggested that the areas of the Monash Secondary College used for sport and recreation, should be sold for development and removed from community use, and cannot support plans by Monash Council to do this.

Background

On Tuesday night (11 March) the Monash Council meeting was due to consider the rezoning application made by the Department of Education to have the school rezoned as residential, making the site more valuable for developers, and ensuring that the land would be sold at current very lucrative market prices.
The item was unexpectedly withdrawn from the Council agenda.
The Council has already ruled that any rezoning and development should include the preservation of a number of old growth trees (native to this region) on the eastern boundary and across the east-west axis of the site.
The Council papers reveal that the Council is planning to recommend that a Panel should be appointed by the Minister for Planning to consider the application, and that all submissions before the Council – that is, the request from the Education Department and all submissions already received from residents – should be referred to the Panel.
The Council documents also include an agreement that the Department of Education will be asked to sign.
The agreement included the following principles:-

24 Samada Street

1. That any development of the site is to include a subdivision creating a Public Open Space with an area equivalent to 5% of 24 Samada Street (former Monash Primary School)
plus 5% of 17 Duerdin Street (former Monash Secondary School) - an area of 3950 square metres approximately.
2. The Public Open Space is to be located at the North East corner of the site with frontage to Samada Street. This is the most central location for access via the surrounding residential area.
3. All pavement and buildings, located within the area to be set aside as Public Open Space, are to be demolished and removed and the site is to be left in a clean state.
4. Ownership of the land to be set aside as Public Open Space is to be transferred to Council.

Duerdin Street
5. The public open space contribution requirement for the whole of the site has been satisfied.
6. No further public open space contribution is to be made for all or any part of the site.

But this did not happen. The Council deferred voting on the rezoning. No reason has been given for the deferment, but it appears that the Department has requested more time to
consider the proposal.

The Council’s comments on its recommendations make interesting reading:
“The Department has advised that the site is to be sold with the existing buildings to retain fl exibility for the future owner. It may be redeveloped for residential purposes however, a number of existing school groups have indicated interest in the site. The future use of the site will be a decision of the future owner. It should be noted that it has been the Department’s decision to rezone the land prior to sale, and not to treat with any of the interested school groups. The primary objective of the process adopted by the Department would appear to be designed to only achieve maximum financial return. Definition of the Public Open Spaceprovision to the north east corner of the site and its impact on the existing buildings does not prohibit the potential use of the site for school purposes or any other permissible use in a R1Z-Residential 1 Zone.”

While many aspects of the situation remain unclear, the bottom line in the Council’s recommendations seems to be that:

• At the Primary school almost 4,000 square metres of land for public use would be retained off Samada Street (approaching the size of a hockey fi eld), and trees to the east and in the centre of the development site should be retained by the developer.
• The community would retain nothing from the Monash Secondary Collage for public use.

All comments and suggestions are very welcome, either in the Neighbourhood House letter-box, or by email: nottynews@gmail.com. A full copy of the recommendations and original Council
papers is available at the Neighbourhood House.