NEWPORT residents are waiting to see revised plans for the former Newport Timber Yard but believe they have more clout with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal having again shown the red flag to the developer.
Revised plans for a four-storey, 45-dwelling apartment block at 6 Paine Street were recently rejected, while the developer’s earlier proposal for a three-storey, 42-dwelling development was also refused.
Protect Newport member Anthony Simmons said that after the first win, residents phoned Domain Hill managing director Peter Cahill and offered to talk.
“We won, but we called him up to look at some alternatives and that really didn’t fly for reasons I won’t go into,” said Mr Simmons, who was one of four residents who objected.
“But this time he’s called us up and, again, we’re happy to sit down and do that [talk] but . . . until he shows such good faith. . . I just don’t want to waste my time with those sorts of things.
“Height is an issue. A lot of people are pretty firm that it should only be two storeys; that’s what the infill guidelines say it should be — that’s what it should be.
“Others may be a little more flexible, especially towards the centre [of the site].
“What people say is that if they wanted a Richmond feel, and that Richmond cramped environment [where] you can’t park in your own street . . . if they wanted that, they would live in Richmond.”
More than 200 objections were lodged against the rejected proposal.
Mr Cahill said he believed a compromise with residents could be reached. “We’re just trying to work through the design process and come up with a solution that works for everyone”.
Asked if he would scale back the development, Mr Cahill replied: “I can’t comment on anything beyond that.”
