MARIBYRNONG Council has come under fire over its handling of a controversial 19-storey Maribyrnong development that has been given the green light by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
VCAT overturned the council’s refusal of the six-building project containing 378 apartments on the corner of Wests and Raleigh roads.
Handing down the decision, presiding member John Bennett noted the council had neglected to introduce planning controls such as height restrictions in the Highpoint area.
“We find it surprising that council has not introduced controls aimed at providing a clear statement about the built form outcomes it is seeking to achieve throughout the Highpoint PAC [principal activity centre].”
VCAT had previously knocked back a 2010 proposal for a 272-apartment project with three buildings of four to eight storeys high due to a lack of parking and concerns about the mix of private and affordable housing.
Maribyrnong Residents Association vice-president Scott Oliver said VCAT’s hands were tied this time by the council’s failure to include the necessary controls in the planning scheme.
“We are scathing of the council.
“The VCAT decision shows that the planning department at the council seems to be incapable of giving any legal meaning to the planning documents it spends money on creating.”
VCAT found the Highpoint activity centre structure plan had failed to be backed up by policies or overlays on guidelines such as building heights.
Mr Oliver said the VCAT decision was a disturbing insight into the lack of protection afforded to areas across wider Maribyrnong.
“This decision effectively gives developers open slather in the area.
“We would be asking council’s planning department to implement suitable guidelines into the planning scheme.”
Developer JMC managing director Martin Wagg said a high-density development made sense in the location.
“The council and developers need to look at how we can utilise what we have in the area.
That is what these principal activity centres are for instead of plonking towers in the middle of two-storey areas.”
He claimed the original rejection by councillors in the lead-up to the elections was political.
Despite the soft property market, he expects the project to be “full steam ahead”.
