Hobsons Bay council has approved the first four-storey apartment block to be built in Bent Street, Altona.
The 15-dwelling block with basement car parking will replace a single-storey 1960s house.
Nineteen objections were submitted by residents on grounds including inconsistency with neighbourhood character, setting a bad precedent, over-development, overshadowing, undesirable visual impact, traffic congestion, insufficient parking, and loss of sea breeze. But a special planning committee of council agreed with an officer’s report that the site was within the Altona Beach Activity Centre, and an increase in residential density was supported.
“In some respects, it is a ‘pioneering’ proposal in this section of the activity centre and it is appropriate to ensure the first proposal sets a high standard,” the report states.
According to the council’s Altona Beach Activity Centre urban design framework released in 2008, all of Pier Street and Sargood Street south of the railway line should have buildings that are predominantly three or four storeys. The framework specifies that Sargood Street north of the railway line and Bent Street should be predominantly two to three storeys.
The special planning committee approved a permit for 11 Bent Street subject to 23 conditions, including the developer providing revised plans showing external materials and finishes, and an amended waste management plan.
Cr Paul Morgan, who was on the deciding committee, said concerns about traffic and the availability of parking did not stack up.
“We had access to several parking studies provided by the developer, and done by the council as well, which just didn’t support that point of view – that there wasn’t enough parking in the area,” he said.
Immediate neighbours had complained that there was no parking available in Bent Street and cars were parking illegally over their driveways.
“We’ll get our local laws department to start enforcing in that area a little bit more because, if that’s the case, it has nothing to do with development,” Cr Morgan said.
