UP to 1400 new dwellings could soon be built on the long-abandoned Kinnears rope factory site in Footscray after the ‘mini-suburb’ received the nod from a special planning panel.
The redevelopment proposal will be submitted to Planning Minister Matthew Guy after Maribyrnong Council backed adoption of a planning amendment that would allow the project to proceed.
The 3.3-hectare Kinnears site is considered a strategic redevelopment area due to its proximity to central Footscray, Victoria University and the Western Hospital.
However, a contamination problem will need to be dealt with through a site remediation strategy.
A council report on the proposal notes the site could feature high-rise apartments with up to 1400 units, a 60-room residential hotel, offices, shops, a medical centre, an early childhood facility, community space and up to 1900 car spaces.
“The [building] of a large, strategic redevelopment site for housing in close proximity to public transport, and the Footscray central activities area, will advance urban consolidation in an appropriate location,” the report states.
The council maintains the project would be a boon for jobs and retail opportunities and would bring higher rates of public transport use. “The municipality will need to accommodate between 13,000 and 16,000 additional households by 2030 and seek to direct most new residential development to identified substantial change areas (such as Kinnears).”
A development plan overlay for the proposal on public display late last year attracted 14 submissions.
Key issues included building heights, amenity impacts, heritage, transport and traffic. An independent panel appointed by the Minister for Planning recommended a number of changes. The panel was concerned about unresolved access issues from Droop Street and location of a proposed tram stop. “Changes to these elements have the potential to require substantial changes to the design of the development and are, therefore, critical to resolve at an early stage,” it found.
