Locals lose hope on Sturt St

Following a meeting with Member for Albert Park Martin Foley last month, members of the Save Dodds Street group say they aren’t holding out hope that high-rise towers will be curbed in the Arts Precinct.

Organised by the group’s convener Julie Cowley, Mr Foley met with locals at the Malthouse Theatre on March 9 to discuss high-rise development in the precinct.

The meeting followed his government’s announcement last month that it was introducing new planning controls, which force developers with live applications on Sturt St to include arts and cultural uses as part of its first four floors.

While the controls are a step in the right direction as far as locals are concerned, many at the meeting expressed their frustration with Mr Foley over his government’s lack of commitment to protect the area from high-rise towers.

Minister for Planning Richard Wynne had an opportunity to reintroduce mandatory height controls along Sturt St as part of planning scheme amendment C270 in 2016, but failed to do so.

When asked by group members as to why Richard Wynne hadn’t adequately protected the special character area, Mr Foley said he would follow up with the Department of Planning to find out why.

On April 10, Mr Foley forwarded a response from the department to Southbank Local News, which included some of the following statements:

“As part of C270, design and development overlay controls in the Southbank Special Character Area that were discretionary, remained discretionary, although some additional mandatory overshadowing controls were introduced.”

“Mandatory controls may be appropriate for areas of high heritage value, strong and consistent character themes or sensitive environmental locations such as along the coast.”

While the department referred to the Southbank Structure Plan’s vision for providing vibrant streetscapes in the Arts Precinct, it gave no clear reason as to why mandatory height controls weren’t reintroduced in the area.

If anything, it only gave further reason, with regards to “high-heritage value” and “strong and consistent character themes”, as to why the Arts Precinct should be protected.

Southbank Residents’ Association (SRA) president Tony Penna said residents were no clearer as to why the government chose not to protect the area through C270.

Despite the frustration, Mr Foley told group members at the March 9 meeting that he was committed to doing everything in his power to limit inappropriate development in the Arts Precinct.

Such developments opposed by residents include Hayball’s already approved 17-storey tower at 135 Sturt St, as well as Rothelowman’s 19-storey proposal for 153 Sturt St. Both Hayball and Rothelowman were contacted to comment on the government’s new creative planning controls. Neither responded to Southbank Local News.