And the beat goes on … (or the construction)

At last we can mingle and dine, albeit socially distanced and masked … but how wonderful to be out and about.

We should all be so proud of ourselves in Montague and Southbank for the care we have taken to look after ourselves and our neighbours and the community at large – thank you everyone.

As part of ensuring the rapid return of our state’s economy and as mentioned in last month’s column, Minister for Planning Richard Wynne has fast-tracked a number of key developments in the Montague Precinct.

These are significantly large developments, with multiple towers of 40 storeys, some of which have begun, and some are about to start.

These constructions look great on paper, with terrific designs, cool apartments and great views. And the developers seem to be compliant and say all the right things to the governing bodies.

They offer incentives to the local government, and in their marketing to purchasers, on how these developments will provide excellence in amenity and liveability for those coming to live in Montague. YAY!!!

But what is missing in this utopian image? It is what happens to those who are already living and working in the neighbourhood.

We started our fabulous group seven years ago, because of this very issue. And we wonder all these years later, why the incumbent community is still being ignored … we still have no Neighbourhood Agreements after all these years.

There are some very interesting-looking apartments that you might have noticed above the storage facility on the corner of Montague St and Normanby Rd.

This is Montague Towers and it is, unfortunately, its residents’ turn to experience what those of us in Gladstone St, Thistlethwaite St and Boundary Rd have for some years – i.e. houses shaking, trucks blocking access to our homes and carparks and NOISE that seems not to be bound by any bylaws.

It is awful when you experience these things for the first time, which tends to make one do what would seem logical, which is to contact the powers that be, local and other governments.

But when one does, you discover that there is no interest in assisting because construction and the economy trump all else.

Which is why having a representative community group, like the Montague Community Alliance is so important.

Through our hard work and tenacity, we have created relationships with key Montague stakeholders, and we have been able to secure a meeting with the appropriate people and the Montague Towers residents, which we hope will lead to some positive outcomes for everyone concerned.

The best and only way we have found to counteract the shock of finding a 40-storey tower being built next to you and not finding anyone to help is for state and local governments to implement a Neighbourhood Agreement with every planning permit.

These agreements would esnure communication about schedules, appropriate on-site contact people and not undertaking work out of hours or heavy noise work on weekends.

It is not hard; I have personally negotiated directly with the developers myself. An office with a community liaison person from the Fishermans Bend Taskforce should also be established in the precinct to respond to the community in real time.

All of the above has been spoken about for several years, all initiated by us, all with promises for action to occur and guess what … nothing has happened ... C’mon folks!

Let’s move forward with a little more engagement, energy and thoughtfulness. The Montague community deserves it, it will make everyone, including the developers and builder’s lives better and provide a template for future proofing the way the Montague community and Fishermans Bend live well for the next iteration of development.

Thank you for your attention to this column and as usual if you have any comments or ideas for us, please contact us through our Facebook Page. @MontaguePrecinct or our Twitter Feed @MontComAlliance •