VCAT battle over open space

Developer OSK Property is taking the City of Melbourne to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) over a dispute regarding open space contributions for its new Kavanagh St park.

Despite providing nearly three times the amount of open space required as part of its six-tower mixed-use development Melbourne Square, the City of Melbourne is requesting an open space contribution on top of the developer’s land contribution.

Approved in 2015, the Minister for Planning Richard Wynne determined that the 3745 sqm park should be delivered by OSK Property as part of its open space contribution. As part of the agreement, the park will remain under private ownership of the developer and maintained at its own cost to council standards.

The dispute has since evolved from an application from the developer to council, which seeks to subdivide its land into five staged lots. Melbourne Square will include four residential towers, a commercial tower and a hotel managed by Hilton.

While council has issued a permit for the subdivision, it has done so on the condition that the developer pay an open space contribution equivalent to 7.06 per cent of the site’s land value as per the Melbourne Planning Scheme.

OSK Property spokesperson Scott Jessop told Southbank Local News that the developer hadn’t taken lightly its decision to take the council to VCAT.

“We had hoped to resolve the issue prior to a formal VCAT hearing in collaboration with council,” he said. “We feel that during the process of delivering Melbourne Square the goal posts and priorities have been moved, creating this unresolved issue that suggests a cash contribution is required in addition to the extra investment in delivering what was originally identified as the top priority for Southbank and doing so markedly above our requirements.”

“OSK Property supports the developer contributions scheme as it delivers essential community amenity for residents in our growth city. It is for this reason, through extensive consultation with industry colleagues across planning, architecture and design, we have sought to exceed our required contribution in delivering Southbank’s most architecturally significant public park.”

“Spanning over 3700 sqm, this park is almost three times the size of that required by City of Melbourne and will be maintained by the development in perpetuity.”

A spokesperson for the City of Melbourne said its request to OSK Property was consistent with planning scheme amendment C209, which set fixed open space contributions of either land or cash for new developments.

“Developer contributions allows us to create high-quality public open spaces to meet the needs of our growing population,” the spokesperson said. “We have an ambitious 15-year plan to create an additional 24 hectares of open space and developer contributions help us pay for it.”

“Planning scheme amendment C209 sets contribution rates of 5 per cent and 7.06 per cent for new developments, as either a percentage of the site value, a land contribution or a combination of both. The higher rate applies in urban renewal areas where there is a greater need for open space.”

The matter will be heard at VCAT on April 24.